ASTUDY OF THE LEXICAL VARIANTS OF "CORN BREAD" IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION: 沖縄地域学リポジトリ

Title

ASTUDY OF THE LEXICAL VARIANTS OF "CORN

_{BREAD" IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION}

Author(s)

Chinen, Hirozane

Citation

沖大論叢 = OKIDAI RONSO, 1(2): 11-32

Issue Date

1961-02-25

URL

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12001/10704

Comment

The distribution of "Johnny cake" in the Great Lakes region suggets to us two possibilities that (1) the term may have been more generally in use in the North than in the Midland or in the Coastal South at the period that the Great Lakes region was being settled; and that (2) though "Johnny cake" may not have been used more than "corn bread" at the time of settlement of the Great Lakes region, after the settlement of the Great Lakes region "Johnny cake" lost in competition with "corn bread" in the southern half of the Great Lakes region.l

Areas which have been settled primarily by New York people and New Englanders seem to use the term more frequently than those settled originally by the people of Midland, and the Coastal South. 2

Compared with the distribution of "corn bread", the above fact suggests a possibility: At the time of its coinage, "corn bread" may have spread more rapidly in the Midland than in the North.

Concerning high frequency of the term in Southern Ontario, I think there are two possibilities:

(1) From the geographical point of view, Southern Ontario and Wisconsin and Michigan are all neighboring regions which can influence each other.

(2) Historically speaking, at one time in U. S. history, New Englanders, who once settled in Canada, later migrated down to Michigan and Wisconsin carrying a northern term "johnny cake" with them.3

1 Kurath: Word Geography, p. 67. Kurath is also reporting that "corn bread" is gaining ground over "pone", "corn", and "pone bread" in the valley of Susqueha-nna, in all of Pennsylvania lying to the West of it, and in all the Atlantic states south of Pennsylvania.

2 " ... , the earliest settlements in Michigan and Wisconsin and the northernmost strip of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois was Yankt::e, with the southern half of these states South Midland the Pennsylvania wedge in between."

Francis, ibid, P. 505

3 Compare the chart which appears in page 580, The Structure of American English by Francis.

Chapter 4 CORN PONE Origin

"Corn pone" also seems to be an American coinage.1 The term appears to have been used by American settlers after the coinage of both "corn bread" and "johnny cake." A citation of A Dictionary of American English 2 for this term postdates the earliest "corn bread" citation by 63 years, and the earliest "johnny cake" citation by 120 years.

"Corn pone, a superior kind of c:>rn-bread, made with milk and eggs and bake:! in a pan," Partlett (1859)3.

"Corn pone" is listed as an Americanism in Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American English, DictionarY of Americanisms, Webster's New International, unabridged, and Funk and W agnail's New Standanrd Dictionary of the English Language.

The term, however, is not ·listed as an Americanism in The American Glossary.

Distribution

·Checking the Linguistic Atlas of Eastern United States, we notice that "corn pone" is widely spread throughout the Midland and the South.

Kurath says in the valley of the Susquehanna, in all of Pennsylvania lying to the west of it, and in all the Atlantic states south of Pennsylvania corn pone is widely spread.

The term "cnrn pone" is the third most com·:non response in the Great Lakes region. It is given by 82 (or 22%) of 379 informants.

The term occurs most frequently in Ohio where the response3 were given by 31 (or 4896) of 64 informants.

The number of responses drops in Illinois (19 of 69 informants or 28%) and in Indiana (16 of 51 or 31%).

1 Mencken suggests that though D A E's first example of "corn pone" comes from Bartlett (1859), the term must be much older. Mencken: Supplement Vol, I, P. 1175.

2 Listed in A Dictionary of American English. 3 Ibid.

In Kentucky only 16 (or 2396) of 70 informants gave "corn pone" as their _responses.

The term does not occur in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario.

Area Wisconsin Michigan Illinois Indiana Ohio Kentucky Ontario Total Comment

Fi~. 5 Number of "Corn Pone" Responses by Area Number of Total "Corn Pone" Responses

Informants As First As Second As Third As Fourth Response Response Response Response . 48 63 69 19 2 10 6 51 16 9 4 2 64 31 7 21 3 70 16 5 6 1 14 379 82 23 41 12

Fig. 6 Percentage of Informants Giving "Corn Pone" Responses in Each Area

Area % Wisconsin 0 Michigan 0 Illinois 28 Indiana 31 Ohio 48 Kentucky 23 Ontario 0 Regional Percentage 22 1 1 4 6

The pattern of the "corn pone" responses is the reverse of that of the .. johnny cake" response.

The term "corn pone" is stronest in Ohio and becomes progressively weaker to the west of it, in Indiana and Illinois. In Kentucky the number of responses becomes less than in Illinois.

The distribution of "corn pone" iii the Great Lakes region suggests two possibilities:

in the North at the time that the Great Lakes region was being settled. (2) Even though "corn pone" may not have been stronger in the Midland and the Coastal South than in the North, "corn pone" became dominant in competition with "johnny cake" after the settlement of the Great Lakes region.

The lack of "corn pone" responses in Ontario, Wisconsin, and Michigan may, perhaps, be explained in that these areas were not; settled primarily by immigrants from the Midland and Coasta:I South, where "corn pone" was popular .1

1 Compare the footnote No.2 in page 16. 2 4

-Chapter 5 HOE CAKES and PONES'

1. "Hoe cake" seems to be an American coinage.

The term is listed as an Americanism in Oxford English Dictionary, A Dictionary of Americanisms, A Dictionary of American English, An Ameri-can Glossary.

The term was probably coined relatively early, since early citations are not uncomnon.

"Got Breakfast on Tea and Hoe Cake." In Pa. Mag. Hist. (1745).2 "Sup'd on chocolate and hoe-cake." P. V. Fithian, Journal (1774).3 Concerning the etymology of "hoe -cake," both A Dictionary of Am~rican isms and A Dictionary of American English give the following citation.

"Hoe cake is Indian corn ground into meal, kneaded into dough, and baked before a fire, but as the negroes bake theirs on the hoes that they work with, they have the appellation of hoe-cakes~"

2. "Pone" also appears to be an American coinage. The term is listed as an Americanism in Oxford English Dictionary, A Dictionary of American-isms, A DictionarY: of American English, An American Glossary, and in

---

Mencken.

The coinage of the term must have taken place pretty early, for we have 17th century citations for this term. And these citations are much earlier than any other terms encountered so far in this paper.

"Eating the broth with the bread which they call Ponap." Capt. Smith, Map Virginia (1612).4

As to the above spelling of the term, Mencken says that it (the term) had acquired its present spelling before the end of the 17th century.5

1 Since the patterns of these two terms are essentially the same, I will discuss them in the same chapter.

2 Listed in A Dictionary of Americanisms. 3 Listed in A Dictionary of American English.

4 Listed in Oxford English Dictionary, A Dictionary of Americanisms, A Diction-ary of American English, and in Mencken, Supplement, Vol; I, p. 175.

Concerning the etymology of "pone", Oxford English Dictionary, A Diction-ary of Americanisms, A DictionDiction-ary of American English, and Mencken all agree that the word is derived from an Algonquian word.

Distribution

"Hoe cake" and "pone" . appear to be basically the terms of the Midland and of the Coastal South, according to the Word Geography of the Eastern United States.·

"From Chesapeake Bay to the western parts of Virginia and the Carolinas, hoe cake (44) is used or remembered as a word for hand-shaped corn cake bake:l before an open fire". 1

The term "pone" is widely spread in the valley of the Susquehanna, in all of Pennsylvania lying to the west of it, and in all the Atlantic states south of Pennsylvania. 2

Further, Kurath says that "relics of pone in the Philadelphia area indicate that this term was formerly current throughout the South and the Midland."3 "Hoe cake" and "p:me" are the third and fourth most common responses, respectively, in the Great Lakes region. "Hoe cake" is given by 45 (or 12%) of 379 informants, and "pon<!" is given by. 32 (or 8%) of 379 informants.

Both terms occur most frequently in Kentucky where the "hoe cake" responses were given by 30 (or 43%) of 70 informants, and the "pone" responses were given by 21 (or 3096) of 70 informants.

The number of responses in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois of these two terms drops sharply. In Illinois "hoe cake", 10 of 69 informants or 14%; "pone", 7 of 69 informants or 6%. Indiana: "Hoe cake", 2 of 59 informants or 4%; "pone", 3 of 59 informants or 6%. Ohio: "Hoe cake", 2 of 64 informants or 5%; "pone", 3 of 64 informants o~ 5%.

1 Kurath: Word Geography, p. 39. 2 Kurath: Word Geography, p. 67. 3 Ibid.

-In Wisconshin the number of responses decreases further: "hoe cake", 1 of 48 informants or 2%; "pone", 1 of 48 informants or 2%.

The term does not occur in Michigan and Ontario.

Area Wisconsin Michigan Illinois Indiana Ohio Kentucky Ontario Total

Fi~. 7 Number of "Hoe Cake" Responses by Area Number of Total "Hoe Cake" Responses

Informants As First As Second As Third As Fouth Response Response Response Response

48 1 1 63 69 10 3 6 1 51 2 2 64 2 1 1 70 30 10 7 7 6 14 379 45 14 15 10 6

Fig. 8 Percentage of Informants Giving" Hoe Cake" Responses in Each Area Area

%

Fi~. 9 Number of "Pone" Responses by Area Area Number of Total "Pone" Responses

Informants As First As Second As Third As Fourth Res12onse Res12onse R~onse Response Wisconsin 48 1 1 Michigan 63 Illinois 69· 4 4 Ohio 64 3 1 2 Indiana 51 3 2 1 Kentucky 70 21 5 7 7 2 Ontario 14 Total 379 32 8 11 11 2

Fig. 10 Percentage of Informants Giving "pone" Responses

Area

%

Chapter 6 CONCLUSIONS Limitations of the conclusions

1. Validity of the Great Lakes region data. Though there is little doubt of the exactness of the data recorded, those materials have certain defects: (1) The number of informants and their locations, (2) no absolute unifor-mity in the nature of the informants, (3) no two field workers transcri-be exactly alike. Consequently, those data receive the limitations of

coverage and may not exactly reflect the usage of the region.

2. Other sources than the Great Lakes region data. Because of the lack of time, I can't go to other materials which may be valuable in this pro-ject. I feel further research may well have reached more sound and more reasonable conclusions.

Conclusions

1. In this paper I discussed five most common variants of corn bread: "corn bread", "johnny cake", "corn pone", "hoe cake", and "pone." 2. Including all, for this paper I found 38 variants.

3. "Corn bread" seems to be the base form from which other forms are defined. Except ."pone", four variants ·are American coinages. "Pone" is a derivative. According to the citations, their coinages and derivation probably took place at or before the following dates.

Corn bread 1796

Johnny cake 1739

Corn pone 1859

Hoe cake 1775

Pone 1612

4. "Corn bread" is the most common term in the Great Lakes region of the five variants. While it is widely distributed in the regions discussed in this paper, except in southern Ontario, it is strongest in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio states, and becomes less strong in Wisconsin and Michigan, and in Kentucky.

5. "Johnny cake" is the second most common variant, occurring 60% as often as "corn bread." It is most common in Ontario and its frequency decreases southward.

-6. "Corn pone" is the third most common variant in the area, occurring only 3296 as often as "corn bread", and 53% as often as "johnny ca,ke." The pattern of distribution is almost the reverse of that of "johnny cake." It is relatively strong in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio while there are no responses in Wisc:msin, Michigan, and Ontario.

7. "Hoe cakes" and "pones" are least common of the five variants. "Hoe cakes" oceur only 18% as often as "corn bread", only 29% as often as "johnny cake", and 55% as often as "corn pone;"

"Pone" occurs only 13% as often as ."corn bread", only 21% as often as "johnny cake", and 39% as often as "corn pote." Occurrences of these two variants are es3entially the same; that is, they are generally restricted to the area in and around the state of Kentucky.

8. "Corn bread" must have spread early and its spread must have been significantly substantial. This may account for its wide distribution throughout the Eastern part of the United Statea and the Great Lakes region.

9. "Johnny cake" probably remained longer as a predominating term in the north than in the Midland or the Coastal South in the early period of U. S. history. This may account for its greater strength, in northern states of the Great Lakes region.

10. "Corn pone" may have remained longer as a dominating. variant in the Midland and in the Coastal South than in the North in the early history of the United States. This may account for its comparative strength in the southern portion of the Great Lakes region.

11. Like "corn p:me", "hoe c:tke3" and" pones" may have remained longer as pre:hninating terms in the Midland and in the Coast! South than in the North. This may account for its relative strength in and around Kentucky.

-Bibliography

Davis, Alva Leroy, A Word Atlas of the Great Lakes Region, an unpublish-ed doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1948.

Davis, Richard M., Firefly and Variants in the Great Lakes Region, an unpublished term paper at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1958.

Francis, W. Nelson, The Structure of American English, The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1958.

Kurath, Hans et aJ., Linguistic Atlas of New Eng!and, Brown University, Providence, 1939.

Kurath, Hans et al, A Word Geography of the Eastern United States, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1949.

Mencken, H. L., The- American Language, Alfred A Knopf, New York, 1936.

Mencken, H. L., The American Language Supplement I, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1945.

Mencken, H. L., The American Language Supplement II, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1948.

Thornton, Richard H., An American Glossary, Francis & Co., London, 1912.

The American College Dictionary, Ed. Clarence L. Barnhart, Harper & Brothers, New York & London, 1948.

The Dictionary of American English, Ed. Sir William A. Craigie and James

R. Hulbert, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1940.

A Dictionary of Americanisms, Ed. Mitford M. Mathews, University of Chicago press, Chicago, 1951.

Funk & W agnalls New Standard Dictionary of the English Language, Isaac K. Funk ed. in chief, Funk & Wagnalls, New York & London, 1946.

Tht" Oxford English Dictionary, The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1933. Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, Wm. A. Neilson Ed. in chief, G & C Merriam Company, Springfield, Mass., 1950.