"The devil is beating his wife": Dialect maps document U.S.'s many linguistic divides

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

When I worked at Lowe's I had many people ask where they could get parts to fix their turlet (toilet) And another that used to get me was people wanting hot water heaters (water heaters, if the water were already hot you wouldn't need to heat it)

 

[my_tee_mouse]

My DW who is originally from St. Louis says "camp" is something you do, I say it can also be that cabin you go camping at. IE: We went camping out at the family camp last wekend.

(A "deer camp" is really a "be-ah camp," but shhhh! Mum's the word).

 

[Justiceforever]

Only a Southerner knows...

"Only a Southerner knows the difference
between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them
but "PITCH" them."

Funny shyt here...

http://www.rockinghamremembered.com/Southerner.html

 

[Justiceforever]

Only a Southerner knows the TRUE meaning of, "Bless her heart!"
:floorlaugh:

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

In N.S. a pothead is something you knit for a lobster pot (also known as a trap)
In IN potheads often live in crackhouses.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

My husband is from St. Louis, and he pronounces volume as "valium,"
volleyball as "valleyball," and valley as "vulley."

He calls the TV remote the "Volume," so he's always going, "Where's the valium?" I wish I knew.

:floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:
He jist ain' right.


There's even a huge debate about "ya'll" versus "y'all." A Yank-eee friend of mine says it is short for "you all," so "y'all" is correct. I say no self-respectin' suthnuh evah took the time to say "you all," and in fact would say "ya-awll" at best; therefore, I think "ya'll" is correct. I got tired of hearin' him bichin' 'bout it, so I have ker-pitch-u-lated...but it sure is harder to type "y'all" after all these years. What do y'all/ya'll think?

And oh yes....Paula D. needs to be bea'withastick ever time she says it, regardless of how she spells it!

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

:floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:
He jist ain' right.


There's even a huge debate about "ya'll" versus "y'all." A Yank-eee friend of mine says it is short for "you all," so "y'all" is correct. I say no self-respectin' suthnuh evah took the time to say "you all," and in fact would say "ya-awll" at best; therefore, I think "ya'll" is correct. I got tired of hearin' him bichin' 'bout it, so I have ker-pitch-u-lated...but it sure is harder to type "y'all" after all these years. What do y'all/ya'll think?

And oh yes....Paula D. needs to be bea'withastick ever time she says it, regardless of how she spells it!

BBM: I say "Bless their little heart" :floorlaugh:

 

[Justiceforever]

My youngest son's "Mama" (grama, grandma, grandmother, granny) used to refer to slow folks (mentally challanged people) as "special". IE... "Now isn't he special!"

If she saw a baby who was less than "beautiful" in her eyes she would say how "healthy" they were. Translation (ugly). IE... Oh your baby is soo HEALTHY!

She was from Dyersburg TN. and a church woman at that! Bless her heart!

 

[tlcya]

S'getty

 

[my_tee_mouse]

I've snorted so much Co-Cola up my nose reading this thread, I may have to go to the daktah. (What kind of Co-Cola you ask? Why Ah-rah Cee Cola, of course!)

 

[wfgodot]

When I was young, old folks got the "sugar diabetes." Don't hear that so much anymore; it's informal usage and more than slightly rhetorical. It's about gone the way of dime stores, soda fountains, and home visits by doctors by now.

 

[Justiceforever]

S'getty

Lol! Erry time I made S'ghetty, my middle son would tell me, MoMo (mom) use (you're) a good cooker!"

 

[TrackerSam]

S'getty

My wife used to say that and to her a blacktopped road was 'the hard road'.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Okay, how do y'all define these words?

Stool
Stand



And what do you call that thing that sits in the bathroom that holds the thing where water comes out and you brush your teeth?

 

[tlcya]

I have always called the hard road the blacktop. I have heard others in my area use the hard road though so I am familiar. For some reason the term never caught with me. But I do hear it quite a bit round here.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I grew up in Detroit and have always lived in Michigan. I agree with most - but not all - of the pronunciations on the various maps, and my take on some is slightly different.

You guys.

Coleslaw. I like the crunchy veggies but NOT the creamy slaw dressing. Yuck!

Caramel: careuhmel (3 syllables).

Sub. Also what you call a teacher who fills in for your real teacher

Pecan: puhkahn.

The city: Detroit. Sometimes, just the "D".

Been: bin.

Pajamas: puhjahmuhs. Jammies, pjs, or, in these parts during the winter, flannels.

Lawyer: loyer. I always say attorney.

Mary/merry/marry: All pronounced the same.

Crayons : crayahns.

Mayonnaise: mayuhnaise (3 syllables). In my home, we bring out the Hellmann's.

Roundabout. Specifically, a Michigan roundabout. I just call them skeery and avoid them.

Drinking fountain. Also to be avoided

Pop. When I was growing up, it was always "pop", but I say soda now.
Rarely drink the stuff.

Crawfish. Ate them once in New Orleans. Yuck!

Bowie knife: Bo (as in Schembechler).

Syrup: I say searup but many say sirup.

Tennis shoes. Nowadays, many folks say the brand name of the shoes: Nikes, Reeboks, Adidas.

Never heard of a drive-thru liquor store.

Sunshower.

 

[STEADFAST]

:floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:
He jist ain' right.


There's even a huge debate about "ya'll" versus "y'all." A Yank-eee friend of mine says it is short for "you all," so "y'all" is correct. I say no self-respectin' suthnuh evah took the time to say "you all," and in fact would say "ya-awll" at best; therefore, I think "ya'll" is correct. I got tired of hearin' him bichin' 'bout it, so I have ker-pitch-u-lated...but it sure is harder to type "y'all" after all these years. What do y'all/ya'll think?

And oh yes....Paula D. needs to be bea'withastick ever time she says it, regardless of how she spells it!

I definitely spell it "ya'll." Ya'll is a southern term I use regularly.

To storeclerks: "When do ya'll close?" "Do ya'll have boysenberry jelly?" I mean, you don't want to ask the storeclerk when she, personally, closes -- or what she's got in her refrigerator.

When referring to groups of relatives: "Are ya'll coming to visit this summer?" Without ya'll, your sister-in-law might think you want her to come visit by herself.

Etc.

I don't have a southern accent at all, but do have a lot of "Southernisms" in my dialect.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

How about the pronunciation of envelope? Do you say ehnvelope or ahnvelope? I always use the latter, but my nephew once corrected me I reminded him that I had been a teacher and this was my preferred pronunciation. So there.

 

[tlcya]

My youngest sons, " Mama" (grama, grandma, grandmother, granny) used to refer to slow folks (mentally challanged people) as "special". IE... "Now isn't he special!"

If she saw a baby who was less than "beautiful" in her eyes she would say how "healthy" they were. Translation (ugly). IE... Oh your baby is soo HEALTHY!

She was from Dyersburg TN. and a church woman at that! Bless her heart!

My gramma, when confronted with an ugly baby would say "land sakes alive is't (s)he SOMETHIN?"

lol

My gramma just called slow people slow. Not retarded, not special, not challenged. Just plain old slow.

 

[Justiceforever]

Okay, how do y'all define these words?

Stool
Stand



And what do you call that thing that sits in the bathroom that holds the thing where water comes out and you brush your teeth?

A stool is a chair with 3 legs that you use to milk a cow (to me) (to some) it is the commode which I call a toilet.

A stand is where they sell things... like the fruit stand, the lemonade stand.

And I brush my teeth at the sink.

I get my food out of the frig. I am aware of some people who call it the frigidare. What do ya'll call it?