Word/words you say that distinguish where you're from

jagar07

I loved reading all the posts, but I have to say, it's making me sound pretty boring lol. I'm from upstate NY and the only thing that people I say funny is "Hot dog", and coffee, apparently I'm an enunciating the "O" Strange for southerners?? lol

jagar07

Oh I forgot, I DO call soda, soda, not pop lol

redfroggie

We moved to the UK from the US so yeah I have a very distinct accent, though no one ever guess where we were from. I grew up in Texas so still stuck with Ya'll. Lived in Colorado for many years but not sure what I took from there. Living here has been interesting because of the things that are so differently named. Plasters for band-aids, serviettes (still stuggle with this one) for a napkin. Towels for pantyliners and maxi-pads. Garden for yard and tea for dinner, reception room for living room, hob for stove, I could go on and on. We are learning, I find that when I talk to my sister who lives in Texas I use a lot of the Brit terms I've learned and she thinks it's 'cute.'

Oh and wonga for cash, I just can't use that word casually, it's too weird!

glypta

We moved to the UK from the US so yeah I have a very distinct accent, though no one ever guess where we were from. I grew up in Texas so still stuck with Ya'll. Lived in Colorado for many years but not sure what I took from there. Living here has been interesting because of the things that are so differently named. Plasters for band-aids, serviettes (still stuggle with this one) for a napkin. Towels for pantyliners and maxi-pads. Garden for yard and tea for dinner, reception room for living room, hob for stove, I could go on and on. We are learning, I find that when I talk to my sister who lives in Texas I use a lot of the Brit terms I've learned and she thinks it's 'cute.'

Oh and wonga for cash, I just can't use that word casually, it's too weird!

Where are you in the UK for 'wonga'? No-one I know uses that, but I'm in Scotland and we have loads of words, many of which are local to certain parts of Scotland, rather than just Scottish in general. An ideal example is "furryboots?" meaning "whereabouts" - that's their pronunciation up north-east. We say "juice" or "ginger" they way the Americans say "soda" or "pop" and dinner can be lunch and tea can be dinner. Trainers are sneakers.

ooOOooGravy

Being from Barnsley (old mining town in South Yorkshire, UK) we say alot of things that people in near by towns dont even understand! lol Its pretty much our own language

"Put wood in oil" = Put the wood in the hole (which means "shut the door")
"Went art, bart a tat on" = went out, without a hat on
"Midadsgotajag" = My dad has a Jaguar
"Gooin darn tarn, t'see footy in cruiser" = Im going into town to watch the football in the pub

As i said, Barnsley has its own language, and just a taster here. lol Luckily i dont talk as bad as most, although, sometimes i admit to speaking proper Bransley lol

catattack13

Love all these!

I say:
"bubbler" instead of "water fountain"
"grinder" instead of "submarine sandwich/hoagie"
"wicked" for "very"
"down cellar" instead of "in the basement"
"rotary" instead of "roundabout".

I also drop "R"s and put them other places.

Massachusetts!

kimletton11

haha, this is great. I also say you guys as someone mentioned about. I am from the philly suburbs and a ton of people here pronounce water "wooder" which I have never done...thank God.

My grandparents are from Virginia, and they both say "wooder" for water.

Really!? I so thought this was just a PA thing It cracks me up, both of my parents do it!

A lot of my family is from PA, they say wooder, woosher (washer), woosh, crick (creek), and some other odd things. I forgot to put yinz...lol.

Being from the South, I say ya'll a LOT and fixin to. I also say "bless his/her heart" or "sweet baby Jesus"...not sure where I picked up the sweet baby Jesus..

ilookthetype

I have no geographical claim. My father was military. I say "hella" quite often but never lived in CA. I may have picked it up from my cousin, who's from San Diego. I say "y'all" a lot, which I picked up living in the south. I think I picked up "wicked" from living in CT for a number of years. I call carbonated beverages "soda."

We are similar linguistically.

CaptainGordo

Oh My Heck!!

I spent 11 years in Utah and I can't seem to get rid of this phrase, I'll even text OMH instead of OMG..

We're also known to call mountains "mou'ains".

kb455

I'm from Pa and I have used Pennsylvania dutch terms such as "brutz" or "grex" on occasion. In fact, I did on here once and someone asked what it meant

kb455

I'm from NW PA where the creek is pronounced "crick"

and there's a hidden "r" in the washing machine

In the summer, the Pittsburghers come up and we can detect them when they say "yinz" = yous guys

Haha! My father-in-law says "warsh" for wash, and also "grarge" for garage.

ChicagoSammo

Being from Barnsley (old mining town in South Yorkshire, UK) we say alot of things that people in near by towns dont even understand! lol Its pretty much our own language

"Put wood in oil" = Put the wood in the hole (which means "shut the door")
"Went art, bart a tat on" = went out, without a hat on
"Midadsgotajag" = My dad has a Jaguar
"Gooin darn tarn, t'see footy in cruiser" = Im going into town to watch the football in the pub

As i said, Barnsley has its own language, and just a taster here. lol Luckily i dont talk as bad as most, although, sometimes i admit to speaking proper Bransley lol

Are you frumptarn?

ChicagoSammo

I grew up in a village in the East Midlands (UK) where the natives say things like;-
Aye up mi duck = hello
I can't gerra warm on = I'm freezing
Giz a gleg = May I have a look at that

MissO﹠A

Maryland. Or "Murlin" -- though as I'm from nearer DC than Baltimore, I don't say "hon" nor "Balmer" for (Baltimore). And, I've trained myself to stop pronouncing "on" as "owun" and now pronounce it "awn."

"Eddie" - a moron.
"Bamma" - an unfashionable person (like myself).
"Lunchin" - to act stupid / a fool.
"Pressed" - to act annoying.

taso42

On the west coast, when referring to a highway or interstate, they say "The", as in "The 5". On the east coast, it's "Route", like "Route 9".

MissO﹠A

On the west coast, when referring to a highway or interstate, they say "The", as in "The 5". On the east coast, it's "Route", like "Route 9".

I tend to hear different pronunciations of the word "route" too, depending on where I am. I'd pronounce it like "root" (not sure if this is a Mid Atlantic U.S. thing or more local) and I do hear lots of "rowt" (rhymes with "bout") though.

KristenAnn711

POP= Michigan

moved to south louisiana last year. everyone makes fun of my 'accent'

scapez

I'm from NW PA where the creek is pronounced "crick"
and there's a hidden "r" in the washing machine
In the summer, the Pittsburghers come up and we can detect them when they say "yinz" = yous guys

I knew someone would beat me to the "yinz". It's one of my favorite words! Lots of people around here say warshing machine but that drives me crazy...crick is a big Pittsburgh thing too.

Do any of yinz have a gumband I can borrow?
That guy is such a jagoff!
Don't be so nebby n'at!

Kennywood's open!!!

krisrpaz

I grew up in NJ (and no, I don't have that bad accent you hear from some people - people are always amazed to hear I'm from NJ because I don't have it), but I went to college in Philly, then lived in Michigan for 5 years, then Atlanta for 2, then here in Charleston, SC for 3 years. I also am a bit of a chameleon when it comes to accents and often code-switch (I tend to mirror the person to whom I'm talking), so people have a hard time determining where I'm from.

In NJ, we say "sneakers." In MI and SC, they say "tennis shoes." It's odd to me, because unless you are playing tennis, they should not be called tennis shoes.

In NJ, we say "soda" or the specific brand (Coke, Sprite, etc). In MI they said "pop." I always thought that was funny. Atlanta and SC vary between "soda" and "Coke," depending on who you're talking to and whether or not you're actually drinking a Coke product, Atlanta's being the Coke HQ and all

Here in SC (and I very occasionally heard this around Atlanta) people say "cut on" to mean "turn on." It's derived from the opposite of using "cut off" to mean "turn off." For example, they would say "cut off the lights" to mean turn them off, but then they say "cut on the lights" to mean that you should turn them on. Same with the TV, air conditioning, car, etc., which doesn't make any sense but is funny.

Also in SC (and I've *never* heard this elsewhere), people say "Do what now?" when they didn't understand what you said. I will say, "What?" (if I'm in a very casual situation) or "Excuse me?" or or "I'm sorry?" if I don't understand someone... but here they will say "Do what now?" I always want to reply, "I didn't ask you to do anything, I simply said [fill in the blank]." It is the strangest thing they say here.

"Y'all" of course is big here and in Atlanta. I remember when we lived in Michigan, I overheard my husband on the phone to a law firm in Georgia, and he used "y'all." When he got off the phone I told him that I thought that saying "y'all" might be a little unprofessional when talking to someone you want to hire you. He assured me it was fine, and after having lived in the south for five years now, I agree that it can be, depending on the situation. I do say it quite a bit myself, but usually when I'm talking to someone who would appreciate it. If I'm talking to family or other northerners, then I pretty much never use "y'all."

I'm from North Florida, only an hour from Georgia and we say ALL of this. I have always said "sneakers" and "soda (or Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc.)", "cut off and on" "do what now?" "y'all".

I also call a shopping cart a "buggy"...I don't know why. It must have been engrained at some point. But that's what it is. A buggy.

Laurayinz

Git aht! Jeet jet? Naw, jew? Careful goin dahna crick. It's slippy 'n dere's jaggers.