# Linguistic Indicators **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943 "2005-08-14T07:22:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/1 "2005-08-14T07:22:21Z")
What is brogue to you? What specific word identifies you as linguistically and culturally unique geographically? Word and location: \*Kindney-gart-ner[i/], Toledo, OH/NW Ohio ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/2 "2005-08-14T07:24:19Z")
Excuse my bad code… _Kindney-gart-ner_ (Kindergartener) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/3 "2005-08-14T07:30:00Z")
_Tet-nichal_ (Technical) - Florida ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/4 "2005-08-14T08:01:33Z")
Wicked. ---
**Author:** ![Detritus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Detritus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Detritus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/5 "2005-08-14T08:19:29Z")
_Fuss’-tray-ted_ (Frustrated) - South TX (Coastal Bend) Not being a native Texan, hearing people say this frustrates the heck out of me! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/6 "2005-08-14T13:55:36Z")
devilsknew writes: \> Kindney-gart-ner, Toledo, OH/NW Ohio I grew up in northwest Ohio, and I’ve never heard that pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/7 "2005-08-14T15:34:47Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > devilsknew writes: > > \> Kindney-gart-ner, Toledo, OH/NW Ohio > > I grew up in northwest Ohio, and I’ve never heard that pronunciation. Well, it’s anecdotal, I’ve heard it used often around these parts. But you’re right it may not be entirely representative or definitive ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/8 "2005-08-14T15:36:44Z")
_Party store_ used in the context of “conveniennce store” - Detroit. Company names as posessives (_Kmart’s, Wal-Mart’s, Target’s, Home Depot’s,_) - Buffalo and Detroit. _[number of road] Highway_ - Kansas City. Preceding nouns with _dat der_, _dem der_ or _dose der_, succeeding many nounds with [d]der\*\*, and ending all sentences with _der_ (_Get me dose der keys der for dat der car der_) - eastern suburban Buffalo. _The [number of freeway/expressway/Interstate_ - Southern California, Buffalo, Toronto. Anglos who swear in Spanish - El Paso, southern and central New Mexico _Car needs washed_, _laundry needs dried_, etc - Pittsburgh, Youngstown Inflection implying an opposite meaning for a stateement (saying “Yes it is” with the inflection of “No it isn’t”) - exurban and rural blue collar. ---
**Author:** ![Mooney252](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mooney252](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooney252)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/9 "2005-08-14T15:56:06Z")
“Well.” in lieu of “Oh, I see” or “Un hunh” or similar interjections for “I hear what you’re saying.” A proper Peorian will end with an up inflection – leaving the listener to believe that the Peorian is going to continue the observation but has merely paused in the phrase. It slows the conversation quite a bit. Seattle and WA in general: “spendy” for “expensive.” As in: “That new Ford Mustang is pretty spendy.” MinnesotAH (you put the accent on the last syllABLE, as Scandanavian speakers are wont to do) and you use “Uffdah” as an expression of surprise. “What do you want, an egg in your beer?” Okay, it’s not a word, but it’s popular in Buffalo, NY and many Polish communities. An egg served in your beer is a luxury (and actually tastier than it sounds). I last heard someone use the expression with a pitcher at an Everett Aquasox (A level minor league) game and I asked him if he was from Buffalo? “Tonawanda,” came the response. Best regards, Mooney252 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/10 "2005-08-14T17:20:36Z")
Everyone knows about “autoroute,” “depanneur,” “regie”, “cegep”, and so forth, but there are some interesting little francisms that aren’t quite so well known. For example, I once pegged someone on this message board as a former Montrealer because he used the word “subvention” for “subsidy.” ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/11 "2005-08-14T18:10:20Z")
> [@Mooney252](#): > > “What do you want, an egg in your beer?” Okay, it’s not a word, but it’s popular in Buffalo, NY and many Polish communities. An egg served in your beer is a luxury (and actually tastier than it sounds). I last heard someone use the expression with a pitcher at an Everett Aquasox (A level minor league) game and I asked him if he was from Buffalo? “Tonawanda,” came the response. Boy, if I had a nickel for everytime my old man said this to me … well, I’d have a stack of nickels, anyways. He went to college in Fredonia, NY – not all that far away from Buffalo, relatively speaking. I use it now, and everybody looks at me as if I’m mad. Of course, I also say, “Cite?” and that gets me looks, too. My home town is East Hampton, NY, and we have a language anomaly: the true locals speak English in an accent that very closely follows the Elizabethan speech patterns of the original settlers. Thus, an expression of surprise and delight could be registered as sounding like “Boy Jaysus, they-ah, Bub! Aynchoo s’m punkins?” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/12 "2005-08-15T00:57:42Z")
Us Saskatchewanians can be picked out from the crowd by calling chocolate milk Vico and saying bunny hug for hooded sweatshirt. Oh, and Eversharp for mechanical pencil. Ontarians who come west can be picked out by their calling sweat pants track pants, talking about cottages instead of cabins, and getting the hydro hooked up in their house instead of power or electricity. Northern or rural Ontarians can be picked out by their use of “youse guys.” ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/13 "2005-08-15T01:27:47Z")
Also, you can tell if a teenager or young adult is from Southern Ontario because they often say “bad” for “bed.” For some weird reason, Anglophone native Montrealers pronounce “merry” and “Mary” differently, unlike all other anglophone Canadians to my knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/14 "2005-08-15T01:28:10Z")
Me. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/15 "2005-08-15T02:34:53Z")
Matt, today I called a thing of shelves a ‘ranging’. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/16 "2005-08-15T02:54:37Z")
Luh’vull. That’s all I gotta say for you to know where I’m from, if you’re from where I’m from. Also: “What high school did you go to?” and “It’s right down there where the \_\_\_\_\_ used to be.” Those two utterances will pretty much peg you as being from Luh’vull. Vlayad/Eegore ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/17 "2005-08-15T03:25:20Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > \For some weird reason, Anglophone native Montrealers pronounce “merry” and “Mary” differently, unlike all other anglophone Canadians to my knowledge. They are also some of the few people on the planet who can pronounce “Banff” properly (I don’t know if it’s just the Anglophones or Francophones, too). It’s a wonder to behold. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/18 "2005-08-15T03:27:06Z")
Whoa, **featherlou** , now I’m curious. How ought Banff be pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/19 "2005-08-15T03:33:13Z")
I just stood on the _Devil’s strip_ to open my car door. Where am I from? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943/20 "2005-08-15T03:34:25Z")
Improper use of the word **“fixing”**. As in: _I’m fixin’ to go to the store._ Or anyone using the word **washeteria**. It means “laundromat”. Southeast Texas, on the Gulf coast. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistic-indicators/316943.md?page=2)