real instead of really

[ibex]

Hello,

I had only intended to read into Anne of Green Gables to see whether my little sister would enjoy it or not, but I found myself not being able to put it down. I guess the language is probably a bit outdated, though, as it was written over a century ago, in 1908. L.M. Montgomery often used "real" in contexts where I would have expected a "really", like people being "real grateful" or in "a real fine evening" or "a real gool plain sensible name". There's plenty of examples in the book.
Does it only sound strange to me or is it decidedly an old-fashioned way of expressing oneself?

[tiorthan]

It's not old-fashioned (although it may be in some regions, I cannot possible know them all). It's still used today, and quite often, I might add.

[Keswick (Contributor)]

tiorthan is right, it is still used these days, but mainly in the US if I may add. It's not commonly used in the UK.