People outside the US probably won’t find this very interesting, but considering past discussions about regional dialects and terms like “yankee”, I thought some folks might find this amusing.
To find out how much Southern blood your speech shows, simply choose the words you use below, then press “Compute My Score!” at the end. The Alpha Dictionary will compute your score and tell you where you’re coming from: are you (all) speaking Bubbaese or are you(se) a Yankee Doodle Dandy? The higher your score, the deeper from the South you are coming. (The test is based on research by the Harvard Computer Society enhanced by Dr. Beard’s own research here at alphaDictionary.)
New England has some great regionalisms that I really miss hearing.
In eastern Massachusetts a drinking fountain is called a “bubbler.” I still remember my first day working at a museum in Worcester after moving there from Connecticut: A kid came up to me and said, “excuse me mistah but wheas the bubblah?” I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
A police car in Mass. is called a “cruiser” and a milkshake is called a “frappe.” (In Rhode Island, it’s called a “cabinet,” believe it or not). What other Americans would call a “hallway” is called a “corridor.” The little sprinkles that you put on ice cream are called “jimmies.”
Somewhere on the Internet there’s a map that shows the geographical boundaries of all the different regional expressions for “soda” (as in soft drinks like Coke or Pepsi). Fascinating stuff (even more fascinating that someone took the time to do all the research and compile a map).
Ne’mind, Slude Dude, I enjoyed it.
As an English-ish Irishman (Or Inglish Erseman?) of Olster uxtraction I turned up 46% Dixie (or Buckskin, as I’d prefer to say). Seems fair.
Longest time I spent in the States was in Neutral old Kentucky.
The interesting thing was the alternation between NewYork/New Jersey and the Great Lakes area.
I’m 25% Dixie, which makes sense since I lived in the northeastern US almost all of my life. I also noticed that I had a lot of New England influences in my speech. I’m sure that has to do with where I lived in NY (on the Vermont border).
It’s funny that they say “Brew Thru” is common in OH, VA, and NC.
I’m pretty sure drive-through liquor stores are illegal in NC. I’d
never even heard of such an idea until I met a Virginia Tech
student.
I’ve always thought the whole liquor store thing is funny. In MD, they
don’t sell any alcohol in grocery stores, the stores where alcohol is
sold are privately owned and have names like “Jim’s Liquors”. In NC,
beer and wine are sold in the grocery store and liquor can only be
bought at state-run shops called “ABC” Stores. So, you don’t have
to read much to figure out where to buy your hooch. I was quite
confused when I went into a Hawaiian ABC store, because on the
islands, ABC is a huge chain of general stores.
But, my favorite part is when I noticed that South Carolina has a
similar state-controlled liquor store, which is marked with three
large, red dots prominately displayed. So, you don’t even have to
be able to read “ABC” to find liquor in SC! Keepin’ it simple for the
illiterate whinos.
I thought that everyone called them that, until I brought it up to my husband, and he asked me what “jimmies” were I never knew them as anything else growing up.
I never knew them as anything else growing up.