Young St. Louisans: Hold On to the Traditional STL Dialect

I have been noticing for quite some time that younger St. Louisans are losing the unique accent that most think of their grandparents or parents having. Let's keep the St. Louis dialect alive.

I must admit, my dialect has become quite homogenized, but my St. Louis accent does come out on occasion. St. Louis dialect is unique. With St. Louis being smack-dab in the middle of the country, there are many influences on our accent: upper Midwest, the south, some hints of the East Coast.

While going to school in Springfield, MO, Ozark/Hillbilly country, I was told I sound like I'm from Boston or New York, which really is absurd. While spending a summer on Cape Cod, 100 miles from Boston, it was definitely clear that I didn't have any thing close to a Boston accent. Most my coworkers at the Captain's Table said I spoke pretty much normal, like how newscasters talk, except saying "saalad" (the "aa" sound, as in the a sound in "that") instead of "solid." One gal said I had a bit of a Southern drawl, which I can agree with, but it's more of a country drawl as opposed to Southern.

I will now provide a brief list of words-- with the proper St. Louis dialect, to encourage young St. Louisans to keep our dialect alive and less homogenized:

Forty- Farty
Wash- Warsh
Sink-Zink
For- Far
Order- Arder
Gravois- Gravoiz
Morgan Ford- Margen Fard
Brewery- Brury
Hot-fudge sundae- Hot-Fudge sunda.
Quarter- Carter

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I encourage you to leave comments with more "St. Louisisms."

Young people, let's embrace the St. Louis accent before it dies out with the older generation.

Straight Outta Bevo

The Bosnian War brought many Bosnian refugees to St. Louis in the 1990s. With an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Bosnian immigrants, St. Louis now boasts the largest Bosnian population in the United States. The country of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only place in the world with more Bosnian people.

Most of the Bosnian immigrants in St. Louis settled in the Bevo Mill neighborhood, which some now call Little Bosnia. Bosnian restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, and even an office for a national Bosnian-American newspaper, SabaH, are located in the Bevo neighborhood.

Bosnian-Americans in St. Louis strive to carry-on the culture and customs from their homeland, while also blending with American culture. “A lot of the young ones are trying to rap,” says a middle aged Bosnian immigrant who goes by Z. Now, there is a worldwide culture in rap music. But it is interesting that these young Bosnian-Americans that live in the Midwest, some who have lived here most of their lives, choose to rap in their native language. This sustains an integral part of Bosnian culture, especially for the Bosnian-Americans born in the U.S.

I ask Z if he has ever heard of the group Krazy Bosnians. He laughs, not relating to rap like the younger Bosnian-Americans. “Which ones? There are a lot of crazy Bosnians.”

Of course I am not talking about crazy Bosnians, but the rap group Krazy Bosnians, St. Louis’ top Bosnian rap group. With over 210,000 views of their MySpace site, the Krazy Bosnians have quite a following for mostly playing the cafes, or bars, in the Bevo neighborhood. Krazy Bosnians rap in both English and Bosnian which makes them more accessible to American listeners, as opposed to SouthSide Bosanci, who rap almost solely in Bosnian and are influenced by soccer anthems.

But whether the Bosnian rap groups from Bevo are accessible to Americans or not, it is terrific that by blending Bosnian and American culture through rap will keep Bosnian culture strong for 2nd and 3rd generation Bosnian-Americans.

One Chocolate Malt, Made With Real Ice Cream

In a mostly residential neighborhood at the corner of Bates and Ulena in the Bevo/Holly Hills area sits a small walk-up restaurant called Mr. Yummy's. The Dijon mustard-colored building and hand painted signs that advertise livers, gizzards, and wings coax in the brave- people who aren't apprehensive about heart-disease or a shabby looking restaurant.

The food served at Mr. Yummy's is nothing special, it's your classic American fare: burgers, fries, hot dogs, and fried chicken, served up good and greasy. Ice-cream, shakes, and malts round out the handwritten menu for dessert.

The burgers are served wrapped in a paper towel, which is essential to sop up the grease, and the salty, crinkle-cut French fries are good, but not great. If you like fried chicken gizzards, this item is your best bet, only because a lot of restaurants don't serve gizzards. For anyone who's never had a gizzard, it is almost like eating tasty deep fried rubber.

You're as likely to get food just as good as Mr. Yummy's, or better, at one of the many neighborhood bars. And during the summer, Ted Drewes on South Grand is only about two miles away. With this being said, there is still reason to go to Mr. Yummy's, if only to appreciate the concept and not the food. The independent, one-man operation, walk-up restaurant in St. Louis has nearly been wiped off the urban landscape by fast food chains.

And go ahead, order a chocolate malt, there won't be a line like Ted Drewes. While you're waiting for "Mr. Yummy" to shout "One chocolate malt, made with real ice cream," maybe you'll hear the payphone beneath the Mr. Yummy's sign ring.
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What SUCKS More: Hoosier Bars or Hipster Bars?

Most twenty and thirty-somethings that enjoy the south St. Louis nightlife have been to both Hoosier and hipster bars. Hoosier bars, think South Broadway. Hipster bars, think South Grand.

SURE, THERE'S SIMILARITIES:

• Most of the music will probably suck. At hoosier bars it will mostly be bad country music and KSHE 95 fare rock 'n roll. But every now and then, with a sigh of relief, you'll hear some Hank Williams or Thin Lizzy. At hipster bars, the juke will be blasting whatever Pitchfork says is cool. Fortunately, not every artist reviewed by Pitchfork is an obscure electropop group from Sweden.

• Cheap Stag and PBR. Two beer icons from the past. Hoosiers never quit drinking it and hipsters drink it because it's "vintage" and cheap.

• Men will sport Mustaches. Hipsters, leave the mustaches to the Hoosiers, the irony's gone.

...And a riddle: I'm thinking of two types of people in south St. Louis. Both start with an H, end with an R, have seven letters and (insert comparison here.)

AND THE DIFFERENCES:

• At a hoosier bar, there will always be some drunken idiot playing scratchers at the bar that wants to be your new best friend. At a hipster bar, people are too cool to make friends.

• You're more likely to get beat up at a hoosier bar by that same drunken idiot playing scratchers, you know, the guy that wanted to be your best friend. At a hipster bar you're more likely to get felt up during an electronic remix of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing."

• The jeans.

• Generally speaking, attractive individuals frequent hipster bars more than hoosier bars.

For your interweb pleasure: Look at This Fucking Hipster

...And a clip from Peter E. Parisi's classic St. Louis public access program, World Wide Magazine, "Brain Sandwiches." Eugene Horner and Vince try a brain sandwich at Dieckmeyer's Tavern, 6201 S. Broadway. Dieckmeyer's is now Kicker's Corner Sports Bar.

December, Already Wanting Summer in Carondelet

Winter sucks in St. Louis. December's here and that cutthroat Jack Frost is getting ready to exhale on the Gateway City. There may be a few more days to get out to the parks and enjoy some activities, but they're going quick. And forget about the evenings. It gets dark at 5 p.m. and colder as the sun goes down. With the St. Louis winter breathing down my neck, I am reminded of summertime activities in some of the area parks.

HORSESHOES: Carondelet Park offers 10 horseshoe pits with wooden backstops. The pits are well lit so you can play until the park closes at 10 p.m. or the cops kick you out. Make sure to bring your own shoes to toss and a shovel to loosen the dirt pits.

FISHING: There are two great lakes to cast lines in Carondelet Park, Boathouse Lake and Horseshoe Lake. I prefer Boathouse Lake for trying to catch catfish. Two summers ago a little old lady pulled out a 17-pounder. Horseshoe Lake is where I prefer to drop nets for crawdads. But no matter what you like to fish for, both lakes are stocked once a month with a variety of different fish.

CARONDELET CONCERT SERIES: There is a variety of free music offered through the parks in the Carondelet neighborhood. This past summer, South St. Louis Square Park had free music on Monday evenings in June. Bellerive Park, over-looking the Mississippi River, presented bluegrass concerts Monday evenings in July. Sunday evenings, throughout the entire summer, Carondelet Park featured artists ranging from polka to an Elvis impersonator. Next summer’s concert schedules have not been posted yet…so check back closer to summer.

Summer in South St. Louis is great. Sure, this winter we might get some snow for sledding, but I'll trade a couple days of sledding for a summer night in Carondelet any day.

Check out the Carondelet Community Betterment Federation