Oklahoma Ten - Text
This recording is of a 52-year-old Caucasian female. She designs Western/Cowboy/ Outlaw-inspired jewelry, clothing, and accessories at the Bone Dust Cowgirl gallery in the Paseo District of Oklahoma City, OK. Born and raised in Shawnee, OK, she has also lived in Key West, FL and Santa Fe, NM. She also was very close to a grandmother who was born and raised in Kentucky. R consonant is hard and lengthened. Medial R can eclipse a following syllable that ends with R consonant (mirror, nearer). Ending “d” and “t” often drops. Beginning plosive consonants, such as “d” and “g,” are very strong, muscled. Medial “t” drops (vintage, sentimental). “Sh” inserts into the consonant blend “str,” forming “shtr.” The “g” on –ing endings drops. “oo” vowel (zoo, duke) lengthens and is preceded by a schwa/soft “uh” sound. “oo” is also nasal. Short “a” sound in nasal as well. Short vowels “i” (kit) and “e” (get) lengthen and receive additional stress. The diphthong “A” (paint, place, daily) becomes the diphthong “I.” The diphthong “I” (time, right side, price) becomes the long “ah” sound (father). The diphthong “O” (don’t, bowl) lengthens, and approaches the diphthong “OW.”
TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH
(hammering sound is from leather construction in other room)
I t-take a blank belt buckle that I order offline, and I spray paint it black. And then, but before I do that, I collect from flea markets and garage sales and stuff…uh..,.used, broken, vintage...uh..jewelry. And I…after I paint them up, I glue all the jewelry on the uh buckle. And then I just glue the pieces on the buckle. And then I also add James’ little dead Okies on the buckle. And then he pours a mixture on top, and then I take them, and I sell them for a lot of money. And then I take..uh…cut up old cowboy belts and James puts a snap on them and then I take..uh..paints and I paint the tooling. And these are vintage. They’re really old, and when I paint them, it just brings out a really cool fullness to the tooling. And er…So whoever wears them, uh, was wearing the spirit of an old cowgirl, cowboy. And then it’s got my spirit in them. So….we call it the…Bone Dust, Bone Dust, Oklahoma.
[subject reads from an original poem about Bone Dust, Oklahoma]
Where in the world is Bone Dust, Oklahoma? Don’t bother pulling out the official state map of Oklahoma to find Bone Dust. There is no zip code and no state highway cutting a path through it. Bone Dust is not a place. It is a state of mind. Go deep within yourself, deeper than your gut to the very core of who you are. Along the way, you’ll see the heartaches and trials, pains, and suffering. Upon uh-arrival at your destination, you will find strength and second chances. Not everyone will go to Bone Dust, but that’s just as well because it’s not for the faint of heart. The rewards for your journey are unique, edgy, and gut-inspired, a true likeness of the one who first discovered this mysterious place…the Bone Dust Cowgirl.
SAMPLE RECORDED, SPEECH TRANSCRIBED, AND NOTES WRITTEN BY BEN CORBETT ON JUNE 20, 2009.
Running time: 04:49