A few weeks ago, before I forgot that I had a blog, I saw Busy Mom do a vlog about accents. She got the idea from Liz, who got the idea from NYCPatty.
I know most people don’t actually watch videos posted (or maybe it’s just me), but I hope you’ll stay. I’ve missed you all and have been feeling like I need to say hi and check in to see what you all are up to.
So anyway, I find accents fascinating. Maybe it’s because I’m a Speech-Language Pathologist by trade or maybe it’s because I’ve lived in the Midwest and in the South and have kind of a mishmash dialect.
In the video, I’ll be saying the words listed below.
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught
* What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
* What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
* What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
* What do you call gym shoes?
* What do you say to address a group of people?
* What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
* What do you call your grandparents?
* What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
* What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
* What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
I’d love if you’d play along, if you do, let me know in the comments section!
P.S. In the video, I realized that I failed to mention that I also lived in Oklahoma and Kansas. It would be unfair if those fine states missed their chance at instant stardom here on Playgroups are No Place for Children.
oh this was so much fun…. right up my alley!
i wish i had a way to upload video and i’d play along too.
i will say, that from reading your blog for a few years, i’m surprised you’re not more southern. then again, being a speech pathologist, maybe you are careful with your dialect.
to a strict northerner, i’ve been called a definite southerner. but to most people (southerners) i have not much accent of my own.
i even say y’all without the southern twang!
man, i just *knew* you would say COKE. (:
that was fun.
wish i could play.
Okay, I am TOTALLY doing this. I have a new linkblog bloggity-blog blog for when I don’t want to write essays and this can be my first post!
Just as soon as I put make-up on. So, yeah, like next week. Look for it.
(also, when I’m not talking about me, I’d like to point out that I love this)
Megan {Velveteen Mind}´s last [type] ..Cherry Bomb
OH! How fun! I want to do this…maybe when I get home and put on some makeup and do my hair…
A lot of what you said is exactly what I say! (Including “You Guys” but sometimes “Y’all”) Living in Indiana most of my life and Alabama and Kentucky for small parts has definitely influenced my vocab a bit.
Katie´s last [type] ..As The Deer…
So since you lived in Indiana, what did you call a green pepper?
I was so confused when I lived there and people kept talking about growing Mangoes in their gardens!
Aw, no euphemism for the Rain/Sun situation? I have heard “The Devil is Beating his Wife.” Nice, right? I have also heard it called Angel Tears. A bit more PC.
Maybe for the Alabama, they leave out the second syllable? Al-bama?
Misty´s last [type] ..Doer
I’ve never heard of the rain/sun situation being called something!
And maybe for Alabama they say “Bama?” Or maybe they do leave out that syllable…I just don’t remember hearing anything odd when I lived there. And they said a LOT of things WRONG.
Wait…you’ve really never heard of a SUNSHOWER?
I loved your vlog! You have the sweetest voice and I dont think you have an accent at all. Thanks for the link back
Patty´s last [type] ..Weekend Favorites – 3-27-11
You. Are so cute!!!
I think we say things the same. There were a couple that I think I say different.
I’m suposed to do this vlog topic in a week with a group of gals. So…You can see for sure if we are similar.
I also used to call it POP and then my husband made me change before I met all of his east coast friends.
Connie @ Young and Relentless´s last [type] ..Haiku Friday- Angry Bunny
You very much so have the accent of someone who doesn’t have an accent. Guess all that speech pathology education taught you a little something!
burghbaby´s last [type] ..Two Sides of One Disney Princess
Jen,
I have to say that you sound much more southern now than when you moved to Indiana from Alabama. Good to see you!
That was fun!
If the sun is shining and it is raining…I’ve always called it a sun shower. We get them a lot here in Oregon.
Heather´s last [type] ..My New Girls
I loved this! And I agree; you don’t really have a specific accent at all. I’ve been told I have a very un-specific voice too. Hah.
Everyone calls soda “pop” around here. I hate it and call it soda, and everyone teases me about being snooty.
We call them shopping carts. I like buggy better. So cute!
Fantastic! I’m from Canada (Ottawa) and all the words are as I’d say it minus my pop (your soda), shopping cart (basket/cart/buggy) and a sunshower
Oh I LOVE this idea! Great video hon.
Tempted to do one myself… I bet you’d laugh at the way I say some of these things with my Scottish accent.
I can’t help but ask… can you say Loch the *proper* way, or do you say it like “lock”?
Uh oh! I didn’t know that Loch wasn’t pronounced, “lock.” How should I say it!?!
ah, i keep meaning to do this! love it
MommyNamedApril´s last [type] ..So- I Got Pregnant and Kicked My Husband Out of the House Im Blaming the Hormones
I did it over the weekend!
http://headlessfamily5.blogspot.com/2011/03/doesnt-everyone-hate-way-they-sound.html
I miss your sweet voice. Any chance of hearing it in person this summer?
Headless Mom´s last [type] ..Doesnt everyone hate the way they sound
I live in Mississippi, so you can imagine the things I would’ve said! Ya’ll, coke and buggy are definitely some of them!
Aww, I’ve missed you too. This is a great idea. I might have to do one this afternoon. Oh and for the record, I have no clue what to call it when the sun is shinning but it’s also raining other than… weird.
Watching this made me miss you, my friend! I may just have to do one myself with my crazy upstate NY/Carolina/Massachusetts twang!
Sarahviz´s last [type] ..Another Post Not for Story Bleed
Oh my, you didn’t sound *at all* the way I had you in my head – I was hearing your voice a bit deeper (in a totally girly way!
)
Now I will hear your real voice
Glad you did this; if I had a webcam on this computer I’d do it too so you could hear the weird Aussie accent
What’s interesting to me is that you and I grew up in totally different places, but there is very little difference between my dialect and yours (though I can detect the southern in your voice). I am originally from California (currently in AZ). I also call “carts” baskets; though I’ve also called them carts. Some people (not around here) call it a trolley. That may be more British.
So glad you are back! I usually skip videos in posts as well, but I wouldn’t skip yours. Most of my answers and pronunciations match yours, except I always say “q-pon” for coupon and am a “carm-el” girl. I love attempting to identify people’s accents. I’m an audiobook junkie and really enjoy listening to books read by British and Irish narrators. I’m also obsessed with trying to imitate Boston accents.
mep´s last [type] ..Loaves and Pizzas- A Homily
I’m from the midwest and mine pretty much match yours as well.
I have to fight the urge to say each word that was listed with the extreme accent that it’s fishing for just for fun. I say New Orleans, but under my breath I’m screaming Nawlins! And maaayooo naaaaize with a thick southern drawl. In other words, I wish I had a more interesting accent!
Too fun! I don’t have a video camera or I would totally play along! (Flip is on my wish list!)
I’m actually surprised at how little accent you seem to have – compared to what I’m used to since I’m in Washington state! There are a few words that I picked up at being pronounced totally differently, but not what I would expect!
We call roly poly’s pill bugs or potato bugs. And I’m with you on the soda/pop thing, not for making fun, but I think calling it soda has migrated.
And when the the sun is shining and it’s raining, we wonder if we’re back in Oregon!
We had exactly the same answers, except I still call soda, pop. I also call the grocery basket a cart. Oh, and I call gym shoes running shoes or sneakers.
I grew up in central Indiana and now live in Austin, TX for the last 10 years.
Fun!
Also, my major at Purdue was speech therapy!
The Mommy Therapy´s last [type] ..Do They Sell Good Feelings At Target GIVEAWAY BLOG!!
Really! Did you get your Master’s in speech therapy?
I don’t know if I’ll actually go back to doing that for a job, but I did like working as an SLP.
I also love accents and localized word variances.
Here are my answers: (because I ain’t going to vlog)
1. A crime! (just kidding)
2. A songalolo
3. fizzy drink
4. takkies
5. hi, howzit everyone
6. daddy long legs
7. ouma and oupa (and my in-laws are ‘granny and pops’)
8. trolley
9. monkey’s wedding
10. remote
Ness at Drovers Run´s last [type] ..Pack it in- I’m working nights
So interesting! I’ve never in my life heard of a songalolo or takkies!
Thank you for your answers! So fun.
I love this! Growing up near Boston, I had an accent, and I actually tried to lose it. I just didn’t love it. Now…I don’t have much of one at all. Having just moved to NC, my girls are already picking up a bit of one and it’s so cute. I still definitely have some Boston words, though.
* What do you call gym shoes? Sneakers
* What do you call your grandparents? Gram and Gramp
* What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? Shopping cart
* What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? We always said, ‘the devil is beating his wife.’ weird.
I do, however, say some of the words you mentioned a bit different. Aunt is ‘Aahhnt’, caramel is ”ca’ rah mehl’,
Route is ‘root’, Sure is ‘shore’, Pecan is ‘pee’ can’, Coupon is ‘kyoopon’, Syrup is ‘seer’ up.’
My kids have definitely picked up a little accent, they love adding extra syllables to words. They’ll say dr..ink or puh-lay.
Your answers were VERY close to mine. I was born and raised in Ohio. But I do call it pop and I usually say it like PEE-cahn. And it’s a cart.
I enjoyed this. It was fun to see your vlog.
Mommy Daisy´s last [type] ..What is Normal
Regional words and pronunciations always fascinate me too!
Born and raised in New England here. I don’t have a traditional accent but I do say words the New England way. My parents’ sisters are my aunts, which does NOT rhyme with ant.
How about this? Do the words Mary, marry and merry sound the same, or different? To me they all have distinct pronunciations, but a friend from upstate NY says them all the same way!
Hmmm, I wouldn’t say they have distinct pronunciations, but ever-so-slight differences! I’d love to hear you say each of them.
I am originally from Iowa but grew up in TN with a very brief stop in Arkansas. I attended college in Kentucky and now live in Indiana. We pronounce all of the words the same, with the exception of caramel. I am a car-mull kind of girl I guess. Most people say that I don’t have an accent, but I know that when I go back to Tn to visit I pick up a little twang.
In Tennessee, when a house was toilet-papered it was called “getting rolled” so that is what I call it, and every time I say it my Hoosier husband has no idea what I am talking about. Until I moved to the South, I always said “pop” but down there, everybody just said “coke” even if it was really Sprite or Pepsi. Now that I live in the Midwest again I have returned to pop. I have friends in southern Indiana that call it “sodee”.
I have heard people here call bell peppers “mangoes” too, and thought what the heck are they talking about?
Fun blog post. I have lived in NY, VA, MN, and SC. I think I have a pretty neutral accent, but my parents (who live in Upstate NY) think I’m getting more and more southern every day. I don’t think I’ll ever call a shopping cart a buggy, however. That’s weird.
Tara@Do These Kids Make Me Look Crazy?´s last [type] ..Part I- I’ve Got Friends in High Places
Toilet papering a house, no idea, soft drink, running shoes, hey guys, daddy long legs, grandma and grandpa, cart, sun shower, remote
Fun!
Ok, I followed your lead: http://secretagentmama.com/blog/2011/03/29/talking-tuesday/
Mishi´s last [type] ..Talking Tuesday
That was so fun!! If I can get over my stage fright, I’ll have to *gulp* vlog.
Renee´s last [type] ..Cleaning Poll – Room vs Task
Our answers were pretty much the same and I grew up in Southern California. Sometimes we call soda, Coke.
Carri´s last [type] ..Sunday Funday 3- Link Up Your Favorite Post!
Hi Jennifer,
I’m kinda in the same boat as you, as far as having lived in Ill, Ia. Germany, and now south-east KY.
Southern folk are very inquisitive, at least they sound that way while speaking. Their sentences almost always end on an up sound. A common statement like, “I went to the store.” comes out like “I went to the store, do you know what I mean?” I’m sure you’ve noticed this.
I think you missed saying Caramel in you video, and I think you speak very well, but much too softly. Maybe I’m just too hard hearing. (I,m old)
Data = D (long a) ta
I say pop, my son in ST Louis says soda, go figure.
I call my grandparents–Dead !
The rest was ok, (I’m just guessing, because of my hearing)
Ooh, this is fun! I say most the words you listed the same way. I pronounce coupon with a “Q” at the beginning, and I say “sir-up” for syrup. But other than that, our Missouri language is about the same.
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect´s last [type] ..Top 10 Signs You’re a Married Single Mom
I grew up in WV where, surprisingly, many parts of the state tend towards a more neutral accent. My husband grew up an hour away and his family speaks waaay differently than mine. Add being in Alabama since 1988…I’ve picked up the Bama accent just fine.
When at UA, I used to get asked where I was from. Hasn’t happened in a long time!
Some differences with you…
Aunt is “ont”, mainly because when I was a child, I had an aunt tell me over and over that she wasn’t an insect.
Fizzy drink is “pop” in WV. I still say that, even though it gets weird looks in Alabama. (And yeah, some native Alabamians say Alabama in an odd way.)
Syrup is “Sir-up” for me.
Toilet papering a house is called “rolling a house”, the spider is a “granddaddy long legs”, I’ve always said “buggy”, and I never say toilet anyway…it’s a commode for me. I don’t know why.
So fun! I think I’ll play too… check back for it.
I call the shopper cart a buggy, or a wagon. My dad called them that… I have no idea why. He’s always lived in St. Louis.
And, I call the remote, a CLICKER. Always have. Dunno why,just have.
I’ve lived in St. Louis, TX, IL, and Wisconsin. Dey have sum weeerd accents up dere, hey.
Texan Mama´s last [type] ..I Heart Faces- Slice of Life
I’ve been wanting to do this but I have yet to get around to it.
I don’t think you have much of an “accent” except maybe when you said “syrup”. I do think it’s very interesting how we call certain things by different names just in different parts of the country.
And? I TOTALLY say “Y’all”!!
Oh my gosh, I love your voice. I do hear the Southern influences, though. Also, understand your confusion about gym shoes. Never hear that one – we call them sneakers, here in Jersey – also, the whole soda, pop and Coke has me all sorts of confused. Maybe that’s why I drink Dr. Pepper [shrugs] thanks so much for playing along, Jennifer!
Liz´s last [type] ..Doofus Domesticus vs Phasma Phasmatis
Love it… I joined in too, this was such a cool thing to do
http://www.therealjenty.com/2011/03/just-me-talking/
Jeanette Verster´s last [type] ..Happiness in the water
I decided to do this on my blog too! What a cool idea! I’ve had a fascination with accents and dialects for a while… probably because I’ve moved around quite a bit in the past few years. I never used to even hear differences in speech until I left NJ.
As for the difference in my answers:
* What do you call gym shoes? Sneakers… I think of KEDS when people say tennis shoes, but that was always a debate when I went away to school in VA (I’m from NJ)
* What do you say to address a group of people? I refused to conform to saying “y’all” while at school, so I still say “all of you” or “you all”
Erika´s last [type] ..Do I Have An Accent
That was adorable. Because I am
a) sick
b) sporting post-french braid kinkage
c) breaking out like a teen ager
I am not going to do this. I will, however, go drink a pop while wearing my tennis shoes. Another we had out west- what do you call it when someone takes their knuckles and runs them hard and fast back and forth along the top crown of your head?
A dutch rub.
Amanda´s last [type] ..Caught in the gap
A dutch rub, huh! I call the knuckles on the head rub and nougie! (Not sure how to spell it!)
I am totally going to do this.
You are SUPER adorable.
Ok, if I can figure out my iphone’s video camera, I will play along! I am from Indiana (chicagoland) all my life BUT my grandparents came from West Virginia.
LOVE this!
Steph
Adventures In Babywearing´s last [type] ..Continued Breastfeeding – straight from the mouths of babes
excellent post ……..had fun just reading the comments…..thanks …..
sad stories´s last [type] ..Poem- My Sorrow – Spaz
You made me laugh with your vlog, Y’all! Stop by and watch mine!