# Regionalisms in Language **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628 "2001-05-27T00:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/61 "2001-05-29T06:48:40Z")
Another one for Canadian beer that I think is typical of Québec, a _quart_ for a 22 oz bottle. And **picmr** , we used also to have stubbies up here. They disappeared when the twist-caps bottle appeared. As for the poster who inquired about the Canadian fascination with beer, we are traditionally a beer drinking society (although wine usage and production has been growing steadily for the last 25 years). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/62 "2001-05-29T14:14:57Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by detop_ > Another one for Canadian beer that I think is typical of Québec, a quart for a 22 oz bottle. Not just Quebec, **detop** ; we use that term in Ontario too. However, I think it may be dying out here, since I don’t seen as many quarts as I once did. _Stubby_ is an interesting word when applied to beer containers. You’re right, **detop** , when you say that we used to have stubbies–we did have short, squat bottles called _stubbies_ before we went to _longneck_ or _industry_ bottles. (I used to work at Ontario’s Brewer’s Retail.) But from travels in Australia, I learned that any 375 (or so) ml bottle containing beer is a _stubby_, regardless of its shape. Beer in cans comes in _tinnies_. (Australian dopers, if I’m not quite right on this, let’s just put it down to the fact that I was trying to investigate this as thoroughly as possible, and got a little carried away. :)) Interesting though. The word _stubby_ means a bottle for beer in both places, but also means a certain shape of bottle in Ontario; while in Australia, the stubby’s bottle shape is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/63 "2001-05-29T14:49:41Z")
Eastern New York here. Actually I’m purt-near the Mass line. But I talk funny because i’ve picked up bits and pieces of other places’ talkages… We’ll have soda and subs for lunch in our cabin on the creek, which is pronounced “crick” usually but “creak” as a proper noun. (“Let’s go swimming in the crick!” “Which crick?” “Kinderhook Creek!”) We say “wicked.” At least some of us do – 18-25 year olds (my sister’s generation and a couple years old than me). It’s fading out now. None of the lowerclassmen at my high school say it, although they understand perfectly what it means when it’s said to them. My grandmother says “down cellar,” but I’ve never heard anyone else say it. Of course, she’s the only person I know who HAS a cellar. “Drawer” rhymes with “door.” Most of my maternal family says “wee’uns” to refer to small children, but my mother doesn’t, and nobody else I know does. We say “all set” too. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/64 "2001-05-29T14:58:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by urban1 \* > \*\*Bring (instead of take) someone/something somewhere, as in: Would you bring me to work. > > Also: > Crick/Creek \*\* **urban1** , have you been around Northern Ohio much? These sound like Clevelandisms to me. I remember growing up, hearing “crick” for creek, and “Bring this letter to Aunt Jenny over there.” Both sounded wrong to me, as I don’t talk that way, but I heard them from Cleveland natives. But they might have been brought in from other regions. But “warsh” for wash? Never. I first heard that when I went to college in St. Louis; heard it from guys from small-town southern Illinois — Bellville or Carbondale or like that. Sounded very strange. And “register” for the grate in the floor that lets the heat into the room. That’s either Northern Ohio or Western Pennsylvania, I think. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/65 "2001-05-30T05:50:19Z")
Say, this isn’t exactly a regionalism, but an interesting thought. I’m from Washington state and we call ourselves Washingtonians (pr. approximately Wash-en-tone-ee-ens. What if we abbreviated it to just Tonians? Guys named Tony would like it anyway. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/66 "2001-05-30T05:54:56Z")
I just noticed the post above the last one mentioned the wash/warsh pronunciation. I cannot tell you how much this annoys me when I hear someone say Warshington. :rolleyes: :mad: ---
**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:** [May 30, 2001, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/67 "2001-05-30T14:43:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by featherlou \* > \*\*We say “cabin at the lake”, Easterners say “cottage at the lake”. \*\* Hmm, at my family’s summer place they have both a cottage AND a cabin… they’re quite similar buildings but we have to call them something to distinguish them! > [@](#): > > A few other suspected regionalisms: I have a register in the floor that blows hot air when the furnace runs. [/quote] Me too… > [@](#): > > I have dinner at noon, and supper at night. My dad (who was born to a rural Ontario family) has this too, but none of the rest of us do. (My mom is from California.) > [@](#): > > nobody but Saskatchewanians can pronounce it correctly. It always makes me giggle when I hear any other group pronouncing it (even Calgarians). Oh, now I want to know… I pronounce it suh- **skatch** -uh-wun… is that not how? ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/68 "2001-05-30T18:57:06Z")
Does _ **anyone** _ call the thing that blows how air _ **anything** _ other than a register? I don’t call it anything because I haven’t run into this device very often. I’m just dying to know what the other word is. Also, I’m asking again, could someone tell me how you pronounce Saskatchewan? _ **I** _ pronounce it the same way as matt\_mcl does, is this wrong? 😕 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > > > [@](#): > > > > nobody but Saskatchewanians can pronounce it correctly. It always makes me giggle when I hear any other group pronouncing it (even Calgarians). > > Oh, now I want to know… I pronounce it suh- **skatch** -uh-wun… is that not how? \*\* ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/69 "2001-05-30T22:06:27Z")
Hot air comes from a _vent_ in some places. Places where a “register” is something that a merchant uses to ring up your order and store his cash. I’ve lived all over this country, from Georgia and the Carolinas, to Boston, Florida, Denver, Seattle, and Los Angeles. I’ve visited family in Chicago, Wichita, Dallas and New Orleans. But of all the places, the Deep South seems to have the most regionalisms. “Chilluns,” or even “chaps” for children, plural. You’re “in my light” if you’re blocking my view of something. “Curb Markets” are convenience stores. In Louisiana, there are no hoagies or subs. They’re all “Po’ Boys.” (Whereas in Boston, they’re called “grinders.”) In the south, you vegetate in front of the TV on a “couch” but in Wichita it’s a “davenport.” In the NE, it’s equally often a couch or a “sofa.” (Unless, of course, it’s a “loveseat.”) I can attest from first hand experience that all carbonated beverages are “coke” in the south, “soda” in the northeast, and “pop” in the midwest. There are also places where both “soda” and “pop” are recognized, like FL and CA. But only in the south if you ask for a “coke” will you be asked “what kind?” Then there’s the whole “poke,” “sack,” “bag” thing that I could never figure out… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/70 "2001-05-30T22:39:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by casdave \* > \*\*A study on linguistics around Leeds, England examined just one word as an example and how its use varied around the city. > > The word was Ginnyspinner(uses a j sound for the g) , also called Daddy-long-legs but the proper name for it is the Cranefly. > > \*\* Oh, you mean a galleynipper. One of those long-legged flying things. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/71 "2001-05-31T01:51:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bughunter \* > **Hot air comes from a _vent_ in some places. Places where a “register” is something that a merchant uses to ring up your order and store his cash.** We call that a register too. However, in Quebec we don’t call its location the “checkout”, we call it the “cash.” As in “I’ll meet you at the cash.” This is probably from the French “caisse”. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/72 "2001-05-31T05:41:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by bughunter \* > > **Hot air comes from a _vent_ in some places. Places where a “register” is something that a merchant uses to ring up your order and store his cash.** > > We call that a register too. However, in Quebec we don’t call its location the “checkout”, we call it the “cash.” As in “I’ll meet you at the cash.” This is probably from the French “caisse”. \*\* It’s a contraction of “cash register” (in French, _caisse enregistreuse_),the register being dropped, the term “cash” (in English and slang French) serves for both the machine and the location. ---
**Author:** ![Rock-n-Rolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@Rock-n-Rolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rock-n-Rolga)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/73 "2001-05-31T07:34:00Z")
Not to throw a monkey wrench into the works, but nobody I know here in NC refers to ALL carbonated beverages as “Cokes.” A lot of people say “soft drinks”, or the name of whatever their favorite drink is. And personally, I call carbonated beverages “chasers.” 😃 In the Asheboro/central region of the state, people do say “warsh” as well as “daynce” for dance, “cain’t” for can’t, and “omost” for “almost.” People all over the state do say “y’all” for the plural. “Y’all’s” (that looks funny) is the possesive, by the way (for example, “Hey, Bill and Betty! Is that y’all’s new car?”), and never a plural of y’all. It’s similar to the different ways to say “you” that the Maori have - there’s a “you” singular, a “you” (y’all) for a couple of people in the room, and then the “you” (“all y’all”) for EVERYONE in the room, but “all y’all” is not mandatory, and many people just say “y’all” in that case. I’m not saying this is the final word on this usage, by the way. Just the way we do it ‘round here. By the way, most of my Southern friends are quite surprised to learn that English people say “ain’t” as well. Reckon they can’t fathom them fancy lords and ladies (‘cuz everyone in England has one o’ them titles, y’know) talkin’ all common like’at. As for other regionalisms, I’ve found that New Yorkers (as in much of the state) say “I’m going to be down by you next week” to mean “I’m going to be visiting your hometown next week.” At first I thought that “by you” meant they’d be **near** , but not **in** my hometown. Duh… And two Toronto natives I knew always ended conversations by saying, “Areet din” for “all right, then.” I picked it up from them and still say “areet din” to this day (Along with “yer dinkin’ me oot!”). One last little thing: does anyone know the origins of the Yorkshire term “bray” to mean “hit”? For example, “t’nash is tekkin’ t’bairns cos you bray 'em!” I lived in Leeds for five months and never heard anyone say it, but it’s used in a comic I read (Yes, it’s ‘Viz’ and no, I’m not ashamed of myself. 😃 ). ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/74 "2001-05-31T10:28:51Z")
Pidgen is this mixed language that orginated here and has been mixing quite happily with the Enlgish spoken here. I was a loner type so never got really into learning all the lingo (it’s really popular with teens and stuff) but you should all know that _ **pau** _ means finished. Something mainlanders don’t understand as my mom learned when she walked up to some people in Golden Gate Park and asked them “Are you pau?” and they just staaaared at her. If you’re really interested pick up a copy of Pidgen to da Max Or maybe some other locals who are better versed in this matter can enlighten you. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/75 "2001-05-31T10:33:19Z")
umm, well I can do some more. People here almost always say ono for good and okole for butt. There’s this store here called ‘Wet Okole.’ I’d like to see mainlanders try and get away with that! What they do is put special upholstering on car seats for people who are usually quite wet when getting into their vehicles. And be prepared we call most of our fish here something different. I think tuna is mahi, but I don’t really know for certain which is which since I never learned what they’re called elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/76 "2001-05-31T13:53:07Z")
In Washington, you get a sub sandwich with The Works; in Louisiana on our vacation we had po’boys All The Way. Oh, and I say Warshington; Mrs. R, raised here in western WA, says Washington. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/77 "2001-05-31T14:16:51Z")
**Matt\_McL** , sounds like your Saskatchewan pronunciation is close, but until you get it down to two syllables (Sskatchwun), I’m afraid the natives may still giggle a little bit (not to your face, of course; Saskatchewan folk are raised better than that :D). I agree with everyone who said “What else would you call a register?” I said the same thing when my friend from Toronto area didn’t know what I was talking about when I was telling her about the register in my house. Some other regionalisms I’ve recently discovered - Albertans (and possibly other Canadians) call Edmonton “Emmonton”, and hamburgers are “hammurgers”. ( **Bughunter** , when I was in Pennsylvania, I tried to order a Sprite at the Burger King there {holy sawdust burgers, Batman! That food stayed with us for days!}, but the cashier kept saying “coke”. No, I want a Sprite. “That’s what I said - a coke”. Went on like this for a couple of minutes until I realized that to her, everything fizzy was “coke”.) ---
**Author:** ![labradorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@labradorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labradorian)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/78 "2001-05-31T16:23:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by bughunter \* > > **Hot air comes from a _vent_ in some places. Places where a “register” is something that a merchant uses to ring up your order and store his cash.** > > We call that a register too. However, in Quebec we don’t call its location the “checkout”, we call it the “cash.” As in “I’ll meet you at the cash.” This is probably from the French “caisse”. \*\* It might be, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a Quebec innovation; I’ve heard it in anglo parts of Canada with little to no franco influence. ---
**Author:** ![catatonic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@catatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/79 "2001-05-31T19:19:18Z")
I grew up in the Bronx and to us a hero or submarine sandwich was always a “wedge” and a six foot hero was a “six foot wedge.” I’ve come to realize that the term “wedge” is only used in very limited parts of New York. My husband is from Long Island and he claims never to have heard it until he met me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628/80 "2001-05-31T19:53:19Z")
**RnR:** _One last little thing: does anyone know the origins of the Yorkshire term “bray” to mean “hit”? For example, “t’nash is tekkin’ t’bairns cos you bray 'em!”_ It’s an archaic (in most English dialects, at least) synonym for “break” (and cognate with it), which has come to mean in general “hit, pound, grind.” I’ve seen old recipes that refer to "bray"ing something in a mortar, i.e. grinding it up, and [this dictionary](http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=Bray) quotes the same usage from the King James Version of the Bible. Now could you translate another part of your sentence for me? I can only get as far as “The \_\_\_\_ is taking the children because you hit them.” What’s a “nash”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regionalisms-in-language/66628.md?page=5)