Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

I just wanted to ask for some opinions on something:

"You have a whole 'nother year to work this out."

I've said this all my life, and it's never bothered me until someone pointed
out to me the other day that it made me sound "awfully Southern." I have no
problem with that, but it made me start thinking about some of the things we
say in the South and how and why the language may have evolved that way.
"Whole 'nother" is just "another whole" switched around, but how and why did
it switch around? Why do we say, "I'll be back prently" when what we mean
is, "I'll be back shortly"?

Or I may be the only person who says that; I have no idea. And was I
supposed to put commas after "say" and "is"? Thoughts?

- Allison

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