Not a surprise that most people I grew up with speak like I do.
No shocker that I have nothing in common with the way people in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island speak.
My native dialect is most often heard in Oklahoma City and Norman – at a 63 percent match to residents in a
national survey.
Of course, I feel equally at home in my home city of Tulsa with a 61 percent match, along with the Texas cities of Wichita Falls and Denton.
The interactive site is designed by Joshua Katz, a doctorate student in the department of statistics at North Carolina State University, based on the
Dialect Survey that began by a Harvard professor in 1999 and concluded in 2003.
What’s nice is that there are no judgments placed on the different types of speech.
It’s simply an exploration of how Americans use the English language.
It’s also fun to see how your answers stack up nationally.
Some questions and how I answered:
--What is your general term for the rubber-soled shoes worn in gym class, for athletic events, etc.?
The choices are jumpers, sneakers, gym shoes, tennis shoes, sand shoes, running shoes, runners, shoes, trainers or no general word for this.
Strangely, I say “tennis shoes,” though I don’t play tennis.
--Do you pronounce “cot” and “caught” the same? Absolutely.
--What is the distinction between dinner and supper?
I had no idea there would be a difference.
--What do you call a long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce and so on?
Among the choices are poor boy, sub, sarney, hero, grinder, hoagie, bomber, baguette and Italian sandwich.
I went with sub.
--What term do you use to refer to something that is across both streets from you at an intersection (diagonally across from you in general)?
Choices are kitty-corner, catty-corner, diagonal or other.
Of course it’s catty-corner.
--And: What do you call a drive-through liquor store?
What? Where are these super-convenient businesses?
I honestly answered, “I have never heard of such a thing,” which was among the multiple choices available.
My results were based on the shorter, 25-question quiz.
Because I’m a native of Oklahoma, I’m assuming the 140-question exam would show a similar outcome.
Among the fun facts I learned looking at the national maps:
--Southern states use the term “buggy” when referring to a shopping cart.
--The night before Halloween has a name among 30 percent of people, including mishchief night, devil’s night, cabbage night and goosy night.
--When referring to two or more people, 43 percent say, “you guys,” which clearly takes much longer than the “y’all,” preferred by 14 percent of us in the south and Midwest southern states.
Though 12 percent do a more formal “you all.”
--I am among 17 percent using the pronunciation of “caramel” interchangeably, both the two syllable (carm-ml) and the three syllable (carra-mel).
The only explanation is that I’m moody when it comes to my sweets.
--About 70 percent of us call “shotgun” for the front seat, but the eastern seaboard area (21 percent) puts “dibs” on it.
--Three-fourths of people have “dust bunnies” under their beds and another 20 percent have “dust balls.”
But, 1 percent living in California or in eastern states have “dust mice” or “dust kittens.”
--Four percent of people call the end of a loaf of bread the “butt,” and .05 percent refer to it as the “sphitzel.”
--About 11 percent of people have never heard of a bear claw as a pastry. Kinda sad.
Follow Ginnie Graham on Twitter.
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