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

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  • kb455
    kb455 Posts: 679 Member
    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
    ChicagoSammo Posts: 25
    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 :D

    "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
    ChicagoSammo Posts: 25
    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
    MissO﹠A Posts: 906 Member
    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
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    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
    MissO﹠A Posts: 906 Member
    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
    KristenAnn711 Posts: 783
    POP= Michigan

    moved to south louisiana last year. everyone makes fun of my 'accent'
  • scapez
    scapez Posts: 2,018 Member
    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
    krisrpaz Posts: 263 Member
    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
    Laurayinz Posts: 930 Member
    Git aht! Jeet jet? Naw, jew? Careful goin dahna crick. It's slippy 'n dere's jaggers. :wink:
  • maab_connor
    maab_connor Posts: 3,927 Member
    i have a weird mix. mom's side is from Philadelphia - main line. Dad was from Kentucky. i grew up in Amish country PA and went to school in NC. and i watch WAY too much BBC.

    so i'll say y'all and darlin. and then "a-whole-nother" = "an entirely different". i eat hoagies, not subs or grinders or heroes, and you get them at Wawa. i call ppl "wanker" and "wag" a lot. and my nephew gave me SUCH a look when i was angry about something he said and i yelled "tell me you're taking the piss". HAHA.

    i'm not easy to pin down. but "a-whole-nother" tends to pin point me for ppl who know what they're listening for.
  • _Timmeh_
    _Timmeh_ Posts: 2,096 Member
    So Cal, born in Encino....so growing up it was:
    trippin-dicular
    gag me with a spoon
    narly
    not e-v-e-nl
    like, totally! fersure

    Now.


    dude
    bro
    like......like......like........like.......like
    as if
    sick
    metal mulisha
    my lifted two wheel drive ranger with huuuuge fenders
    crib
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,173 Member
    I've lost most of my accent since moving from PA to NV; but here are some things that would peg me as being from southeastern PA:

    arnge rather than orange (I do still say this)
    wudder for water
    crick, as in a body of water
    jimmies, otherwise known as chocolate sprinkles, LOL!
  • scapez
    scapez Posts: 2,018 Member
    Git aht! Jeet jet? Naw, jew? Careful goin dahna crick. It's slippy 'n dere's jaggers. :wink:

    I get my dissabwillity check and POW! Dahn ta Pants n'at!
  • MrsM1ggins
    MrsM1ggins Posts: 724 Member
    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. .
    And dont forget "fit like?" which is NE Scots for "how are you?" I loved living in Aberdeen.

    There are huge variations in language even in a small country like Scotland. I didn't know anyone who used the word 'ken' in conversation until I started working in Edinburgh. It's all "d'ye ken..?" this, and "Aye, I ken that" that over there!

    I suppose the biggest indicator of a Scottish upbringing is the use of 'aye' instead of yes. That and the number of different ways we can tell you it's raining...
  • misskerouac
    misskerouac Posts: 2,242 Member
    I'm from BC and I don't think there's anything in particular that points to BC, but my husband is from California and there are a few words I have said when we've been visiting his family that they just looked at me like I was speaking gibberish. I asked his sister where the washroom was and she thought I meant their laundry room, I asked his other sister about her runners and she looked at me with a very blank stare (she calls them sneakers).

    I guess I say "eh" but that's more of a Canadian thing, not a BC thing specifically. And funny enough my husband says it more than I do and he's only lived here for 4 years.
  • Myslissa
    Myslissa Posts: 760 Member
    Something I picked up from my grandmother.....They law!!!!!!!!! Being surprised by something. I loved her so much and miss some of the things she would say.

    Tennessee
  • bbygrl5
    bbygrl5 Posts: 964 Member
    frick and heck are local words that are overused, but I usually correct people (in the right company) to say swear words.

    edit: I'm from Utah.
  • cheryl3660
    cheryl3660 Posts: 182 Member
    southern california:
    dude
    baller
    like
    whatever
    sketch
    stoked...

    I use "dude" "like" everyday. Whatever. LOL!
  • PZlady
    PZlady Posts: 137 Member
    I'm from thetri-state Philadelphia-Baltimore-Wilmington area. We go "down the shore" for the New Jersey beaches and "to the beach" for other beaches. I'm told that the term "pocketbook" for a woman's purse is regional but I'm not sure about that. We drink soda not pop. We're gunna do somethin' soon. There's a difference between a hoagie & a sub and we appreciate the difference and I prefer hoagies. We know a foreigner when they say AA-MISH instead of Ah-mish or Baltimore instead of Bahl-mer. New-Ark (Newark) is in Delaware and New-Erk (Newark) is in New Jersey. WOW, I love our language!
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