I thought this was really neat! I used to live in the Northeast and when I was transplanted to the South-definitely things to get used to! The kids didn't know what "sneakers" were and there were definitely no hoagies on the menu anymore! http://www.businessinsider.com/22-maps-that-show-the-deepest-linguistic-conflicts-in-america-2013-6?op=1
I also saw this on fb and thought it was really interesting. The only thing I don't pronounce "correctly" according to my region is "pajamas." Back in OH it was "pop" for sure. Here in CO I hear a mix of pop and soda, probably a little heavier on the soda. Sometimes I catch myself saying soda which my friends from home always balk at!
Crayon is "cran" for me- which is barely on the map in Wisconsin. My dad's side is from Michigan's UP, 15 minutes from Wisconsin, so maybe this is why... I have adopted 'y'all', but it is still usually 'you guys'. I also pronounce 'pecan' the UP/Wisconsin way. We also have 'expressways', not freeways or highways. That wasn't an option, but maybe that is why southeast Michigan is white... I need a NJ person to explain merry, marry, and mary.
I disagree with the "mayonnaise" thing. Everyone where I am from calls it "man-ayz", two syllables. According to the map, however, it's supposed to be three.
I'm not from NJ... but: merry is pronounced something like MEH-ry, with the vowel in "bet" except that it's R-colored. marry is pronounced something like MAA-ry, with the vowel in "cat" except that it's R-colored. One could also say that it's pronounced more or less as in British English. Mary, as nearly as I understand it, is pronounced something like MAY-ry, with a vowel that is nearer long A than anything else (though, again, R-colored). This one's definitely not part of my native dialect. I'll add that, in my native dialect, these three words are homophones, though I do occasionally use the second pronunciation.
Most were right for me. I do use "you all". We were a fairly limited group. I say it fast, but it still isn't "y'all". "Y'all" is only paired with "all" for groups. Example: "Are all y'all going to the movies tomorrow night?"
I've lived in NY or NJ my entire life. However, when I was in college, I decided I didn't like my accent and got rid of it. Before that, I pronounced words like this: drawer - draw gorgeous - gawgess talk - tawk floor - flaw forget it - fa get it
I must point out one inaccuracy: in Connecticut, a sandwich on a long roll is not a sub, it's a "grinder!"
So, who here has never heard the saying, 'the devil is beating his wife.' when the sun is shining at the same time as it is raining? My grandma Said that all the time when I was little and I am in the south but not in the states it was known.
I am in rural VA and had a student teacher from Maryland a couple years back. The kids and I were amazed at her pronunciation of crayon. It sounded just like "crown." I had a best friend from Baltimore in college but I guess we never talked much about school supplies.
I was an adult for a long while before I heard that phrase used for a sun shower. The person that said it warned me before she used it knowing I was not from the area.
I had no idea that people don't call them gym shoes in other parts of the country. And I also call it "cran" and so does everyone I work with
Well, New Jersey is a whole other can of worms! I was the opposite. My college roommate was from New Jersey-so I used to come home tawking like that-to much ridicule from my family I might add!
I used to say "crown" when I was younger until my mother made me practice it until I could say cray-n. From my experience most little kids in my area say "crown" until they are taught otherwise.
:lol: The first time someone walked into the pizza place I worked at and ordered a grinder, I had no freaking clue what they were talking about! The only grinder I knew was a meat grinder for sausage! I think I'm fairly accurate on most pronunciations for my area, though I do have some PA/NY influences from my parents. Everyone says I pronounce "milk" wrong. When I say it, it rhymes with "elk." :dunno: and "roof" rhymes with "hoof." I'm in the process of teaching BF some Heynabonics so he understands my relatives at my family reunion He's already used to me asking "Djeet?"
Love these things! I've never understood NOT calling it caramel. I mean, just read the word, people! The lawyer thing threw me, though. Seriously, doesn't everyone say law-yer? Confused. I say, as do most people here, suhr-up...didn't really feel that was represented. Sneakers is a word that for whatever reason goes all over me! They're tenna shoes here.
I was taught several such things to explain weather when I was a child. And I totally believed it, too. :lol:
It seems that I have mostly East Coast pronunciation, but that doesn't surprise me, since that's where I lived when I first came to this country.(Baltimore area, city and about 3 hours away in the country before that). I guess those were my 'formative' years, because I only lived there for 4 years before I moved to California, where I have been living for 17 years. Also because English is my second language a lot of words I pronounce based on how they're written. I've learned English completely on my own, in Hungary, so I didn't have a native speaker helping me, I got my instruction from books. So words like 'syrup' I looked at as 'sirup' and I probably say it like that more than any of the other pronunciation. also: I say loyer for lawyer, but probably because there was supposed to be a rule that the 'a' is pronounced 'o' before 'w' or 'l'. (British English, but I'm not even sure if it's a real rule) So it would be loyer, and tolk -> talk. Of course since then I learned that 'talk' is 'talk', etc, but the loyer stuck.
I don't use you guys...unless it's all males. I say guys and gals. I get caught with root beer. We usually say root like foot. I know cousin in Ohio say root like hoot. I say it either way...
I love this. I've got a few things to say: 1. I've never heard anyone here in CA say "pop" instead of soda. Everyone calls it soda here. 2. Lawyer has always been pronounced "loy-er." I've only heard it pronounced "law-yer" in old movies. 3. Other people don't say freeway? According to the map--it's a CA thing! 4. Pajamas= "puh-JAM-uhs"...in my book, at least. Final thought: Drive thru liquor store??? Really???
It's cold in the winter up here in the Rust Belt Drive through convenience stores are common- and some sell liquor. Of course, in my neck of the woods, it is a 'party store', not a 'convenience store'!
Only think we ever talk about is road (road going both directions with or without yellow line in the middle), highway (divided road with two or more lanes in each direction with direct access), and interstate (divided road with access via ramps only). We don't even have liquor stores. I live in a dry area. The next town has liquor sales. They do most of their business via the drive-thru.
These things always teach me that somehow I missed my southern heritage. I almost always pronounce things in the Northern style, but I was raised in Tennessee. My parents have southern accents. I'm a little oddball.
Were they from Missouri or southern Illinois? My dad talks like that, and it drives me crazy. There is no additional "r" in those words! He also says Muzzeruh.
We have drive-thru liquor stores. There are even a few that have garage door sized entries that allow you to drive thru the building. You can get out to get what you want or they'll bring it to your car.
The idea of drive-through liquor stores really, really bothers me. I remember when I first learned they existed on this site years ago...someone said they actually sell drinks with the plastic-x-for-straw covers on them with a sticker over the straw hole. Because, you know, that would prevent someone from enjoying it while driving. It's such a ridiculous idea. You can't buy alcohol in my county and I'm glad.
here you go: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wx6LDJYi8x I recorded me saying them. It is a difference of inflection, essentially.
I was born in California but raised in New York till college. Because of that I can usually place a New Yorker within about 15 miles of where they grew up (6 if they are from Long island). It is not too hard to Spot/hear a Minnesotan. North and South Dakotans are similar but you can pick them apart. Chicagoans are distinct. Southern Californians are distinct. I love accents
Wow, I didn't realize there were still places where you cant buy alcohol. That map showed GA as a place with drive through liquor stores but I've never seen one. I don't drink though so maybe I just missed it.
One word/name I struggle with is the difference between Don and Dawn. I have to really, really try to to not pronounce them the same. However, I can hear the difference when some people pronounce them.
I have forced different words into my own verbal repertoire (not sure why). I grew up with / what I say instead (and sometimes get flack for it): pop / soda couch / sofa purse / handbag
