Wasps Vs Waspers: Same Critter but Differences In Dialect

marxrab (65)in #life • 8 years ago

I thought I'd share a funny story about misunderstandings due to cultural differences:

When my husband and I were still dating and first moved in together in 2013, we started learning new things about each other....differences in language being one of them. In our first home (a rental in South Dakota) we had a yellow jacket nest in the roof of the house. We had only been living in the house a few months and kept finding yellow jackets in the loft.

I think they were coming in through the light fixture. Anyways, one day I was up in the loft on the desktop computer we had when I noticed a yellow jacket. I was afraid of it and when it flew towards me I got down on the floor. While on the floor I looked towards the window to the loft thinking I could open it and hope the thing would fly out. Unfortunately, two other yellow jackets emerged from the light and started flying around.

I sat on the floor afraid of getting stung. Then I heard my husband downstairs. I yelled down "Bear (my pet name for him)! Come help me! I'm trapped by waspers."

He yelled back "You're trapped by what?"

"I'm trapped by waspers! Come help me so I don't get stung."

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said. "Repeat what you need."

"WASPERS!" I yelled. "There are waspers flying around up here."

My husband comes upstairs and says "I still don't know what you're talking about."

I point at the yellow jackets and say "There is a wasper right there. How many times do I have to say it."

"Oh you mean wasps" my husband said. "I didn't know what the hell you were saying."

After rescuing me, he then proceeded to tease me for using the term "waspers." That is the word my mom and brothers always used. It was also used by all my relatives growing up. Waspers is what I thought they were called. It wasn't until this interaction with my husband that I realized I was using a word that was part of my culture.

I did some research and the term "wasper" is found in the southern U.S. More specifically, it is an Appalachian term. Since I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee it is a normal word for my culture. I knew that they were called wasps. I'd read the word in books and heard the word used by people all the time. When I thought of the insect I always automatically used the term wasper without every really thinking about it. I didn't realize for 28 years of my life that I was using a word I was taught by my culture that didn't exist everywhere.

My husband would later tease me for using the phrase "the snow is laying" to indicate that when it is snowing the snow isn't melting. He says the snow is "sticking." I noticed my family on social media using the term "laying" as well so I guess that is regional too. I tease him for pronouncing mirror as may-ror. He's from the eastern shore of Virginia so he doesn't have a southern accent like me. At least I have a few things I can tease him about.