|  We have been made familiar with rural American speech patterns, usually negatively, through television and movies. Classic pictures like the Grapes of Wrath, the Egg and I, and Deliverance, exposed us to the ways of rural Appalachia and the mid-west. We have seen and heard all sorts of colloquialisms and most commonly we have come to see them as rooted in backwardness. But if the truth be known, it can be traced to a time when these phrases and speech patterns were used by none other than the Dutch and English royal families.
In what is known as the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, there still exists in ever increasingly small and isolated pockets, vestiges of an almost dead language called the "Jersey Dutch". Beginning with Hudson's journey up the river which now bears his name, in 1609, this region was settled by the Dutch. Many family, village, and street names still reflect this heritage even after nearly four centuries. One small example is a neighborhood in the Town of Haverstraw (incorporated in 1666) called "Calico Hill". It is reported by historian Wilfred Blanche Talman (himself a descendant of Dutch settlers), that it came by this name from the Dutch term "Kalck Hoek" which roughly translated means Calcium Hill. Why calcium? Because at one time there was a small industry of paint mining. This was done because under certain geological circumstances calcareous spar (or white wash) would be created when a vein of natural calcium would occur near an aquifer which caused the mineral to run in fluid form which allowed it to be collected. It was used to paint houses and when mixed with red pigments it was used to paint barns.
Other occasionally heard terms come from this origin. Catterwalling which means to wail or create an otherwise loud vocal noise, has Dutch origins. Cathauling (meaning to rough house) comes from this early American language. Hockrebonus was a term used in my grandparent's time. It referred to sexual relations between unmarried people. For instance, when an unmarried woman got pregnant it was said, "That's what happens when you play hockrebonus". Another common term with origins in Dutch is pancake which originally was panekoeken.
Today this language is virtually dead in the Hudson Valley and elsewhere. In 1910 a Columbia University professor studied it and reported then that there were barely any people left who used it.
But even more influential than the Dutch was by far the English. A book entitled, Language in America by Charlton Laird speaks authoritatively on this. Therein it is observed that a plethora of statements (which I grew up hearing my elders using) were and are in wide use up and down the Appalachian corridor.
Folks like to say "Up t'home" when referring to where they came from. Dint instead of didn't is common. Oncet for once and riz or rizzed for risen are familiar. Et for ate, borry for borrow, brum for broom ketch for catch are all quite popularly used. They like to say dotter for daughter, deef for deaf, greazy for greasy, and growed for grew or grown are still preferred. Reddish for radish is supposed to have origins in English but in some places I'd be willing to bet that it may have had origins in German because their word is rettish. They apparently drop the "u" sound when coupled with an "a" such as when they say sossige for sausage. They also like to replace an "r" for "w" a lot such as in winder, yeller, swaller, and the like. Also familiar is replacing the "oo" sound with "u" such as in roof and took.
Certain other patterns are present and should be watched out for. A d is dropped at the end of a word (such as san for sand), ing endings are shortened to just in (like in talkin'). The wh sound (as in white) is hardened to "w". Ed is added at the end of a word as in growed or knowed for grew or knew. Up and like are inserted into sentences such as in "he up and died" or "he liked to died". Sometimes up or like is inserted to replace the word almost. A "t" sound replaces the full "the" sound as in "t' other day". A long "oo" sound is replaced by "u" such as in spook or broom. Sitting is usually setting but sot becomes a replacement for sat. They also use terms like "let on" for pretend.
This dialect is the norm for rural areas in the east which is natural because their ancestors originated in England. One variant is called Bonac and is heard in Long Island and the south.
It is observed and postulated that eastern and southern English counties used these pronunciations and still do to some degree. Although it is looked down upon by most people as being "hillbillyish", it is known that this manner of speaking was common to all during Elizabethan times. Because she might have better understood the residents of Appalachia than she would her loyal subjects in today's England, it could be said that those "hillbillyish" speakers actually speak a better brand of the Queen's English than the upper crust does today. Now wouldn't that be a turnabout?
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