Dialect differences

[midwestyankee]

Re: Re: Dialect differences

So why does J say pillbug and you say roly-poly? (I say pillbug, and around here they say roly-poly.) I'm in CA but my mother is from Texas, if that has anything to do with it.

PS

In dialect study, geography is almost as important as location is to real estate. The majority of distinctions in dialect are due to geography, with economic class coming in a distant second.

 

[CelticFrog]

Pretty simple -- in addition to what MWY said...

J and I didn't grow up anywhere near each other. I was a military brat. Was exposed to all sorts of dialects. I also have a much different ancestry than he does.

There are tons of answers to that one simple question.

Ang

 

[Phoenix Stone]

Still wondering where my calling them pillbugs comes from, according to the study. Is it Southern? Or is it more related to my mother coming from a particular class? (Pretty sure I got it from her.) Using 'pretty' as a modifier is also something that came from her, and was less common in my childhood neighborhood. (I remember getting teased for saying something like 'that's pretty ugly,' and being asked is it pretty or ugly?)

 

[CelticFrog]

Heh... I don't know exactly what stuff originated where.
But if you look at the results of the study I originally cited, which can be found...

HERE

Each of the links on this page are in reference to a different question that was on the study. Some of them were pretty hard questions for me. I caught myself having to repeat the words they asked about aloud several times.

Anyhow, for anyone who's interested in some of the words we've covered here... the results are listed by state and there are maps with neat dots.


Ang

 

[CelticFrog]

Oh -- and questions that refer to words that are particularly sensitive around this household (lol) are... (and some of the words we've been talking about as well)

10 (everyone laughs at me)
50 (J just laughs at me)
65 (FIREFLY I TELL YOU!)
66 (I REALLY wanted to pick 'I have no word for this critter')
67 (DADDY. Damn it, DADDY.) (not THAT kind of daddy, geez.)
72 (bunnies. dust bunnies.)
73 (shoes? honestly, I could have picked almost any of these)
74 (ROLY. POLY. say it with me. ROLY-POLY. )
75 (I use some of them interchangeably)
76 (Oh for $&^%... the first time I said my word fer it... J looked at me like I was crazy)
77 (Depending on my mood?)
81 (goosebumps. But the pimplers aren't completely alone)
82 (heh... don't even get me going with this one.)
102 (water skeeters)
103 (yep, we already covered this one)
105 (It's all coke. All of it.)
106 (My term? fun from HS)
107 (rubbernecking. It's a fun word.)
118 (a great idea?)
120 (gotten us into plenty of arguments)

and the biggest one of all...
121!!! (rassafrassumbastardwontadmitimright)

Ang

 

[phoenix1224]

How about the word coupon?... Some people pronounce it 'coo-pon' and others 'cue-pon'...

And the roly-poly thing... Yeah, some people call them pill bugs, but some also call them potato bugs...

 

[SlickTony]

I always called 'em pillbugs. My folks were from Nebraska, but I grew up in the south and have always lived there. I think where they came from the called them Kew-pons, but I started calling them coupons when I found out that everyone else did.

 

[Feistyred16]

Growing up in the same place you did...

I just couldn't resist jumping in with this one.

"My" June bugs are about 3/4" to 1" long and are sorta boxy/rectangular looking, with hard green wings. When we were kids, we were so poor (growing up in SW Va, remember?) that we made pets out of them. Would tie a string (pronounced "strang") onto one of their hind legs and let them fly around in circles over our head. Their buzzing flight made for a really cool sound. Some of the more evil kids would help their flight by whipping the string a liitle faster than the poor things (thangs) could fly, which made for some interesting effects. Either the leg would pop off (oops) or else it would be dizzy when it landed. So that's it... for fun, us poor kids would watch staggering June bugs crawl around in the dirt.

And that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Gospel truth. ("Gospel truth" - another regional saying?)

Hooch

We did that too! You're right about the noise it made...very cool!
Something to do on a boring. Hot afternoon at the lake...

 

[SlickTony]

If they're long and green and make a noise that seems to capture the essence of summer, that's a cicada.

 

[logan ross]

Haven't checked in here for a few days although I've found myself thinking about word differences at the oddest moments...

The umbrella reference had me laughing, we used to call an umbrella an umbershooter.

Supermarket cart is a shopping trolley here.

June bugs sound like our Christmas beetles, strong memories of beachside holidays, you've find these guys in overturned flailing around on their backs like turtles. I love bugs.

The remote/clicker gets called a telly changer at our place and like CF I rarely see it so I don't care what it gets called ( within the limits of decency ) of course.

Popsicle is an icy pole (water based ice confection)

In U.S recipes I have trouble imagining a "stick" of butter?

In Oz we have the esky, a insulated container for taking canned and bottled drinks on picnics etc, in New Zealand they're called chillybins, is there a U.S equivalent?

in oz we call
beer= piss, amber liquid, liquid gold or vb
being drunk= pissed
toilet= dunny, shitter, thunderbox, crapper or loo
friend= mate
hello= g'day (pronounced giday. now everyone say it together)
afternoon= arvo
football= footy
sex= shag, root
when something goes wrong= bugger!!
someone you dont like= dickhead
when your suprised= crikey!!
masturbation= flogging, tossing or wank
masturbater= flogger, tossa and our favourite wanker.
for example=" you are such a wanker mate,
now lets go to the pub and get pissed'.

i think all you kiddies should spend the day pretending to be an aussie and see how many people you can confuse.

 

[sheath]

in oz we call
beer= piss, amber liquid, liquid gold or vb
being drunk= pissed
toilet= dunny, shitter, thunderbox, crapper or loo
friend= mate
hello= g'day (pronounced giday. now everyone say it together)
afternoon= arvo
football= footy
sex= shag, root
when something goes wrong= bugger!!
someone you dont like= dickhead
when your suprised= crikey!!
masturbation= flogging, tossing or wank
masturbater= flogger, tossa and our favourite wanker.
for example=" you are such a wanker mate,
now lets go to the pub and get pissed'.

i think all you kiddies should spend the day pretending to be an aussie and see how many people you can confuse.

I was particularly interested in this list.

But I thought VB was a kind of beer only available in Australia?

Whether or not that is true, the stuff tastes GREAT. Sure ain't a plain ole Michelob, that's for damn sure.

S.

 

[entitled]

i thought of another one!

Those deep areas that have been washed out of the ground over the course of the years that stand dry unless a good rain comes through are known as coolies, draws, gulleys, or hollows (pronounced hollers).

 

[midwestyankee]

i thought of another one!

Those deep areas that have been washed out of the ground over the course of the years that stand dry unless a good rain comes through are known as coolies, draws, gulleys, or hollows (pronounced hollers).

I've also heard "hollers" used to refer to the hill country outside of town in the Appalachian region of the U.S. These areas could be and usually are beautifully wooded.

In Maine, where I grew up, an area such as you describe was called a gulley.

 

[logan ross]

I was particularly interested in this list.

But I thought VB was a kind of beer only available in Australia?

Whether or not that is true, the stuff tastes GREAT. Sure ain't a plain ole Michelob, that's for damn sure.

S.

you are correct VB is short for victoria bitter. its made here in my home town and is staple diet of every beer loving aussie.

 

[sheath]

you are correct VB is short for victoria bitter. its made here in my home town and is staple diet of every beer loving aussie.

I love the stuff. But my bank account does NOT like the cost of import.

S.

 

[logan ross]

I love the stuff. But my bank account does NOT like the cost of import.

S.

can i send you beer in the mail? is that legal?

other aussie sayings

u say cell phone=we say mobile phone
candy=lollies
are you kidding=fair dinkum
religon=footy
come on= c'mon or carn. for example instead of saying " come on the blues" we yell "carn the blues".(my footy team)
erection= mongrel
semi erection=half a mongrel
womens pubic hair= map of tassie
small bottle of beer= stubbie
can of beer=tinny

 

[sheath]

can i send you beer in the mail? is that legal?

Hmmm...I don't know if it is legal or not. I've had it shipped to me via air services, but never via regular international mail. I'm not sure what the regulations are, but it gets here...so...that's all that I'm concerned with.

There IS a place in Florida that sells it and sometimes I get lucky with it being in stock at just the right time.

Anyway, didn't mean to hijack...

I like your lists.

S.

 

[CelticFrog]

mildly on topic -- why the hell do I say 'fair dinkum'?

Anyone?

Ang

 

[cricketbug]

...the REALLY flat flatlands (eastern Colorado - there's nothing but flat. Trust me.) we say a lot of things differently. Speech patterns vary even from town to farm/ranch.

[/B]

*waves to entitled*

you're right y'know...

what about "the-ay-ter" (theater)

I've heard "winders" for "windows"

What about "bar-pit" or "bar-ditch" for the ditch that comes off the shoulder of the highway or road

 

[CelticFrog]

Okay.

How do you say pralines?

Ang

 

[sheath]

Okay.

How do you say pralines?

Ang

With a hard A. My editing software doesn't work on here so I don't know how to make the slash thingies.

pr-A-leens

Of course, I'm from the south. So who knows. We do things differently down here, you know.

S.

 

[entitled]

pray-leans

There was something else (can't think of it now), but it took me a LONG time to figure out that what i was calling something, everybody else was calling something else. Some sort of fruit.

Daffodils are easter flowers here, and they are just yellow. The bicolored ones aren't 'real' easter flowers.

And of course i'm right, cricketbug. Do you REALLY expect anything less from me?

Oh, and don't forget about directions. In town people turn to the right or left and tend to use street names. Out of town they use the cardinal directions and landmarks - except in highly wooded areas. Then they use both landmarks and road names.

 

[sheath]

Daffodils are easter flowers here, and they are just yellow. The bicolored ones aren't 'real' easter flowers.

Them's called March Flowers down hehar.

S.

 

[midwestyankee]

Next on the agenda: how do you pronounce pecan?

Where is the accent - first syllable or second? And what is the value of each vowel?

This is research for me, so I will reveal my own after others have contributed.

 

[CelticFrog]

Okay, so I have always said it pray-leans too (ironically, I was thinking earlier today how I would spell it phonetically and that's what I came up with as well) but apparently we're all wrong and Emeril is right. I just made a batch of 'em a few days ago and literally right in the intro to the recipe he flat out says it's pronounced "praw-leens".

So being as interested in dialect lately as I am, I figgered I'd ask.

Ang