Regionalism's

[shootingstar]

I still haven't figured out the regionalisms where we are since I've moved.

Methinks my brain is messed up in terms of terminology and accents because of globalism...seriously in Canadian Pacific Rim city...it's different. Maybe I'm in the wrong social circles here in Vancouver..

One thing I have noticed since coming to Vancouver, is a tendency for people to refer to their cottage as a ..."cabin" when it really is not a loghouse cabin/hut at all. It could be something...closer to a detached home year-round or ...chalet.

Whereas in Ontario, a cottage is truly a cottage and a cabin really means a roughed place.

Yes Vancouverites do mention sushi WAY more often than Toronto folks..because we are closer to the natural sources.

But may I politely add, Canadian English spelling does lean abit more heavily on British English spelling. So we colour our world different than 'color' your world.

The Oxford English dictionary in a Canadian university or for any large Canadian library would be considered a strong preferred purchase for any English literature/language course vs. Webster's.

I love regionalism and dialects for 1 language. The English language worldwide, of how it manifests itself in different countries is truly interesting.... when various 'patois' are born.

[kelownagirl]

I still haven't figured out the regionalisms where we are since I've moved.

Methinks my brain is messed up in terms of terminology and accents because of globalism...seriously in Canadian Pacific Rim city...it's different. Maybe I'm in the wrong social circles here in Vancouver..

One thing I have noticed since coming to Vancouver, is a tendency for people to refer to their cottage as a ..."cabin" when it really is not a loghouse cabin/hut at all. It could be something...closer to a detached home year-round or ...chalet.

Whereas in Ontario, a cottage is truly a cottage and a cabin really means a roughed place.

Yes Vancouverites do mention sushi WAY more often than Toronto folks..because we are closer to the natural sources.

But may I politely add, Canadian English spelling does lean abit more heavily on British English spelling. So we colour our world different than 'color' your world.

The Oxford English dictionary in a Canadian university or for any large Canadian library would be considered a strong preferred purchase for any English literature/language course vs. Webster's.

I love regionalism and dialects for 1 language. The English language worldwide, of how it manifests itself in different countries is truly interesting.... when various 'patois' are born.

"Cottage" is definitely an eastern word. I always think it sounds funny. We call them cabins regardless of the size.

[bmccasland]

I remembered!
Camp - your vacation home on a lake, bayou, or beach. Can be something close to a shack that is a marvel it survives thunderstorms, to a very fancy home with gold plated fixtures. "go'in to your camp this weekend?"

[littlegrasshopp]

BBQ. Here it means to either slow cook (for several hours) with dry rub, or to use a BBQ sauce, and it MUST happen in a grill. In some other areas, BBQ covers anything cooked on the grill. We call that "grilling out." Imagine my surprise when I went to a BBQ that a newly relocated coworker from the North East held. I was expecting ribs, pulled pork, something from a big animal, cooked slowly and yummy. We had hot dogs.

My husband, from Oregon, says "is what it is, is...." He insists everyone says it in his home town.

[Ciao]

This is fun..

What to you get when you mash English with Irish, Polish, German, Greek, and the other large immigrant populations that came right after the war? Pittsburghese from da 'Burgh obviously!

nebby (nosey)
yinz (plural of 'you')
yinzer (a blue collar worker with a heavy Pittsburgher accent)
hoagie (submarine sandwich)
redd-up (clean up)
babushka (headscarf)
n'at (and all that)
... far too many to list.

Moved to Northern CA after school, but there's not really a noticeable local dialect in the bay area or Marin. Too many transients.

Now in Florence, I'm learning the different Italian dialects. The locals swap their 'c' with an exaggerated 'h'. So coka-cola becomes hhoka-hhola; cassa (house) becomes hhaza. But they make fun of the other regional accents - especially the more southern ones... and Sicilia?! They're not considered Italian...

[wackyjacky1]

Here in San Antonio, a convenience store (i.e., 7-11) is called an ice house. And if you're getting ready to do something, you say you're fixin' to do it.

"I'm fixin' to run up to the ice house to get some more beer."

[yellow]

The most classic Utah line...

"Oh my heck!"

I'd never heard that before I lived here. I still giggle to myself every time someone says it.

[Aggie_Ama]

Austin is attracting many people from out of state and we are losing our regionalism. It is nice to have a booming job market but I miss the days of my youth when people understood and were not amused by:

y'all
coke (all sodas are cokes, if a native Texan says they want a coke you ask what kind.)
fixin'
darlin', sugar, sweetheart and baby- these are polite if an elder that is a stranger calls you this.
BBQ- like the post above this means slow cooked meat, often brisket. Hamburgers and hotdogs are reserved for grillin' or a cook-out.

These are the only ones I can think of but I know there are more. We have lost the regional naming of streets. People move here and call them by their proper name whereas we call them the old name or a nickname.

[Thorn]

Don't know how wide-spread this one is, but "tyme machine" for ATM.

Our first ATMs were TYME and that's all we had for years. So many still refer to an ATM as a TYME machine. While in Europe, my brother-in-law had a little cross-cultural discussion when he said, "I really have to find a TYME machine." Yes, don't we all....take me back a few years, please.

[Flybye]

The most classic Utah line...

"Oh my heck!"

I'd never heard that before I lived here. I still giggle to myself every time someone says it.

Idaho and Utah may as well be the same............

Heck is the eternal fire word and.................

Frick is the substitute "f" word. Can't drop the bomb around here, just the grenade.

Rig or Outfit refers to your vehicle. "Which outfit are you going to take?"

For you Texans, our relatives have the whole dinner/supper thing messed up. I never know what we are invited to because one means lunch and the other means dinner.

And a barbecue is not a barbecue around here unless there is a flame involved. That's the way it should be. It's like saying a piece of chicken is a steak because you put A-1 sauce on it. Nope. Meat isn't barbecue because of the sauce, but because of the cooking method - freakin fire!

[Eden]

This is fun..

What to you get when you mash English with Irish, Polish, German, Greek, and the other large immigrant populations that came right after the war? Pittsburghese from da 'Burgh obviously!

nebby (nosey)
yinz (plural of 'you')
yinzer (a blue collar worker with a heavy Pittsburgher accent)
hoagie (submarine sandwich)
redd-up (clean up)
babushka (headscarf)
n'at (and all that)
... far too many to list.

another Pittsburgher here - though I never had the "south side" accent....
a few more words that I remember as only in the Burgh
chipped ham (deli ham sliced so thin it tears aka chip chopped ham)
pop - instead of soda
and btw a hoagie is not only named differently, but *made* differently from a sub, grinder, po boy - what ever you call it in your area. Pittsburgh is probably the only place I've found one done properly. Forget Quizno's and Subway with all their "new" toasted subs.... a real hoagie is made in a pizza shop. The meat and cheese are put on the bun and both halves of it are put into a pizza oven until the cheese is melted and the bun is toasty. Then lettuce, tomato and italian dressing are put on it - the perperchinis are optional... definitely no mustard or mayo or other muck - only the stuff you'd find in a pizza shop. I was appalled, absolutely appalled the first time anyone gave me a Subway sub.... it was cold, pallid, had doughy soft bread and worst of all it had mayo on it...

[Ciao]

another Pittsburgher here

And the world doesn't know what it's missing... Primanti's in the strip!

So, really, how many of us are originally from Pittsburgh?? It's uncanny.

[callmecrazy]

So, really, how many of us are originally from Pittsburgh?? It's uncanny.

I knew I hadn't seen any Pittsburghers in all my lurking, but there is an uncanny number of "at one time" 'burghers! I'm just the opposite, not a native but have been here half my short life.

The only striking Pittsburgh regionalism I haven't seen mentioned is the use of "slippy" instead of "slippery".