Regional linguistics survey
Because I am bored at work, I have decided to conduct my own little highly-unscientific regional linguistics survey. Also feel free to add any terms I may have missed:
Which one do you say?
- teeter totter or see saw?
- pop or soda or coke?
- bubbler or drinking fountain?
- tennis shoes or gym shoes or sneakers?
- couch or sofa or davenport?
- parking ramp or parking structure or parking garage?
- shirt or blouse?
- porch or stoop?
- pants or slacks? or perhaps trousers?
- bathroom or restroom or washroom?
- bag or sack?
- bucket or pail?
When you say these 2 different words, do they sound the same?
- pin/pen
- windy/wendy
- cot/caught
- don/dawn
And of course....
- "wash" or "warsh"?
posted by Jege (Jen) at 11:04 AM
14 Comments:
1) Teeter totter more often.
2) Pop, occasionally soda, and Coke only if it refers to what it actually means: Coca-Cola.
3) Drinking fountain (bubbler?)
4) Tennis shoes, occasionally sneakers.
5) Couch, rarely sofa (never davenport).
6) Parking Garage (occasionally Parking Deck).
7) Shirt on a guy, blouse on a woman.
8) Porch.
9) Mostly pants, slacks and trousers to indicate a sense of dressiness (or for comic effect).
10) Bathroom/restroom equally.
11) Bag/sack equally.
12) More often bucket than pail.
All of those words are pronounced differently, and there is no "r" in wash, damnit.
I'm in the Northeastern Ohio region, incidentally.
Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 11:28:00 AM PDT
1. see-saw
2. soda
3. drinking fountain
4. tennis shoes
5. couch
6. parking ramp
7. shirt (blouse--only if it's frilly and has those ties that come down the front)
8. porch
9. pant!!! (Express' Editor Pant!!!) Okay, pants, but the hubby can't handle that they call it 'pant' he wonders if you have to buy 2 pairs to cover both legs.
10. bathroom
11. Bag
12. BUCKET!!!!
pin/pen, windy/wendy different. cot and caught and don/dawn- sometimes different.
WASH! no r.
I spent 18 years in ND and have been in Minneapolis, MN for 11.
The state Jege lives in: Orrr-eee-gone or organ?
And: cash machine or time machine
Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 1:23:00 PM PDT
I guess I should answer this one myself:
1) Teeter totter
2) Pop
3) When I lived in WI, bubbler. Now drinking fountain.
4) Tennis shoes, pronounced "tennashoes".
5) Couch
6) Ramp (although I am working to change my answer to "parking garage" since no one outside of the midwest knows what I'm talking about when I say "ramp").
7) Shirt
8) Porch
9) Pants
10) Bathroom at home, restroom or "the facilities" in public, occasionally "potty" for comic effect (like in public, when I ask my husband in front of all of his friends if he "needs to go potty?").
11) Bag (pronounced BAY-g)
12) Bucket
And I pronounce all of those words differently, and say "wash".
I was born and spent my formitive years in Wisconsin, then lived in North Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico, and now Oregon.
Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 1:45:00 PM PDT
1. teeter-totter
2. soda, but only to be different
3. what the hell is a bubbler?
4. lately, sneakers because I have several but only play tennis in one pair
5. couch. My grandma says, "Davenport."
6. ramp
7. shirt. I'm a guy.
8. porch
9. pants, trousers for fun
10. bath/rest basedn on propriety
11. sack as much as possible
12. bucket
pin/pen and windy/wendy are totally different. I don't even understand how to pronounce the others differently. What are you talking about?
Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 3:59:00 PM PDT
I can't tell you how many times I have been in a meeting where someone asks me to hand them a "pin", so I reach over and grab a thumbtack out of the nearby tacksurface, and hand it to them, only to be met with a look of irritated incredulity, and a snotty, "NO. I said a PIN!". Then of course I just re-offer them the thumbtack again. Heh-heh.
Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 4:43:00 PM PDT
Another big one, but perhaps only for me, is coupon. I say coo-pon, but most people say cue-pon. I think most people are wrong. Thoughts?
Friday, September 22, 2006 at 6:46:00 AM PDT
1. see saw
2. pop
3. water fountain
4. tennis shoes
5. parking garage
6. shirt
7. porch
8. pants
9. bathroom
10. bag
11. bucket
I don't really mispronounce any of those words wrong but I do say melk (milk) and pellow (pillow) so obvisously I just can't speak at all. And I really have to think about Iron before I say it.
Friday, September 22, 2006 at 7:31:00 AM PDT
When I lived in WI as a child, I used to say EYE-ron for Iron.
Friday, September 22, 2006 at 9:28:00 AM PDT
Which one do you say?
* teeter totter
* soda
* drinking fountain
* tennis shoes
* couch
* parking garage
* shirt
* porch
* pants
* bathroom/restroom
* bag
* bucket
When you say these 2 different words, do they sound the same?
* pin/pen NO
* windy/wendy NO
* cot/caught YES
* don/dawn YES
And of course....
* WASH!
Friday, September 22, 2006 at 1:34:00 PM PDT
Oh, my speaking is a combo of MN and AZ.
:)
More MN when I talk to anyone from there. It runs deep!
Friday, September 22, 2006 at 1:35:00 PM PDT
* Teeter totter
* Pop
* Drinking fountain (what in fuck is a "bubbler?")
* Tennis shoes (Like you, pronounced "tenna shews")
* Davenport (but only because I fucking love that word and it's old and crusty.)
* Parking structure or parking garage (I use both fairly equally.)
* Shirt
* Porch
* Trousers (Again, only because it's old and crusty and I love it.)
* Bathroom
* Bag
* Bucket
When you say these 2 different words, do they sound the same?
* pin/pen - No, I say "pin."
* windy/wendy - NO, Wendy is a girl.
* cot/caught - Yes.
* don/dawn - No.
And of course....
* "wash" or "warsh"? WASH!
Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 9:12:00 AM PDT
Apparently Blogger no longer recognizes me. It's me, Stacy.
Hi! *waving maniacally*
Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 9:13:00 AM PDT
Don't forget:
EYE-talian - where are you from? oh yea, EYE-taly.
I have a friend from Alabama and she calls shopping carts, buggies.
She also asked at a restaurant in Iowa, what kind of coke do you have? The waiter snottily replied, "Uh, Diet or Regular." duh
Monday, September 25, 2006 at 6:01:00 PM PDT
*teeter totter
*soda
*drinking fountain
*tennis shoes
*couch
*parking garage
*shirt, unless it's really girly-- then it's a blouse
*porch
*pants
*restroom
*bag if plastic, sack if paper
*bucket
I don't say any of those words the same.
Always "wash," but my mother says "warsh." :-)
Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 8:55:00 PM PDT
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