Imitation, sincerest form of flattery?

[macwilkin]

You maybe don't realise it but a "poke" is pure Scots. Anyone from Glasgow would immediately know what a "poke of chips" or a "poke of sweeties" was. So you see, some things have endured down the years.

You'll find quite a bit of that on this side of the pond...

T.

[davedove]

Just please don't come to Atlanta and order chitlins.

Well of course not. Atlanta is the big city. Everybody knows you have to get out in the country for real chitlins.

[KFCarter]

Just please don't come to Atlanta and order chitlins.

...Atlanta is the big city... and according to folks hereabouts, it's not even in the South. And that's spoken by someone who grew up in Atlanta, but is married to a small-town Southern girl and living in lovely Savannah in the heart of the State of Chatham.

[thescot]

You maybe don't realise it but a "poke" is pure Scots. Anyone from Glasgow would immediately know what a "poke of chips" or a "poke of sweeties" was. So you see, some things have endured down the years.

Actually, I did know that, and that's why I chose that word. As far as I know, it's relatively unknown in most of the US, but was once pretty widely used in the rural South. I believe in the US, it's considered an unsophisticated word used only by unsophisticated rubes.

It's also an example of how deeply the Scots/ScotsIrish/Irish roots run throughout the South. I once read an essay that attempted to demonstrate how heavily influenced by Gaelic was the rural southern--expecially mountain--speech. We used to laugh at Jed Clampett with he said, "I'm a-going to . . ." but the fact is, that is very Gaelic.

As are the Jack tales of the Carolinas and other points. I believe I'm correct in saying that counting, "uh-one, uh-two, etc." is exactly how Gaelic speakers count. (I'm no Gaelic speaker, just a dilitante in such things and a perpetual student.)

Even though I can't trace my roots, they run deep!

[Bugbear]

There does seem to be plenty of evidence that the Scots influenced American culture going back a long, long way. That includes influencing American culture while wearing a kilt.

Hopefully those influences aren't being considered poser, and that we aren't being asked to let go of parts of our own American culture as an all or nothing stance.

[dfmacliam]

The Appalachian dialect is said to have it's roots in Scots. I have seen it considered an American form of Scots, brought by native Scots speakers, from the old country. I guess it ties to the effect mentioned inearlier in the thread relating to the Norweigan language spoken in the States. A lot of the culture was brought over with the Disporia, and it is blended into the fabric of America.

[Bugbear]

Ya, the Scottish influences on American culture seem to span centuries, and those are part of who we are now. I do understand being unhappy about people trying to claim to be Scottish because of those influences etc.

How, with the long history of Scots in America, could there not be reflections and paralelles; little pieces that turn up to be somewhat similar? And things that have developed in a different way and on a different course?

[EagleJCS]

'Round here I used to hear of a 'pig in a poke' - in reference to being tightly wrapped up in one's bedding. (e.g. That lil 'un's wrapped up in his bed just like a pig in a poke! Snug as a bug in a rug. )

Mom's mother's folk were from central Kentucky, Dad's from about 100 or so miles to the east/southeast of there. Best I can tell, both those branches of the family have been here since it was first settled in the 1790's or so. (And over all that time, as best I can tell right now, there were no intermarriages of either extended family, nor their families, which may be difficult for some to believe.)

[piperdbh]

"Poke" is used pretty heavily in central and eastern North Carolina, especially in the Cape Fear River valley, where a great many Scots and Scots-Irish settled. "I'se just a-fixin' to write sumthin differnt" is a phrase I might use, and it looks like there's plenty of Gaelic influence in it.

When I wear my kilt, it is a connection to my ancestors and a way to honor the heritage that I have inherited from them. Part os that heritage is the place whence they came, whether that be Lanarkshire or Northumbria or eastern Virginia. I hope people see my kiltedness as that, and not as something theatrical. (I've been on stage enough to not need to dress theatrically.) If I ever have the privilege of meeting Jock or Phil or my clan chief, I hope they will not be ashamed to be seen with me, and will take pride in my trying to honor their nation and history.

[Standard]

Please, please, nobody who wants to identify with Scottish culture should ever consider themselves to be a poseur. If they purport to be a member of the nobility or some other similar type of hanger-on as a means of vicariously attempting to be something they are not as a way of impressing or influencing others then they are poseurs, or worse out and out fraudsters. Wishing to identify with a culture you admire is laudable, especially when that culture is as strong and unique as being Scottish. I know, I am biased here but no-one who identifies with Scottish culture and all that entails could ever be accused of being a poseur.

Well said Phil.