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Wednesday, December 21, 2005
It’s North vs. South in good-natured culture clash
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Al Asad Air Base, Iraq — Georgia’s soldiers are learning the art of “cawfee� talk in Iraq.
Yes, “cawfee.� As in how the Yankees in their unit pronounce coffee. Add “dawgs� for dogs and “bettuh� for better. Then throw in some Northern phrases like “wicked bad,� which means really good, and that is enough to make the Georgians’ heads spin.
National Guard soldiers from across Georgia are serving in the 48th Brigade Combat Team with scores of Northerners from the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment of Rhode Island. The 172nd pulls troops from all over the Northeast, including New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut.
After fighting alongside the Northerners for months in Iraq, some Georgians find the culture clash has become a source of much good-natured bantering. Some of the Southerners have started dropping their r’s like New Yorkers. Others do it just to tease each other.
Sgt. Jesse Bowling of Lumber City smiled when he spotted one of his Rhode Island buddies, Spc. Gregory Carter, wandering around piles of auto parts at the motor pool recently.
“Cawter!� Bowling shouted. “Did you find some pawts?�
“When he first said ‘pawts,’ â€? Bowling said, “we said, ‘Are you going to do some cooking?’ â€?
The Northerners also say they have trouble understanding their counterparts from the South. The Georgians greet them with “y’all� and pronounce “pens� as “pins.� Carter laughed as he talked about how he heard a Georgian use a made-up word.
“I learned a new word from these guys, ‘The onliest thing you got to worry about.’ â€? Carter said, imitating his friend.
Despite their occasional communication problems, the soldiers appear to get along well — even when they talk about the Civil War. On the night before Thanksgiving, a few of them were excitedly discussing the war at Camp Korean Village, a small U.S. military outpost near the Jordanian border.
First Lt. Jeff Ahern of Johnston, R.I., proudly talked about how he plays a Union soldier in Civil War battle re-enactments. Sitting across from Ahern, Capt. William Bailey of Milledgeville said he played a Confederate soldier once.
There was a touch of tension in the air when 1st Lt. Alan Dufresne of Warwick, R.I., walked into the room and rolled his eyes.
“The only thing you have to know about the Civil War is who won,� Dufresne joked.
As if to rub it in, Dufresne imitated a Southern drawl. Bailey immediately saw an opening and jumped in.
“What was funny was your attempt at a Southern accent. Because it was really quite pathetic,� Bailey said.
Dufresne shot back: “That wasn’t a Southern accent. That was a Capt. Bailey accent.�
