Regional Speech Differences

SuzyQq02 · June 2014

I'm reading a list online of things New Englanders say differently than other parts of the country. Some I know (we use "wicked" to mean "very"), others I didn't realize weren't common place!

Kitty corner = diagonally across from each other

Bang a U-ey = Make a U turn

Tractor trailer = 18 wheeler truck

Any fun expressions from your region that took you awhile to realize weren't what everyone else said?

magentawarped · June 2014

When I lived in Cali for a year, I had to learn a few. Making a U-turn was "flipping a bitch" and underwear was "chonies".

djtippietoes · June 2014

It wasn't until I moved to the South that I realized that not everyone referred to a group of people as "you guys."

Flyingtoast · June 2014

Flip a (female dog) = u turn
Trousers - nice pants without butt pockets
Cagoule- light jack typically rain proof. Can include matching pants
Kids-baby goats

Kitty corner, tractor trailer( well it's only the trailer, the truck isn't a trailer), u-ey I was familiar with.

magentawarped · June 2014

KatyBriggs said:
Coke in Texas is used to mean any sort of sweetened carbonated beverage.
"I'll have a coke"
"what kind?"
"root beer"
Which is funny since Coke isn't even from here.

Same when I lived in Atlanta, but Coke IS from there. We had a family friend visit one time and she asked for a Pepsi. The waitress looked at her like she'd just ordered broiled puppy.

emar129 · June 2014

I'm in Ohio and I use somewhat similar ones!

"Catty corned"

"Hang a u-ey"

"Semi"

Meghan14 · June 2014

It took me a very long time to figure out tennis shoes actually meant any kind of sneakers.

Since moving to TX I've mostly changed "you guys" to "you all". Still can't bring myself to say "y'all"

Grammar lesson: "y'all" is for 2. "all y'all" for 3 or more. As in "All y'alls are bitches" This was taught to me by a very drunk retired English teacher.

BTW- all of the New England ones sound completely normal to this Long Island girl. Except grinder- which no one mentioned anyway- I will not stand for that.

SuzyQq02 · June 2014

@PSK, yes! Thanks for the link! When I was reading this list, I kept thinking about it, but couldn't remember where it came from. It's really interesting!

notreal2 · June 2014

I am from Pittsburgh. It wasn't until I was in college that I learned phrases like "The floor needs swept" and "My hair needs washed" were grammatically incorrect.

Flyingtoast · June 2014

"What do you call the area of grass between the sidewalk and the road?" b.) parking

I snotrle loled at that.

Noethola · June 2014

In Cincinnati we often say "please" when what we mean is "would you repeat yourself?"

JackieP1023 · June 2014

I grew up in WI, but now live in MO... I have had some of these things come up where my husband looks at me like I'm nuts for saying something... Like bubbler/water fountain, semi/big rig/tractor trailer, hang a u-ey/make a u-turn, kitty corner/catty corner. MH still makes fun of me for saying kitty corner.

blackbettieberrie · June 2014

This reminds of a dialect quiz I took. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=0
My husband and I took it and it was very accurate.

AndreaG2010 · June 2014

I'm from Indiana and have lived in Louisiana for 10 years. It was a culture shock at first with all the differences. We say cart (shopping cart) in Indiana, In Louisiana they call it a buggy. You guys/Y'all, Going to/Fixin' to, Chuck it or throw away/Chunk it, pass out/fall out, car payment/ car note. I know there are more but after 10 years I've gotten so used to it I can't think of any more.

gingerm84 · June 2014

Cool quiz @psk‌! Very accurate, most red on Richmond, Va which is where I grew up!

tangerinemachine · June 2014

CANADA: This is my husband and his friends after that stupid song: do ya wanna go out for a rip? Eh? Do ya bud?

djtippietoes · June 2014

kookie1287 said:

I had DH take the quiz and apparently in GA when it's raining when the sun is still out they call this "the devil beating his wife". WTF? I have lived in GA for over 20 years and have never heard this. Plus, in the situation mentioned above, it's just raining - no crazy term needed.

My husband said that too when he took that. I've never heard it either. (He's from SC.)

djtippietoes · June 2014

That quiz gave me Baltimore. I grew up in the DC surburbs, so not too far off.

hammysmommy · June 2014

The only one I can think of that hasn't been mentioned (New Englander here) is "I have off {insert day(s) here}" when telling someone what days off you have for the week/month.

i.e. I have off Thursday for a dr's appointment.
or even worse: I have off on the 10th for a dr's appointment.

It's so not structured correctly, but it's ingrained. And there are so many people here in NH that I've heard say it (myself included). One would think we'd be able to say "I'm off on the 10th for a doctors appointment", but no, "I have off"....

TessyMessy · June 2014

Wow that quiz is crazy! I got Newark/Patterson. I was born in Hackensack NJ. Sometimes I let my Jersey show more than others like when I say "cawfee" or "dawg" or refer to the dresser "draw" instead of drawer.

Meghan14 · June 2014

@RosiePeare I confused the hell out of the kid working at the pizza place when I tried to order "2 large cheese pies"

Even after 5 years in PA and 10 in TX, the quiz has me as a definite New Yorker- NYC or Yonkers. I laughed at the "Mary, Merry, Marry" question. My co-workers were baffled when I pronounced all 3 words distinctly different. Then I saw on the map what a small portion of the country actually does this.

littlepig2 · June 2014

I never noticed I said things differently until I went to college. I'm from south Jersey so I say "wooder" "hoooome" "phoooone" and mush words together like "geat (like cheat but with a g sound) yet?" for did you eat yet. also it is NOT "going to the shore". you're going to the beach. us locals will fight you on that forever!

TessyMessy · June 2014

Rach521 said:
I never noticed I said things differently until I went to college. I'm from south Jersey so I say "wooder" "hoooome" "phoooone" and mush words together like "geat (like cheat but with a g sound) yet?" for did you eat yet. also it is NOT "going to the shore". you're going to the beach. us locals will fight you on that forever!

@Rach521‌ Agreed. Locals go to the beach. Not down the shore. What do you call people who go down the shore? Are they "Bennys" or "Shoobies"?

littlepig2 · June 2014

@TessyMessy‌ shoobies!! I heard bennies was a north Jersey term. which do you say and where are you in the great divide, north or south??

TessyMessy · June 2014

Rach521 said:
@TessyMessy‌ shoobies!! I heard bennies was a north Jersey term. which do you say and where are you in the great divide, north or south??

@Rach521 We migrated to Seaside Park (not Heights) when I was in elementary school. The Tom's River area was like the dividing line between north and south Jersey. We got NY and Philly TV channels and had a mix of sports fans. But we called them Bennies which stands for Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark and New York.
Shoobies usually come from south Jersey and PA!
It's funny how different Jersey is when you go an hour north or south! We used to call people from south Jersey 609-ers.

versed · June 2014

When I moved between New England states, I noticed a difference.

In RI, they speak half Boston / half NY. They say coffee wrong there

In NH, they say the names Carrie & Kerry the same. And "Eric"starts with the long /a/sound, too.

Also, DH (from NH) says a lot of Canadian phrases since we live in a French-Canadian area and FIL came here from Canada. Examples:
* close the light
* throw me down the stairs my shoes
* "basket" for shopping cart
* me, I go to the store
* come to the table, you

littlepig2 · June 2014

@TessyMessy‌ I'm a 609-er. we also think the dividing line for north and south is LBI $:\$ ">

Meghan14 · June 2014

The Jersey girls are making me laugh... you guys sound like my H.

courtls22 · June 2014

NextVerseUnknown said:

When I moved between New England states, I noticed a difference. In RI, they speak half Boston / half NY. They say coffee wrong there In NH, they say the names Carrie & Kerry the same. And "Eric"starts with the long /a/sound, too. Also, DH (from NH) says a lot of Canadian phrases since we live in a French-Canadian area and FIL came here from Canada. Examples: * close the light * throw me down the stairs my shoes * "basket" for shopping cart * me, I go to the store * come to the table, you

How do you say these things? I'm from IL and definitely pronounce Carrie & Kerry the same and say "Air-ic."

versed · June 2014

@DisneyPeanut‌ - I'm in NH. Our city has a big FC population with French-speaking businesses and restaurants (poutine!). My FIL's siblings all have heavy accents, and DH often needs to translate their English for me - hehe.

littlepig2 · June 2014

oh! we also call them circles instead of roundabouts. my sister went to school in PA and someone told us to take the second exit off the roundabout and I stared at them like they had 9 heads.

I also say merry, Mary, and marry three different ways but I know in some areas, either all 3 or 2 of the 3 are pronounced the same way.

versed · June 2014

Rach521 said:

oh! we also call them circles instead of roundabouts. my sister went to school in PA and someone told us to take the second exit off the roundabout and I stared at them like they had 9 heads. I also say merry, Mary, and marry three different ways but I know in some areas, either all 3 or 2 of the 3 are pronounced the same way.

I grew up with rotaries, where I live now, they call them "traffic circles."

blackbettieberrie · June 2014

adinashoshana said:
Moving from Northern California to Southern, I didn't realize saying "hella" (very) wasn't commonplace. Also, people here refer to freeways with "The" rather than the direction. For example, instead of saying, "I am going to hop on 80 West" people say, "I'm going to hop on THE 80."

That's so funny. I'm from SoCal and when I met my husband he thought it was a Latino thing until he moved and realized everyone says it like that. Now I'm in NorCal and everyone looks at me like I'm a weirdo for saying THE.

lbalek2 · June 2014

JammersC said:
I was really interested to see my results on the quiz because I moved around a lot growing up. I got Rockford, Aurora, and Madison so apparently my word choices are most influenced by my early years. I was born in Chicago and lived in the burbs until I was 10. My grandparents lived out near Aurora.

I got the exact same cities! I'm from the south suburbs originally though so I was surprised I got west/north suburbs.

TessyMessy · June 2014

OTMFL said:
I'm from central Jersey, so I used to get flack for "wooder" and the drawn out vowel in "are-ange" for orange etc. @Rach521‌ I forgot about phone and home! I was teased for that to when I went to college.

You must be from the western part of the state? People in the eastern part don't recognize central Jersey!

littlepig2 · June 2014

@OTMFL‌ there is no such thing as Central Jersey!

littlepig2 · June 2014

@bribbon‌ @OTMFL‌ 609 as central?! @-) @-) you can't get more south than some of us 609'ers!! my heartttttt

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