# OMG, I just spoke Southern



## Jestjoan (Oct 7, 2007)

I am a transplanted Yankee. After 14 years living in the South, I uttered the words, "Do what?"  I do not like that expression at all and have no idea why I said it.

It means what did you say or I didn't hear you, as near as I can tell.


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## philemer (Oct 7, 2007)

Jestjoan said:


> I am a transplanted Yankee. After 14 years living in the South, I uttered the words, "Do what?"  I do not like that expression at all and have no idea why I said it.
> 
> It means what did you say or I didn't hear you, as near as I can tell.



I'm a Yankee and I say that all the time. Usually when my DW says "please pick up your clothes" or "please mow the lawn". 

Phil


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## Patri (Oct 7, 2007)

In PA it is common for people to leave out the words 'to be' as in 'the dishes need washed'. I as a transplant hate that too. My kids have lived here a good portion of their lives and if they slip into that language I cry out in alarm, "Oh no, you are becoming a Pennsylvanian!"


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## DaveNV (Oct 7, 2007)

Language can be very slippery.

I'm a West Coast guy who was stationed for several years with the Navy on the East Coast.  I haven't lived in Virginia since 1978, yet I still include "y'all all" in sentences sometimes.  When asking a departing group of people when they'll return, I've been known to ask, "When are y'all all coming back?"  The question makes perfect sense to me, but I often have to explain myself.  It's worse than ever when having a conversation with someone from the South, who has that unmistakable drawl to their voice.  By the time we're done speaking, I'm talking Southern again, and feeling the urge to eat fried okra and hush puppies and drink sweetened iced tea...

A close friend recently told me of her Air Force son returning from another tour in Iraq, and I asked her when I'd get a chance to see him, so I could "hug his neck."  She looked at me like I had two heads, and asked, "What does THAT mean?"  I got to thinking, and realized that's probably more Texan than Deep South.  Not sure where I picked that one up.

But even worse, is when visiting Hawaii.  I lived there for five years as a teenager, and did all I could to fit in with the locals in my neighborhood and school.  It got under my skin, and I've never truly gotten over it.  When visiting there, I find myself easily dropping back into the pidgin I spoke so much there, and saying things like "You're going to da store, yeah?"  Hawaiian words like puka and pau and da kine sneak into my vocabulary at the oddest times, and only those who have been there seem to understand what I'm talking about.  The oddest thing is that it's not intentional - it just happens.

Somebody here recently referenced the old saying that Americans and English are separated by a common language.  Makes me wonder what all Americans are separated by.   

Dave


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## Jestjoan (Oct 7, 2007)

We are under the impression that the plural of y'all is all y'all.


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## Fern Modena (Oct 7, 2007)

Lawdy, lawdy.  I do declare!  Now hush yo' mouf, chile 



Jestjoan said:


> I am a transplanted Yankee. After 14 years living in the South, I uttered the words, "Do what?"  I do not like that expression at all and have no idea why I said it.
> 
> It means what did you say or I didn't hear you, as near as I can tell.


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## janapur (Oct 7, 2007)

MinneSOHtan, don't get me started! My least favorite has to be when my fellow natives say "acrossed" sounds more like acrost. "That mallard (deer, moose, pheasant, insert game of choice) just flew acrost the pond, by golly." It's hunting season after all.

Jana
Okey-dokey


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## philemer (Oct 7, 2007)

janapur said:


> "That mallard (deer, moose, pheasant, insert game of choice) just flew acrost the pond, by golly." It's hunting season after all.
> 
> Jana
> Okey-dokey



Do deer & moose REALLY fly acrost ponds down south?


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## Jestjoan (Oct 7, 2007)

Especially Rudolph and the rest of the gang................


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## Fern Modena (Oct 7, 2007)

JestJoan,
Please accept my humble apologies, I misread your OP.  I thought you said "_do tell_," *not* "do what?"  Big difference...


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## cookinmamma (Oct 8, 2007)

Patri said:


> In PA it is common for people to leave out the words 'to be' as in 'the dishes need washed'. I as a transplant hate that too. My kids have lived here a good portion of their lives and if they slip into that language I cry out in alarm, "Oh no, you are becoming a Pennsylvanian!"



Patri - - Is THAT what that is?! -- I'm a transplant from southern NJ (much different accent than northern NJ where people say 'beeah' instead of beer.), but I never heard anyone leave entire words out before.  And here I've been thinking something was wrong with my neighor!


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## janapur (Oct 8, 2007)

philemer said:


> Do deer & moose REALLY fly acrost ponds down south?



Only when it's frozen, which is the majority of the year in MN. 

I knew someone would comment on that, but didn't feel like doing an edit.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 8, 2007)

janapur said:


> MinneSOHtan, don't get me started! My least favorite has to be when my fellow natives say "acrossed" sounds more like acrost. "That mallard (deer, moose, pheasant, insert game of choice) just flew acrost the pond, by golly." It's hunting season after all.
> 
> Jana
> Okey-dokey



Well, now, that's a completely different story, don'tcha think?  Hmmm????  That old moose, he just thought he was a bird there for a bit, didn't he.  Ya bet he figured that one out pretty quick, huh??


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## thinze3 (Oct 8, 2007)

Jestjoan said:


> I am a transplanted Yankee. After 14 years living in the South, I uttered the words, "Do what?"  I do not like that expression at all and have no idea why I said it.
> 
> It means what did you say or I didn't hear you, as near as I can tell.




Actually, "Do what?" is now outdated! Down here the new saying is *"Wait, what?" *It is said quickly and means, excuse me, or pardon me.

Trust me, it is agravating to me as well. When I was a kid, I got slapped by my mother for saying "what".

*I blame everything on MTV and text messaging!*


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## Don (Oct 8, 2007)

Jestjoan said:


> We are under the impression that the plural of y'all is all y'all.


Joan and Dave, The plural of y'all is all y'all.  Being born and raised in VA and having a Father from SC, one picks up much of the Southern lingo.  However, having a mother from Wisconson has held my "drawl" and usage in check.

Patri, my wife is notorious for picking up expressions from work.  Most of them grate on my nerves after a couple of weeks. Last year she started talking Pennsylvanian as you described.  Not good .  She's a teacher.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 8, 2007)

Don said:


> Joan and Dave, The plural of y'all is all y'all.  Being born and raised in VA and having a Father from SC, one picks up much of the Southern lingo.  However, having a mother from Wisconson has held my "drawl" and usage in check.
> 
> Patri, my wife is notorious for picking up expressions from work.  Most of them grate on my nerves after a couple of weeks. Last year she started talking Pennsylvanian as you described.  Not good .  She's a teacher.



What about "all y'all"?  When I was in St. Louis I had a girlfriend from Alabama who used "all y'all" as the plural.  Also do some work occasionally with a person who is a born and bred Gamecock - she also uses "all y'all" as the plural.


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## DaveNV (Oct 8, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> What about "all y'all"?  When I was in St. Louis I had a girlfriend from Alabama who used "all y'all" as the plural.  Also do some work occasionally with a person who is a born and bred Gamecock - she also uses "all y'all" as the plural.




Okay.  So it's not just me then.  Nice to know all y'all use that term too.  

Don:  When I was stationed in Norfolk, VA, I had the hardest time figuring out where I was until I realized there WAS no city named "Nahfick."   

Dave


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## Jestjoan (Oct 8, 2007)

Nevermind, my error.


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## Deb from NC (Oct 8, 2007)

Do all y'all up north really drink ice tea that isn't sweet?


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## Fern Modena (Oct 8, 2007)

My husband can't stand "sweet tea." Me, I prefer an Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade).

Fern



Deb from NC said:


> Do all y'all up north really drink ice tea that isn't sweet?


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## trishpmc (Oct 8, 2007)

When I was in Hilton Head last month, I ordered sweet tea a couple of times, but it was too sweet for me.  I prefer to get unsweetened tea and then sweeten it myself.

I have lived in Pennsylvania for twenty four years, and I have not heard people leave words out of sentences as a previous poster described.  It does bother me to hear people from PA use the word "yous" as the plural for "you."

Trish


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## Emily (Oct 8, 2007)

thinze3 said:


> Actually, "Do what?" is now outdated! Down here the new saying is *"Wait, what?" *It is said quickly and means, excuse me, or pardon me.
> 
> Trust me, it is agravating to me as well. When I was a kid, I got slapped by my mother for saying "what".
> 
> *I blame everything on MTV and text messaging!*




Here it's "Ya think?"  and "sweet" .  We are south enough to use y'all and acrost.  My favorites are still "cool beans" and "do I look like I just fell off the pumpkin truck?"


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## Pat H (Oct 8, 2007)

I've lived in PA for 29 years now. They "get" a shower instead of taking one. They sleep in instead of late and I've hear many of them pronounce "film" with 2 syllables. They also outten the lights!

I'm from North Jersey and a drawer is pronounced draw. You then take the "r" from drawer and put it in the warsh!


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## Jestjoan (Oct 8, 2007)

Down here they get their pictures made. We always say we get our pictures taken.

I'm enjoying all the foreign language in this thread. Pumpkin truck. I've only heard turnip truck.

Outten!!!!!!!!!!


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## Fern Modena (Oct 8, 2007)

In New Orleans, instead of saying they are going to the grocery store, they say they are "making groceries."


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## Jestjoan (Oct 8, 2007)

*Southern Speak*

http://www.gagirl.com/southern/south.html

I just found this but don't have time to check it out. Gotta finish packin' for our trip to Cleveland............DB says it will be cold.

A biggie down here is "Bless your heart." I'll tell my story 'bout that on my return.


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## BSQ (Oct 8, 2007)

ooooooo!

before you know it you'll be saying fixin'ta and mightshould.


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## Jestjoan (Oct 8, 2007)

Yep. (Too short for the bbs so I had to add this.)


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## DaveNV (Oct 8, 2007)

I think my favorite improbable term is Jeff Foxworthy's "usetacould." As in: "I used to could do that."  

I knew a lady from Oklahoma who was talking with another woman from Texas at my home one evening, and they were dscussing the "larupin' gravy" we'd had with dinner.  Does anybody have a clue what that means?  Larupin?  Is that somehow derived from "slurping?"   

Dave


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## Passepartout (Oct 9, 2007)

*Mom'n'em...*

I worked with an otherwise well educated guy from S. Carolina a few years ago who greeted everybody..."How's yer mom'n'em?" by which he was inquiring as to the health of your family. After a few servings of grits (say greeyits) it seemed perfectly normal.

Jim Ricks


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## ladycody (Oct 9, 2007)

Well...I'm from MA and now live in Eastern Oregon.  I've discovered that most of the r's that are left out of words on the east coast take flight and end up in words where they dont belong our here.

*I might lose my kah in the pahking lot...but out here they wa*r*sh their 'rigs' and most of them are big enough to be seen at a distance.
*I put _my_ clothes in a draw...but in Wa*r*shington...they use drawers.

And there are other differences too...
*I'm used to getting a crick in my neck if I sleep wrong...but out here, the cricks have fish in them.
*_I _have aunts all live out east...but here in the NW..._my kids _have ants...and it's not as bad as it sounds.
*Eye-talian food is found at Eye-talian restaurants in the PNW.
*note to those in PA...there's lots that 'needs done' in the PNW too.
*out here, most moms and dads are known as moms and dads...but mine was my mutha and fatha...
*If I told anyone out here that I'd lost my khakis...they'd like check to see if I had pants on...but in MA they'd offer me a ride to wherever I needed to go.

great thread...


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 9, 2007)

And when will people outside the Northwest ever learn how to pronounce Oregon (hint: it's not pronounced or-uh-GON).  (And after that we'll work on Sequim and Puyallup.)


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## DaveNV (Oct 9, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> And when will people outside the Northwest ever learn how to pronounce Oregon (hint: it's not pronounced or-uh-GON).



I had to do exactly that with a friend from Minnesota.  She was dumbstruck when I told her how to say it.  She insisted everyone in Minneapolis said it as "Or-ee-GONE."

Then, she asked if I "wanted a pop." I replied, "You mean a soda?"  She said, "No.  I mean a pop."  I said I'd rather have a Pepsi.  She said, "That's what I said."  I disagreed.  We never did get that one sorted out.  

And not to pick on Minnesotans, but is it true that you don't bake a casserole, you make "hot dish?"  

Steve:  Sequim and Puyallup?  Don't forget Skoomumchuck, Swinomish, Snohomish, Skykomish, and Skagit.  

Dave


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 9, 2007)

jeepguynw said:


> I had to do exactly that with a friend from Minnesota.  She was dumbstruck when I told her how to say it.  She insisted everyone in Minneapolis said it as "Or-ee-GONE."
> 
> They, she asked if I "wanted a pop." I replied, "You mean a soda?"  She said, "No.  I mean a pop."  I said I'd rather have a Pepsi.  She said, "That's what I said."  I disagreed.  We never did get that one sorted out.
> 
> ...



Well, Dave. I happen to speak quite fluent Minnesotan, being a native and all.  When Phil Emerson and I get together in Boise we have quite the time, you betcha.  

She's wrong - Everyone in Minneapolis doesn't pronounce it "Or-ee-GONE", that's fer shur. I don't ever recall hearing it pronounced that way. They pronounce it "Or-uh-GON", as I wrote it. No "ee" sound in the middle - but a clear "uh" sound, with the first syllable (the "or") gliding into the "uh" sound, and a big finish on the "GON".

And yes, it is hot dish. Often served in a church basement.  With a square of lime jello on top of a lettuce leaf.  And the lime jello needs to have had a can of fruit cocktail mixed in.  And if you don't have pop, you have "fruit punch" that's a mixture of red tropical punch with either ginger ale or 7-Up.

Casserole means it has noodles in it. So if you bake a hot dish with noodles, you can call it a casserole or a hot dish.  But if it doesn't have noodles it's a hot dish.

I was quite surprised while visiting with my niece last January (born and bred Minnesotan and currently lives about 30 miles outside of St. Cloud) to hear her pronouncing Oregon correctly.  I think I dropped my jaw - even my sister who has lived in Tacoma for 30 years is still apt to say or-uh-GON.

Turns out that when she was at a ranch in AZ for about six months, she formed a good friendship with a girl from Oregon. and her friend set her straight.


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## ladycody (Oct 9, 2007)

Kinda weird...in MA...where I grew up...soda is soda.  Where I am in Oregon though...soda is pop....and so far I've kept my kids from adopting it.  

As for towns...the biggest amount of grief I received was regarding Spokane...which I _assumed _was Spoe -Kane...because with the E on the end...it's just how I _thought_ it would be pronounced...but apparently I was _VERY_ wrong...and dealt with alot of guff about it.

Course they've got nothing on us out here with regard to screwy names...Worcester (Wuh-sta), MA  holds it's own...as does Lake Chagagagog Manchagog Chubunabungamug in Webster, MA.


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## Jestjoan (Oct 9, 2007)

That lake takes a prize as does the Hawaiian fish a TUGGER has for a screen name.

Down here they ask if you want a Coke which is any kind of pop.


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## Elan (Oct 9, 2007)

jeepguynw said:


> Steve:  Sequim and Puyallup?  Don't forget Skoomumchuck, Swinomish, Snohomish, Skykomish, and Skagit.
> 
> Dave



  Don't forget Willamette or Wallowa in Oregon.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 9, 2007)

Jestjoan said:


> That lake takes a prize as does the Hawaiian fish a TUGGER has for a screen name.
> 
> Down here they ask if you want a Coke which is any kind of pop.


from The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy






Go to the web site to register your vote.

****

I think the pockets of "soda" usage centered around St. Louis and Milwaukee are interesting.  Why are those area so different from everything around them?  I have some thoughts about why St. Louis is different - during the early to mid 1800's St. Louis generally aped all things Northeastern.  When I was in school in St. Louis during that time I took a couple of classes on urban architecture, using St. Louis for many observations. At that time, every architectural trend or feature that appeared in NE US architecture (particularly in NY and Philadelphia) is repeated in St. Louis, but delayed by about 20 years.

St. Louis was the 4th largest city in the US at that time (behind NY, Boston, and Philadelphia) and the city very much looked to the NE for inspiration. St. Louisans saw themselves (and their city) far more as a US city than as a southern city.  That attitude shows up in many other aspects of St. Louis from about that time, and is responsible for Missouri not becoming a secessionist state during the Civil War.

I very much suspect that the use of "soda" in St. Louis is probably the result of that mid-1800's preference for the things NE over things southern.  I suspect that a good linguist could probably find similar examples in local eastern Missouri dialect.


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## Emily (Oct 9, 2007)

ladycody said:


> Kinda weird...in MA...where I grew up...soda is soda.  Where I am in Oregon though...soda is pop....and so far I've kept my kids from adopting it.
> Worcester (Wuh-sta), MA



I was in a small town in Iowa last summer with my 11yo twin girls.  We stopped to get a drink and snack.  I saw they had RC cola (my girls had never seen RC) so I grabbed 3 and some chips.  The lady at the counter asked one of  my girls if she wanted a sack for her pop.  She just stood there having no idea what the cashier was asking.

I spent much of my summers as a child in N Brookfield, MA, swimming in Lake Lashaway.  Always had a hard time with the Worcester pronunciation.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 9, 2007)

Emily said:


> I was in a small town in Iowa last summer with my 11yo twin girls.  We stopped to get a drink and snack.  I saw they had RC cola (my girls had never seen RC) so I grabbed 3 and some chips.  The lady at the counter asked one of  my girls if she wanted a sack for her pop.  She just stood there having no idea what the cashier was asking.
> 
> I spent much of my summers as a child in N Brookfield, MA, swimming in Lake Lashaway.  Always had a hard time with the Worcester pronunciation.



In Minnesota someone might tell you to put a rubber binder on those papers you're holding in your hand. And if you're from Milwaukee you might tell them you'll take care of it after you return from the bubbler.


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## janapur (Oct 9, 2007)

OK, I'll bite. What is the proper pronunciation of Oregon? When I was very young, we played a computer game called Oregon trail. That's the closest I've been to the beautiful state.

I, too, say Or uh gon (with gon pronounced just like the word gone). I don't know anyone who pronounces it differently.

Jana


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## Jestjoan (Oct 9, 2007)

Trog, great site.


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## Don (Oct 9, 2007)

jeepguynw said:


> Don: When I was stationed in Norfolk, VA, I had the hardest time figuring out where I was until I realized there WAS no city named "Nahfick."
> 
> Dave



You must have been hanging around with a bunch of transplants to the area.  They always pronounce it "Nahfick" or "Nor-fol-k" putting emphasis on both the R and the L.  All the locals call it "Nawfuk". 
Earlier, "Hug your neck" was mentioned, but what about "gimme some sugar" ?
(a kiss)
And let's not forget "a piece", as in, "It's down the road a piece."


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 9, 2007)

janapur said:


> OK, I'll bite. What is the proper pronunciation of Oregon? When I was very young, we played a computer game called Oregon trail. That's the closest I've been to the beautiful state.
> 
> I, too, say Or uh gon (with gon pronounced just like the word gone). I don't know anyone who pronounces it differently.
> 
> Jana



Pronounce it "OR-gun', with heavy stress on the first syllable and the second syllable destressed. It should sound almost the same as the word "organ".  There can be a faint "uh" sound in the middle to bridge between the "r" and the "g", but if you can make out three syllables, that "'uh" is too strong. And if you can't get that "uh" to not be a separate syllable, than drop the "uh" entirely and pronounce it as two syllable word.


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## DaveNV (Oct 9, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Pronounce it "OR-gun', with heavy stress on the first syllable and the second syllable destressed. It should sound almost the same as the word "organ".  There can be a faint "uh" sound in the middle to bridge between the "r" and the "g", but if you can make out three syllables, that "'uh" is too strong. And if you can't get that "uh" to not be a separate syllable, than drop the "uh" entirely and pronounce it as two syllable word.



Or try turning the "uh" into a teensy-tiny, very soft "i" sound.  As Steve says, like it's almost not even there.  ORR-i-gun.

But then, given all the transplants who've moved out here, you could probaly say it any way you'd like and nobody would really care.   

Dave


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## jlwquilter (Oct 9, 2007)

I've been a few places to live and had to adapt as I went. Starting out in Buffalo, it was a "pop". After being laughed at (as an adult, mind you) in NYC, I quickly changed over to "soda". I pretty much stick with that to this day...lasting trauma, eh? "eh?" came from working with too many Canadians  

My brother in law goes "balling" on Thursday. My mother did the "warsh" and had a "crick" beyond the yard.

In PA, I went to a boyfriend's parent's house for dinner. The mom was so excited to have "yins" for dinner. I had no idea...she meant me and the son. As in "you". Still cracks me up.

DH is a Jersey boy. His dresser has "draws". I still give him a hard time about that  

And let's not forget the big sub, grinder, hoagie, etc. wars!

Oh, and my daughter (8) is a rare, true Floridian. A few years ago she started with a southern drawl on several words. I must admit that I nipped that in the bud.

I've enjoyed this thread!


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## DaveNV (Oct 9, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> And if you're from Milwaukee you might tell them you'll take care of it after you return from the bubbler.




So a bubbler is a toilet?  A friend from Australia calls it the gurgler.  :hysterical: 

Dave


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## ouaifer (Oct 9, 2007)

jeepguynw said:


> So a bubbler is a toilet?  A friend from Australia calls it the gurgler.  :hysterical:
> 
> Dave




In Massachusetts, a _bubbler_ is a drinking water fountain.


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## sstamm (Oct 9, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> In Minnesota someone might tell you to put a rubber binder on those papers you're holding in your hand.



Where I grew up in Pittsburgh, one would use a gum band to hold things together.

And if there were really a lot of "yins" it would be "yins guys."  As in, "Are yins guys goin' dawntawn?"  It took me a while to realize they were going downtown.  And yins could also be yuns, yens or you'uns.

I always called the drink "pop" but really got laughed at in Maryland where I moved after college.  I still don't like the term "soda" but have gradually switched over.  To me, soda is the drink that has no flavor and is what one mixes with scotch.

The map was very interesting.

I have enjoyed this thread!!


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## sstamm (Oct 9, 2007)

Don said:


> And let's not forget "a piece", as in, "It's down the road a piece."




And if it were really far away, it would be "a fur piece down the road."


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## nell (Oct 9, 2007)

I'm from New Orleans where we would stand on the "neutral ground" (median) of the street to watch the parades.  I still occassionally "fry somethin up" for dinner.  It drives my husband crazy.


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## Blues (Oct 9, 2007)

Yes, great picture, Steve!

Having been transplanted to California for 30 years now, I'm a definite "soda" person.  But when I go back to Chicago to visit family, my mom will always ask if I want a pop.  If I initiate the conversation, for the sake of better communication, I compromise by asking for a "soda pop".

Yes, I'm quite a diplomat


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 9, 2007)

When I left Minnesota to go to college, I was amazed to learn that:


"oo" is pronounced the same way in "root" and "roof" 
"creek" does not rhyme with "tick"
many people do not pronounce "merry", "marry", and "Mary" identically.
I lived for a couple of years on Rosebury Ave in the west end of St. Louis.  By the end of my time in St. Louis, when I told someone my address I no longer sounded as if I were describing something that grew on a thorny bush.


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## Blues (Oct 9, 2007)

It took me close to 20 years in California before I started recognizing the fact that Chicagoans *do* have an accent.  I take that to mean that I finally don't have a Chicago accent.

My remaining homage to my place of birth is to pronounce the city correctly -- shi CAW go.  It grates my ears to hear the middle "a" pronounced similarly to the word "at".  Even "shi cah go", which is subtly different, marks you as an outsider.  You're welcome


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## Bruce W (Oct 9, 2007)

Have really enjoyed this thread. It reminded me of a Crossroads show on CMT where they pair a country artist with, usually a rock artist. This one had Sugarland and Bon Jovi. Sugarland has a song Something More, and Jennifer Nettles was telling Jon Bon Jovi that because she is Southern she pronounces the word Bliss as  Bli iss, and was wondering how they would sing that together. Good show by the way. Chesney and Mellencamp and Reba and Clarkson were also very good.


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## suzanne (Oct 9, 2007)

My hubby is from the Coos Bay, Oregon and I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and we live in SE Florida. It's a wonder we can talk at all. I love my hushpuppies and hate sweet tea. Go figure.... 

Suzanne
:rofl:


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## Don (Oct 9, 2007)

ouaifer said:


> In Massachusetts, a _bubbler_ is a drinking water fountain.


I went to college with a girl from Connecticutt, same thing.  But we got a bigger kick out of "Squeer-ill".


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## KarenLK (Oct 9, 2007)

*Coupons*

Kew-pons or coo-pons? I am from Buffalo, where a creek is a crick, you drink pop, eat subs, and I for one clip coo-pons. 

Another strange thing here, a lot of public buildings are referred to by the first name....Millard Fillmore Hospital is The Millard, Grover Cleveland High School is Grover, and now Ralph Wilson Stadium is The Ralph. 

Go figure.


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## DaveNV (Oct 9, 2007)

KarenLK said:


> Kew-pons or coo-pons? I am from Buffalo, where a creek is a crick, you drink pop, eat subs, and I for one clip coo-pons.
> 
> Another strange thing here, a lot of public buildings are referred to by the first name....Millard Fillmore Hospital is The Millard, Grover Cleveland High School is Grover, and now Ralph Wilson Stadium is The Ralph.
> 
> Go figure.




It's coo-pons for me, too, but you can't count my language as being geographically accurate.  I say crick, soda, and either WaRshington or Washington, depending on the reference and who I'm speaking to.  It's WaRshington State, but Washington DC.  I'm a mess.  

I think the abbreviations for buildings are just what's convenient.  In Seattle, the Mariners baseball team plays at Safeco Field.  It's often called "The Safe" by news media types.

Dave


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## acesgame (Oct 9, 2007)

*I love this thread*

No one has mentioned the great nut debate.  I am a native NY (upstate) moved to texas at age 12 when I had to go from studing NY state history to TX state history.  Talk about culture shock.  I really don't have a strong accent.  Just a few differences 
In NY:                     In Texas:
PEA-can                  puh-CON
I was told a PEA-can was a porcelain pot you push under the bed.
pots and pans           Kettles and skillets
bag                         sack
Northerners tend to have very nasal vowel sounds.  In Texas you make multiple syllable words shorter or add accents on the first syllable as follows:
In Texas:
you arn clothes(iron)
you put ole in your car(oil)
you may get stopped by the POE-lease if you speed
and watch out for the wet SEE-ment (cement)

I remember in high school math a student asked the teacher "Is that all the further you can go?" and I laughed out loud before I could stop myself.   The teacher asked what I was laughing at and I repeated the question in amazement and the teacher said "yes that is all the further you can go" as if I didn't understand the math instead of the english (and I use the term loosely)  Texans also push the door to to close it. and reach it down from a top shelf.  The worst is my college educated husband who "retch over to pick something up"   I must say that I always had a problem with bring and take.  Is it will you take me to the store or will you bring me to the store.   

Keep them coming!


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## DaveNV (Oct 9, 2007)

acesgame said:


> I must say that I always had a problem with bring and take.  Is it will you take me to the store or will you bring me to the store.
> 
> Keep them coming!




I'm remembering in Virgina it was "Will you carry me to the store?"

Dave


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## Don (Oct 10, 2007)

I don't know where she's from, but the woman that narrates the Swiffer Duster commercials talks with a very hard R sound.  SwiffeRRR DusteRRR. 
BTW, if anyone wants a Shrimp'n'grits recipe, let me know.


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## Rose Pink (Oct 10, 2007)

On a business trip in Fort Worth, Texas, my DH asked for directions from an old cowboy type.  The man repled with what sounded like "2 Cs".  When DH asked how far 2 Cs were, the old man explained, "ya go as fer as ya can see and then when ya get there ya go another as far as ya can see."


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## DaveNV (Oct 10, 2007)

Rose Pink said:


> On a business trip in Fort Worth, Texas, my DH asked for directions from an old cowboy type.  The man repled with what sounded like "2 Cs".  When DH asked how far 2 Cs were, the old man explained, "ya go as fer as ya can see and then when ya get there ya go another as far as ya can see."




Now THAT's funny!  :hysterical: 

Dave


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## kwilson (Oct 10, 2007)

It's pronounced Or-y-gun. And there are a few thousand bumper stickers around the state to back me up.

Add these to Oregon site names:

Yachats and Siuslaw. That's Yah'-hots and S-eye-oo'-slaw.

I had some friends move here a few years ago and bought them an Oregon site name pronunciation book. It was at least an inch thick.

I was in Loisiana in the 50s and they referred to drivers licenses in the plural. "I gonna get dem license".


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## sfwilshire (Oct 17, 2007)

ladycody said:


> Kinda weird...in MA...where I grew up...soda is soda.  Where I am in Oregon though...soda is pop....and so far I've kept my kids from adopting it.



Around here, it's usually a Coke, even if it's really a Pepsi. Just like Saran Wrap is the generic term for any brand of plastic wrap, Kleenex for any tissue and Xerox machine for any photocopier.

Sheila


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## sfwilshire (Oct 17, 2007)

I've always lived in Tennessee, but never really got that much of an accent because I was mostly surrounded all day by people who came from somewhere else. I live one town over from Oak Ridge, so most of the kids I went to school with were from families where the parents came from up north somewhere to work there. Between that and the University community the next town over, I heard all sorts of accents growing up.

I DO love to hear a true lovely southern accent though. One of my favorite expressions is "carry me to the store", meaning take me to the store. I always get this vision of the speaker being thrown across someone's shoulder and transported.

And why is that waitresses just don't understand the difference if you ask if they have sweet tea and they point out that they provide sweetener on the table? I've even had to explain the term to a few of them. 

And don't EVEN try to order slaw on a chili dog some places up north. Can't remember where I was once and tried this. They looked at me like I'd grown an extra head or something.

Just last week in New York state, the waitress at Friendly's thought I was nuts because I wanted lettuce and tomato on my grilled cheese sandwich. It took a bit of discussion to finally get her to just place the order with the garnishes on the side. When it came out, it was just perfect with the lettuce and tomato inside the sandwwich. The tomato was pretty yucky. Not really ripe. But at least I tried.

Sheila


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## janapur (Oct 17, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> When I left Minnesota to go to college, I was amazed to learn that:
> 
> 
> "oo" is pronounced the same way in "root" and "roof"





Well, now . . . is that _root_ for the home team or the _root_ that grows underground?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Oct 17, 2007)

janapur said:


> Well, now . . . is that _root_ for the home team or the _root_ that grows underground?



LOL LOL LOL  I forgot that Minnesotans pronounce those as two different words.  I was, of course, referring to the "root" that is the part of a plant that grows underground.


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## Jestjoan (Oct 17, 2007)

*Conclusion*

From the soda vs pop site:
"CONCLUSION
People who say "Pop" are much, much cooler."

(We know that. Don't you think we know that?)


DB always corrects me if I say kewpons.


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## Don (Oct 17, 2007)

sfwilshire said:


> I've always lived in Tennessee,.......
> And don't EVEN try to order slaw on a chili dog some places up north.
> Just last week in New York state, the waitress at Friendly's thought I was nuts because I wanted lettuce and tomato on my grilled cheese sandwich.
> Sheila


Cole Slaw on a chili dog?  Interesting.  After all in the south we put cole slaw on BBQ's.  But L&T on a grilled cheese must be a Tn thing.


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## laura1957 (Oct 17, 2007)

When I first moved to Virginia from NY there were many, MANY times I had absolutely no idea what someone was talking about.  

   "My baby girl carried me up the road"      
                             doesnt matter that "baby girl" is 60 years old!!


    "She keeps my kids"                 
                             actually, no, she just BABYSITS them!!  She doesnt KEEP them - they are returned.

There is no north or south - just up the road or down the road.
People dont go to Virginia Beach/Norfolk... 
                                                     They go "across the bay"

It isn't 5:45 - it is 15 til.

Their goulash is actually (to me!!) Beefaroni.  
They tend to put sugar on almost EVERYTHING - vegetables, macaroni & cheese


I "run" up to the store after work - my husband always tells me it would be quicker if I took the car!!


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