So as I was scrolling through Buzzfeed instead of actually
doing homework, I came upon this article about this article: “22 Maps
That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From Each Other”.
This NC State student, Joshua Katz, created a dialect-demographic map of the US. Now, once in a while, I have a hard time understanding people because of accents
or different words, etc. But I don’t think I’ve ever thought about these many
words and phrases. The different maps show the pronunciation distribution
across the United States. So I thought to myself that the Northeast U.S. has a
pretty large array of different accents and phrases. Here are some words/phrases from the maps and also some that I came up with:
(Disclaimer: I am not a linguistics expert. I am not a statistician. I'm just opinionated.)
-
Wicked vs. mad: My Boston friends make fun of me
for saying “mad” too much. They tell me I sound like I’m from New York. But I’m
from CT …
-
Sprinkles vs. Jimmies: Jimmies. The little
chocolatey (or multi-colored ones if we’re getting fancy) goodies that you put
on ice cream. When I think of sprinkles, I think of when its kind of raining but not really, not ice cream.
-
Bubbler vs. water fountain: I’ve never heard
someone call a water fountain a “bubbler” until I moved to Massachusetts. Also,
because I’m in Mass., it’s a “bubblah”.
-
Grinder vs. sub: Subs are made in Groton, CT. A grinder is a delicious concoction of some
ridiculous amount of meat and vegetables on delicious toasted bread. Yum. A lot
more delicious than a boat.
-
Hair tie vs. scrunchie: Scrunchies? Talk about
1994. Hair ties are what grown-up ladies where when it’s a bad hair day or we’re
at the gym. Or trying out one of those new fancy braid and ponytail and bun
combinations we see on Pinterest. Sure, there are still a couple of scrunchies
floating around my room somewhere, but unless I’m going to a ‘90s themed party
anytime soon, they are currently my cats' chew toys.
-
Tag sale vs. Yard Sale vs. Garage Sale: My boss
and I seem to disagree on this account. I say tag sales are the best thing
known to man. She says that yard sales are the best thing. But what is the
difference? No idea. And garage sales are just awkward. Why would I go into a
stranger’s garage? Sounds like the beginning of a horror story to me.
- Blizzard
vs. Nor’easter: Blizzards are terrifying
anxiety-inducing snowstorms that make people not want to go outside for days;
if they’re not from the North. Blizzards, slizzards. Blizzards equal snow days,
snow angels, and snuggling up and watching your favorite Christmas movies. Nor’easters,
on the other hand, are the evil step-sisters of blizzards. Nor’easter can be
rain then sleet then freezing rain (WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SLEET AND
FREEZING RAIN?) and then snow then hail. Yum. The best combination. Driving is
always so.much.fun. I always used to get happy at the thought of snow, but that was before I had a car.
-
Liquor Store vs. Package Store: I feel like New
Englanders are split on this one. I never knew why it was called a package
store, but according to Wiki Answers, all purchases of alcohol have to
be in a sealed container placed inside a bag or box. This law was enacted after
the end of Prohibition.
Here is the article: http://www.businessinsider.com/22-maps-that-show-the-deepest-linguistic-conflicts-in-america-2013-6?op=1
And here is the complete survey of 122 maps: http://spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/SurveyMaps/
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