Yes-huh

Someone -- some grown 30-something man, not a 5-year-old -- said this the other night, and I found it totally charming. "Yes-huh." I've already fallen in love with the North Carolina accent, but I'm only starting to get a handle on what it comprises.

There's something about the S's. They're softer, almost lispy but not. And it's widespread, not just a quaintness of my friend Ryan's speech. Tony Earley, the author, read part of his new book on NPR the other day, and the S's felt like sitting in front of a crackling fire. His accent was gorgeous, lilting. (Oh, yeah, the book was too.)

And the I's. Not quite "aah", not quite "ay." They're almost like the "a" in "apple," but rounder and longer, with the diphthong "ee" as a barely audible afterthought. They're effortless.

But "y'all" is my favorite. I've lived in the south for a grand total of almost eight years, between Kentucky, Texas, and now NC, without ever picking up that word. It sounded... well, uneducated and twangy. Irritating. But the North Carolinians use it as its meaning would suggest: it's welcoming. They've mastered just the right length, just the right shape. Y'aaahwlll.

The local pace and tone are the ones you'd use with children in a library, like a constant act of storytelling. People speak quietly here, reservedly and tenderly.