I know because I have spent over 40 years of my life (almost half of it!) residing in Alabama. Most of it was by choice although the U.S. Air Force arranged my first two trips to Alabama. The first visit was a short six-week course at Maxwell Air Force Base during a very hot summer in 1953. The next visit turned out to be a long-term stay. I attended the nine-month Air Command and Staff College in 1961 - 1962. During the longer stay we decided that this was the area where we wanted to live. We have been Alabama residents since I retired from the Air Force in 1967.

We have never regretted that decision; however, we have learned that any Yankee settling down in the South must be prepared to make some adjustments. For example, Southerners are naturally friendly and outgoing. Invariably when you meet and exchange a few words with a native Southerner, he or she will ask, "Where are you from?" This is not a question about where you are from now. It is simply a polite query about what part of the world "up North" you hail from. Sometimes the question is phrased more directly: "You ain't from around here, are you?"

I have always wondered how they know that "I ain't from around here." I don't think it is the way I look because it happens even when I am wearing the same brand of blue jeans they are - and an Auburn sweatshirt. So, it must be the way I talk. I don't sound different to my own ears but my midwestern dialect must be the tip-off. I have actually tried to learn to "talk Southern." The first phrase I added to my vocabulary was "you-all" which I found should be pronounced "y'all." I now use the phrase frequently but it still doesn't sound right to someone who entered the world saying, "Howdy, how y'all doin'?"

I found many other terms in wide use in the South. One is "big ole" as in "That's a big ole truck you got there." Another is "good ole." as in "Bubba is a good ole boy." (Most newly-transplanted Northerners may not know that Bubba is a term used affectionately to designate the oldest son in the family. Some Bubbas drop the nickname as they become older and more dignified. Others are proud to be known as Bubba for their entire lifetime.)

Someone suggested that I should learn to talk like a "redneck" but hey couldn't give me a precise definition of "redneck." I did discover that redneck talk is known for its quaint and colorful phrases. Some of the phrases can be printed in a family newspaper or magazine [or web site] like this one. For instance, "He's as country as cornflakes" or "It's so dry, the trees are bribing the dogs" or "He fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down." Other redneck sayings often refer to parts of the anatomy and are not suitable for printing . . . or polite society.