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

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

My mother was born and raised on a very small island where everyone owned a pig or two. A common greeting there in those days was "How's the pig and the rest of the family" I must say when I came to the US and used that phrase it was often received with some strange looks and comments. LOL

 

[wfgodot]

On the thee/thuh quandry, I say "thuh" except for the end of a book or a movie when it's "thee."

I remember there was quite a debate in my grade school amongst the teachers, with some in the "thee camp" and others in the folksy "thuh."

Regional dialect differences used to be much more stark. Radio/movies/television caused more standardization, same with accents.

 

[Show Me]

.....what is "the City"? Only one city for me, the Big M (Memfus, thankyathankyaverymuch)
.....what do you call it when the rain falls but the sun is shining? The devil's beatin' his wife, of course!
.....what is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage? Coke, as in, "And what will you have to drink?" "Coke." "What kind?" "Pepsi."
.....what word(s) do you use to address a group of two or more people? Y'all know it's y'all.
.....what is your term for shoes worn in gym class, athletic endeavors, etc.? Tennies.

I know people who "wrench" their hair and "warsh" their clothes (with "warshing powders," not "detergent.")

And don't get me started on the various pronunciations of the word, "bayou."

I wash and for...but some in my area warsh and fer.

Gotta love the coleslaw/ slaw comment! :floorlaugh:Yeah what other kind of slaw do they sell with their coke-pepsi's?

I say 'you guys' even if I'm talking to a bunch of ladies. Not you all or y'all or youse guys.

We are getting more of the round road thingies. They are called 'roundabouts' here and a lot of people aren't familiar with them yet, so you really have to watch out for the other drivers.

 

[wfgodot]

"It looks like it's trying to rain" or "It looks like it's fixin' to rain?" Neither? The first for me. That's solid Kansan-speak.

 

[Show Me]

My mother was born and raised on a very small island where everyone owned a pig or two. A common greeting there in those days was "How's the pig and the rest of the family" I must say when I came to the US and used that phrase it was often received with some strange looks and comments. LOL

Hilarious! "How's the pig and the rest of the family?"
"He's working on his truck and the kids are doing fine."

 

[my_tee_mouse]

I wash and for...but some in my area warsh and fer.

Gotta love the coleslaw/ slaw comment! :floorlaugh:Yeah what other kind of slaw do they sell with their coke-pepsi's?

I say 'you guys' even if I'm talking to a bunch of ladies. Not you all or y'all or youse guys.

We are getting more of the round road thingies. They are called 'roundabouts' here and a lot of people aren't familiar with them yet, so you really have to watch out for the other drivers.

We're just starting to get those round road thingies too. And we surely don't know what to call 'em yet...much less how to maneuver 'em!!!!! (Oh...and we say "'em" instead of "them." lol)

 

[wfgodot]

Musical Interlude #1

'Roundabout'....Yes

'In the City'......the Jam

(YouTube links)

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

Hilarious! "How's the pig and the rest of the family?"
"He's working on his truck and the kids are doing fine."

Between both my parents, they had a lot of funny old sayings that were just part of the lingo of the older bluenosers.
As an example, when someone would pass gas my father's respose was usually "If you broke off where you just cracked, you'd be a mighty short man"

In nova Scotia we call our only roundabout a "rotary"
A soft drink is "pop"
If it's raining when the sun is out it's sun shower
We wore sneakers to gym class

And my wife's fave to tease me about is when I park in the "grage" :blushing:
We don't have candy bars in Canada we have "chocolate bars"
We turn on our lights but in VA they cut them on
Anyone who lives south of the 49th is a Yankee to Canadians
I "grew up" along the coast but the esteemed Ralph Stanley "growed up" in VA

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Lawd, I swan...this is tha bess thre-ad evah!!!!!!



I've lived "all over the states and parts of Ar-kan-saw," to paraphrase a friend, but my manner of speech (and accent...pronounced "ak-ce-ent") have been influenced most by the Mississippi Delta region (and not the "fake" Arkansas Mississippi Delta region...I mean the Mississippi Delta region).

 

[Show Me]

"It looks like it's trying to rain" or "It looks like it's fixin' to rain?" Neither? The first for me. That's solid Kansan-speak.

To me 'it looks like it's going to rain'. My grandma used to say 'fixin' the closest translation I have for it is 'going' or 'will'. Fixin' is rarely used in my area and when I do hear it I have to stop and think about what they are saying since I almost never hear the word anymore.

This is a fun thread wfgodot.

One thing I have noticed is when we travel through the south people speak slower than the midwest, and are in less of a hurry. But in say, California they speak much faster and seemed rushed.

I say toe-may-toe for tomato, and poe-tay-toe for potato. And 'ant' for aunt, not 'awnt'.

It's unique and awesome we have so many accents in our country.

 

[wfgodot]

I borrow from southern dialect - the term "pitching a fit" is perfect for throwing a snit. Also, to lose one's religion indictes one is about to pitch a fit due to external factors.

Musical Interlude #2

'Losing My Religion'....R.E.M.

 

[wishuwerehere]

The devil has been beating his wife since I was a kid.

Pecan is pronounced pah-cawn

I’ll have a soft drink with my crawfish, not really, I want a be-ah.

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

I was just reminded of another, what I call, "oddity" here in sw Indiana....

Me: My truck needs to be fixed
Them: My truck needs fixed

 

[wfgodot]

Lawd, I swan...this is tha bess thre-ad evah!!!!!!

I've lived "all over the states and parts of Ar-kan-saw," to paraphrase a friend, but my manner of speech (and accent...pronounced "ak-ce-ent") have been influenced most by the Mississippi Delta region (and not the "fake" Arkansas Mississippi Delta region...I mean the Mississippi Delta region).

Love the "I swan." Heard that around the house; my mom grew up in part in the Ozarks. I hadn't thought of that for years till now.

In Kansas we pronounce the town Arkansas City, "Ar-KAN-sas City," btw.

Then there's Missouri - 'ee' or 'uh'?

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Tuh-may-tuh
Puh-tay-tuh
Auntee

(I have my back door open, and I'm saying these things out loud to make sure I relate them correctly. I'm sure my next-door neighbor thinks I've lost my "evah-luvin mind!" lol)

 

[Gardenlady]

It is definitely "awnt" for "aunt" here in Mass. As I tell my husband, there's a 'u' in the word for a reason! And "ants" are little gross crawly things that I have nightmares about! :help:

 

[wfgodot]

The devil has been beating his wife since I was a kid.

Jealous, as, in southeastern Kansas, the devil did not beat his wife. If it was raining while the sun was shining, it was the less catchy, more extended, "Well. Will you look at that. It's rainin' and the sun is shinin'!"

 

[Show Me]

Between both my parents, they had a lot of funny old sayings that were just part of the lingo of the older bluenosers.
As an example, when someone would pass gas my father's respose was usually "If you broke off where you just cracked, you'd be a mighty short man"

In nova Scotia we call our only roundabout a "rotary"
A soft drink is "pop"
If it's raining when the sun is out it's sun shower
We wore sneakers to gym class

And my wife's fave to tease me about is when I park in the "grage" :blushing:
We don't have candy bars in Canada we have "chocolate bars"
We turn on our lights but in VA they cut them on
Anyone who lives south of the 49th is a Yankee to Canadians
I "grew up" along the coast but the esteemed Ralph Stanley "growed up" in VA

A soft drink is a pop to me too, but don't ask an Australian for one as a 'pop' is a sexual term.
I wore tennis shoes.
It's raining and the sun is out here.
We have a 'gar-awje'
We have candy bars and some are chocolate.
We turn off our lights.
No one calls us 'yankees' except southerners.
And we 'grew up'.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

Now that y'all mention it, my son says "ain't" for "aunt." Wonder where he got that? Must be from his rural-Tennessee-raised fah-thuh.

 

[wfgodot]

It is definitely "awnt" for "aunt" here in Mass. As I tell my husband, there's a 'u' in the word for a reason! And "ants" are little gross crawly things that I have nightmares about! :help:

Growing up, it was always ANT Dena and ANT Elma. I say "awnt" now though as I have certain affectations and delusions of grandeur.

I draw the line on po-TAH-toe and to-MAH-toe though.