New York Times Dialect Quiz
Quote: JimRockfordI know it sounds irresponsible, but at least in Texas a drive through liquor store can't be within 1000 ft. from a drive through gun store.
I never even heard of a drive thru liquor
store before this quiz. Sounds hillbilly to
me. We still have counties where you
can't buy liquor on Sunday, a drive thru
would give them palpatations.
Quote: mickeycrimmThis might be the right thread for the pronunciations of towns. The locals know how it pronounced but a lot of out-of-towners don't.
Ely, Nevada is pronounced "ee-lee" not "ee-lie."
Kearny, Nebraska is pronounced "kar-nee" not "ker-nee."
Pierre, South Dakota is pronounced "peer" not "pee-air."
And if you are an old white geezer living in Pueblo, Colorado all your life its pronounced "pew-eb-lo" no "pweb-lo."
Do you know of any other towns where its not pronounced the obvious way?
There's a large town or small city (you pick) named, "Cadiz," within 100 miles of me. It is pronounced exactly as it appears, though many pronounce it, "Cay-diz," "Cay-dis," or "Cah-dis".
There's also a town called New Athens close to that, and unlike the capital of Greece, it gets a long, 'A.'
Quote: 1BBCoffee milk is milk and coffee syrup made the way you would make chocolate milk. It is the official drink of Rhode Island where, chickeman hails from and where I spent a lot of summers.
The big blue bug is the mascot that sits atop a pest control company and can be see when driving through Providence on I95.
Gravy is tomato sauce. I've heard this in New York and Jersey as well. It may be more an Italian thing. Lots of Italians in Rhode Island.
Ah, the delicious cabinet also called the coffee cabinet or just cab. Coffee ice cream, coffee syrup and milk. It's called a frappe in Boston although frappes come in different flavors while a cabinet is usually coffee.
Jeat? That's Rhode Islandeese for did you eat?
I was born in Southie which is what we call South Boston. I may leave New England at times but I always return. It's home.
Yeah I grew up drinking coffee milk. Eclipse and I forget the other brand. I know the big blue bug. I never heard the gravy one or the cabinet. I grew up in southern NH 3 miles from the Mass border. How about Spags, Whalom park or Canobie Lake?
Quote: HunterhillYeah I grew up drinking coffee milk. Eclipse and I forget the other brand. I know the big blue bug. I never heard the gravy one or the cabinet. I grew up in southern NH 3 miles from the Mass border. How about Spags, Whalom park or Canobie Lake?
Anthony Borgatti was Spag. Nice guy. The store was in Shrewsbury, Ma. The daughters sold the store to Building 19. They couldn't make a go of it and now it's being developed as condos or something. Everything was dirt cheap, you had to bring your own bags or find an empty box.
If you mentioned "Spags mentality" everyone knew what it meant. Let's go with frugal. :-)
B) I think the quiz is random, or much cooler, adaptive. Some people are mentioning questions I didn't get.
C) How do you pronounce foyer? I'm making a quiz.
Quote: 1BB
Jeat? That's Rhode Islandeese for did you eat?
Here it is more formal with an expected reply also:
"Jeet jet?
"Naw, Jew?"
Quote: Mission146"Foy-Yur"
"Foy-Yay". I do it to annoy my Sabres loving friends. I do it with everything. Jack Russel "terry-yay", Chevrolet "Ca-vah-lee-yay".
I also pronounce "liter" as "litre" ;)
"Hi-wire" LBJ speak for Hawaii.
Quote: beachbumbabsFoy-ur.
In MN and MI we say for-yur. Really.
It had me in Seattle and Tacoma thats pretty dam close. I figured Potato bug was a key answer.
THANKS JimRockford That's pretty cool
Quote: dwheatleyA) I cheated the quiz: I'm actually from southern Ontario, so it didn't have a chance. It highlighted Pittsburgh, Omaha (Nebraska) and Baton Rouge as my very likely places. I guess our New England-based English has a dash of French and country.
B) I think the quiz is random, or much cooler, adaptive. Some people are mentioning questions I didn't get.
C) How do you pronounce foyer? I'm making a quiz.
I also grew up in s, ont. (Toronto) and I got boston, Worcester Ma and Newark nj.
Quote: dwheatleyC) How do you pronounce foyer? I'm making a quiz.
Foy-yay.
Quote: AxelWolfHow can it be reading your IP address if its guessing where you are from? I lived in Vegas since 1990 but grew up in Washington state.
It had me in Seattle and Tacoma thats pretty dam close. I figured Potato bug was a key answer.
THANKS JimRockford That's pretty cool
You mean rollie pollie, right?
The quiz wouldn't need to know your IP (although it does anyway). It would be very simple to make such a quiz and weight each question with a respective location.
I took the quiz twice, the first time was pretty accurate. I don't think the quiz is set up to say precisely where you're from, but just say in general where you from, especially since the creator likely didn't enter every US city into it.
On the second try, I got some different questions. I felt like the questions would branch off and get more specific based on previous answers. If that's how it's done, I think that's pretty cool.....although it could just randomly choose 25 out of 30 questions.
Quote: ontariodealerI also grew up in s, ont. (Toronto) and I got boston, Worcester Ma and Newark nj.
Is out and about pronounced oot and a boot or oat and a boat?
Quote: AZDuffmanHere it is more formal with an expected reply also:
"Jeet jet?
"Naw, Jew?"
Squeet
I was impressed how close it got me. I think my GF was answering it more like a test. IE cot and caught, she said she pronounced them different (BS) perhaps people emphasize the T more in cot. I don't think she read the rubbernecking answers completely. many of her questions were different. She said rollie pollie bug. I thought rollie pollie was a fat kid in school ;)Quote: RSYou mean rollie pollie, right?
The quiz wouldn't need to know your IP (although it does anyway). It would be very simple to make such a quiz and weight each question with a respective location.
I took the quiz twice, the first time was pretty accurate. I don't think the quiz is set up to say precisely where you're from, but just say in general where you from, especially since the creator likely didn't enter every US city into it.
On the second try, I got some different questions. I felt like the questions would branch off and get more specific based on previous answers. If that's how it's done, I think that's pretty cool.....although it could just randomly choose 25 out of 30 questions.
I thought mainly how and what I said as a kid.
It would be cool is if someone could memorize the formula and do it in person. Cool party trick indeed.
Quote: AxelWolfI was impressed how close it got me. I think my GF was answering it more like a test. IE cot and caught, she said she pronounced them different (BS) perhaps people emphasize the T more in cot. I don't think she read the rubbernecking answers completely. many of her questions were different. She said rollie pollie bug. I thought rollie pollie was a fat kid in school ;)
I thought mainly how and what I said as a kid.
It would be cool is if someone could memorize the formula and do it in person. Cool party trick indeed.
I just now read about the "cot-caught merger".
Here is an article about the statistics student that developed the quiz as an intern at the times. Hey, since it was a statistics project maybe this thread is more on topic than I thought.
Nailed me on bubbla :-(Quote: 1BBWow, chickenman! The quiz didn't mention coffee milk, gravy on pasta, cabinets or the big blue bug and they still pegged you. Don't get me started on Del's lemonade. Somebody ask him what a cabinet is. :-)
Quote: 1BBIs out and about pronounced oot and a boot or oat and a boat?
most of the stuff you americans laugh about us like oot and a boot and the eh this and eh that are east coast slang (nova scotia, newfoundland etc).
