Who Says Regional Differences are Disappearing?

[davidbeinct]

Well I did actually, in another thread. But this guy in Philly is going viral for his accent in a tv interview.

 

[gjmalcyon]

There is MUCH LOVE for this guy in Fluffya.

To wit:

Perfect Philadelphia accent: A hoagiemouth take on I-95 collapse

It’s not just how the dude speaks that has people in awe of his absolute Northeast Philly-ness. It’s also what he says.

billypenn.com

If he had only uttered the word "hoagie" during that interview, all you sub and grinder heathens and apostates over in the "Not John Lennon" thread would have learned how to pronounce the only true and correct name for that delicious assemblage of a bread roll (Amoroso's please) sandwich piled high with deli meats, cheese, fixings, etc.

Go Birds!

 

[GGJaguar]

I think it's a mixed bag when it comes to change. When I first moved to Kansas, I heard the word "pop" a lot. By the time I left the word changed to "soda". On the other hand the word "sack" never changed. I still called it a "bag" because, to me, a "sack" was a burlap bag used to steal chickens or to store animal feed.

 

[Rich Cohen]

I think it's a mixed bag when it comes to change. When I first moved to Kansas, I heard the word "pop" a lot. By the time I left the word changed to "soda". On the other hand the word "sack" never changed. I still called it a "bag" because, to me, a "sack" was a burlap bag used to steal chickens or to store animal feed.

I have been a scholar of historical linguistics most of my adult life, and one constant of all languages is that they are ever changing.

 

[Rocky]

When I first moved to Kansas, I heard the word "pop" a lot. By the time I left the word changed to "soda".

My estimate during the 80's was that the soda/pop line was somewhere between Utica and Syracuse. I think it's migrated West since then.

 

[lungimsam]

I don’t hear anything unusual in the way he talks, but my family is from Baltimore so the accents are similar but even more pronounced down here.

It’s very interesting to be from the mid Atlantic and you can hear the natural progressional change of accents from the Baltimore/Chesapeake region, through Philly, and up into New Jersey. They sound similar but you can hear the change as you go north. For some reason, that upper Chesapeake adenoidal dialect completely vanishes when you hit New York, and then the New England style of talking starts up, which progresses to Kings English (my friend from Maine called it) when you hit Maine!

Veer: There is a theory that modern American English accent is actually more similar to the English spoken in England in the 1600’s and that modern Britishers do not speak the same sounding English anymore.

But how could they know, since no living person has heard 1600’s English spoken?

How Americans preserved British English

Americans today pronounce some words more like Shakespeare than Brits do… but it’s in 18th-Century England where they’d really feel at home.

www.bbc.com

 

[Rocky]

Veer: There is a theory that modern American English is actually the same as the English spoken in England in the 1600’s, and that modern Britishers do not speak the same English anymore.

But how could they know, since no living person has heard 1600’s English spoken?

There's a story that the Thames River in CT (rhymes with flames) is the original English pronunciation, but a British king with a speech impediment had the pronunciation of the river that flows through London changed to match his version. No idea if it's true.

 

[lungimsam]

There's a story that the Thames River in CT (rhymes with flames) is the original English pronunciation, but a British king with a speech impediment had the pronunciation of the river that flows through London changed to match his version. No idea if it's true.

Is it true that they are trying to pass a bill to not call it the Thames river anymore?

 

[davismanLV]

In the south every soda is a Coke. As in, "I'll have a Coke." What flavor? "Orange!"

 

[adorshki]

I have been a scholar of historical linguistics most of my adult life, and one constant of all languages is that they are ever changing.

National media had a lotto do with standardizing and (and promoting new) slang, through advertising. Suspect that may be why most folks recognize the term "Sub"(way) as the generic, now. Like the regional nuances re ingredients, though.

Never heard a gyro called a hero out here, though. For me a hero would be a classic meatball sub (or hoagie?) on a soft roll with sauce and maybe a little shredded lettuce garnish. First heard 'em called "heroes" at a shop here when I was a kid, "Mike's Hero Sandwiches". Had heard "sub"and "hoagie" and also "po' boy" from my folks raised in LA in the '40-50's. Actually didn't know about the specific original poor boy until much later, but in the '60's out here they were more like hoagies.

Gyros are ground meat packed on a spindle, slow roasted, and slices are cut off the side of the "roast", pita bread being the usual bread. With a nice tangy yogurt sauce and some crushed mint leaves.

I gotta go eat now.

 

[davidbeinct]

Is it true that they are trying to pass a bill to not call it the Thames river anymore?

Yeah but I don’t think that it ever made it to the floor. Our legislative session is over for now so I assume if they want to try again it would have to start from scratch. The bill proposed changing the name to the Pequot River.

 

[fronobulax]

National media had a lotto do with standardizing and (and promoting new) slang, through advertising. Suspect that may be why most folks recognize the term "Sub"(way) as the generic, now. Like the regional nuances re ingredients, though.

Never heard a gyro called a hero out here, though. For me a hero would be a classic meatball sub (or hoagie?) on a soft roll with sauce and maybe a little shredded lettuce garnish. First heard 'em called "heroes" at a shop here when I was a kid, "Mike's Hero Sandwiches". Had heard "sub"and "hoagie" and also "po' boy" from my folks raised in LA in the '40-50's. Actually didn't know about the specific original poor boy until much later, but in the '60's out here they were more like hoagies.

Gyros are ground meat packed on a spindle, slow roasted, and slices are cut off the side of the "roast", pita bread being the usual bread. With a nice tangy yogurt sauce and some crushed mint leaves.

I gotta go eat now.

Depending upon the transliteration the Greek pronunciation of "gyro" could be "yeero" which is close enough to "hero" that most Americans aren't going to get nuanced about what they call the "pita wrap". When the counter clerk rolls their eyes when asked for a "gyro" (as in the beginning of "gyroscope") some people ask for a "hero" next time. I think the absence of an alternative food named "hero" is probably a contributing factor to "local" adoption of the term.

Tangentially, almost every gyro (or doner kebab as the "open faced" version) I have ever had was at an establishment that clearly wanted to establish their Greek or Turkish heritage. As an American I noticed the similarities in cuisine but because of historical animosities the proprietors insisted that their nationality's version was different and better.

Po' boys weren't even on menus in places I frequented until a decade or so. Maybe I needed to get out more.

 

[davismanLV]

Also, I've heard gyro type sandwiches being called shawarma. Gyro is Greek and Shawarma is Middle Eastern, but the food itself seems very similar. At least in my experience.

 

[crank]

Not sure what the difference is between gyro and shawarma but a lot of food trucks have both.

Never heard of a gyro being used as a word for a hero, sub, hoagie and locally a "wedge"

 

[Rocky]

doner kebab as the "open faced" version

Döner kebab, as made by a good shop in Germany, is the perfect food. I could eat it three meals a day. It needs to be crisped on a vertical rotisserie, and shaved off with a knife or electric razor-like device.

 

[fronobulax]

Never heard of a gyro being used as a word for a hero, sub, hoagie and locally a "wedge"

Neither have I and if it appears I suggested otherwise I need to work on my writing.

In "my world" all "heroes" are "gyros". "heroes" are NOT subs, hoagies, etc... That was the point I was hoping to make.

 

[adorshki]

Neither have I and if it appears I suggested otherwise I need to work on my writing.

In "my world" all "heroes" are "gyros". "heroes" are NOT subs, hoagies, etc... That was the point I was hoping to make.

Yeah, suspect that the original word was "bastardized" to something it closely resembles in English. And in the native pronunciation the "G" is very soft, almost silent as it is, lending to potential misinterpretation. And never saw the term until probably late '70's out here, specifically in Greek-Macedonian themed restaurants.

"Gyro" obviously from the rotation of the spit, though vertical.
Shawarma can contain fowl and veal, Gyros always lamb and/or goat.

 

[West R Lee]

You could all come to East Texas, but you'd probably best bring an interpreter.

List of Common Redneck Words and Their Meanings

How many redneck words do you know? Explore this list to brush up on your redneck vocabulary and even learn some more to try out in your day-to-day.

grammar.yourdictionary.com

West

 

[GGJaguar]

You could all come to East Texas, but you'd probably best bring an interpreter.

List of Common Redneck Words and Their Meanings

How many redneck words do you know? Explore this list to brush up on your redneck vocabulary and even learn some more to try out in your day-to-day.

grammar.yourdictionary.com

West

I'm surprised "Put it up" wasn't on the expressions list. Mrs. Jaguar is a Midwesterner and uses that phrase. I was very confused the first couple of times she asked me to put something up.

 

[davidbeinct]

Linguists have identified a new English dialect that's emerging in South Florida

It came about through sustained contact with native Spanish speakers who directly translated phrases from Spanish into English, a form of linguistic borrowing called ‘calques.’

theconversation.com