Date:  Thu, 12 May 1994 13:53:46 EDT

From:  David Bergdahl <bergdahl[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]OUVAXA.CATS.OHIOU.EDU>

Subject: peckerwood



          Ohio University Electronic Communication





  Date: 12-May-1994 01:46pm EST



   To: Remote Addressee           ( _MX%"ADS-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UGA.CC.UGA.EDU )



  From: David Bergdahl               Dept: English

     BERGDAHL                 Tel No: (614) 593-2783



Subject: peckerwood





    Our lunch bunch came up with a query today: they wanted to know abt

PECKERWOOD. I said, quoting Carver's American Regional Dialects that it was an

example of metathesis or inversion, and gave some of his examples: hoppergrass,

carbox, doll-baby [which is very prevalent around here], right-out &c. No, no,

they said, they didn't want to know about it as an example of a type of word

formation, they wanted to know how it got to be a slur. Three questions,

really, now: (1) Do you recognize peckerwood as an insult? (2) What's the

meaning? (3) What groups are involved? is the peckerwood always a white? do

whites use the term as well as blacks?

                        DAVID

David Bergdahl Ohio University/Athens OH    BERGDAHL[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]OUVAXA.CaTS.OHIOU.EDU

        "Gateway to Appalachia"







Received: 12-May-1994 01:53pm