Southern California-isms

[Hippy_Hollow]

Off the top of my head, I think 3-digit interstates with even numbers are loops, while odd-numbered ones are spurs.

Topic? Spent a lot of time in the Central Coast (SLO) and regularly went down south. “Southland” always made me laugh, as did the “the (insert highway number here)” convention. In my Texan mind I would imagine some SoCal car dealership advertising “and we’re just off of IH-405!” 'Course, in New England-ese, it would be Route 405.

A big SoCal-ism (not linguistic) is running through red lights just as they change. Driving on Fairfax or any other Hollywood street I saw this happen all the time, with cops fully viewing it. People do that here as well, but if you want to get a moving violation in Texas, try pulling that one. Guess what they call it if you sort of roll through a stop sign? A California stop.

I also dig your stores - instead of going to the supermarket you go to Vons or Jons or Ralphs, or the AM/PM. Used to great effect in The Big Lebowski.

[hajario]

@Asimovian

I actually got married just across the 46 from Pah-sew Row-blez, and I’ve always pronounced the latter as Lawm-poke. What am I missing?

The locals say Pah-sew Roh-bulls and Lohm-poke.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Hippy Hollow

I also dig your stores - instead of going to the supermarket you go to Vons or Jons or Ralphs, or the AM/PM. Used to great effect in The Big Lebowski.

And you can buy sauce at Vons or Jons or Ralphs or the AM/PM. (Well, not sure about AM/PM. But liquor is sold in most convenience stores.)

[wonderlust]

I remember a very old WC Fields movie where he moved his family out west to Lompoc (pronounced Lahm-pahk in the film).

[matt_mcl]

@Asimovian

Oddly enough, it appears to have first been named by a Spaniard [cite], but I still haven’t found any information on why “la” was used instead of “el.” The only hint I could find was from the Wikipedia article that mentions the name comes from “old Spanish.” Perhaps the gender for the word was different then?

According to my Santillana Diccionario de dificultades de la lengua española:

@my translation

Puente: In modern use, this noun is masculine. Its use as a feminine is rustic or old-fashioned: cruzar la puente.

[Hostile_Dialect]

I know the commercials you’re talking about because I listen to KNX 1070, but I’m sure I’m in the minority in San Diego.

Cardinal, not only are out-of-staters clueless about what a Thomas Guide is, they’re completely inept at utilizing them. A close friend from Washington state who’s lived here for a year recently tried to use my Thomas Guide while we were hopelessly lost in Spring Valley, and he was utterly flabbergasted. I think they’re the coolest, and now that I’ve long gotten over the not-too-steep learning curve I think their map format is much, much better than the traditional folding map. The level of detail is great. Mine has saved me many times–more often than not in Spring Valley, a neighborhood which I’m convinced was designed and laid out by Rube Goldberg as a cruel joke on California.

@Johnny L.A.

Outside of the metro areas (is ‘metro area’ a SoCal term?)

No. You’ll find it in your almanac’s ranking of North America’s/USA’s largest metro areas. The DC area usually refers to itself as the metro area IIRC from when I lived there.

Yes, I’m sure the 5 is or at least was the San Diego Freeway. I found that out on an interstate freeway map I once had. FWIW, I think the 163 is called the Escondido Freeway even though it never reaches Escondido. I think it might have been called the Cabrillo Freeway, which would make about half an inkling more sense because it at least gets close to Point Loma.

The way Angelenos pronounce Sepulveda bugs me. I can’t bring myself to do it. My dad corrects me every time, but I can’t sell my soul on that crap.

@Asimovian

before I realized you were comparing ‘San Peh-dro’ to ‘San Pee-dro.’

Neither of those makes any sense to me. Why on earth would you say it any way other than “San Pay-dro”?

It took me a while after moving to San Diego to figure out that there was no such neighborhood as La Hoya. (Having lived in the DC area, Hoya, as in Georgetown, seemed like the natural spelling to me.)

@Hippy Hollow

Off the top of my head, I think 3-digit interstates with even numbers are loops, while odd-numbered ones are spurs.

Even goes east-west, odd goes north-south. Now, in the case of loops and spurs, that may not have anything to do with where the freeway actually goes. But an even-numbered interstate freeway’s entrance signs will always say “West” and “East”, and an odd-numbered interstate freeway’s entrance signs will always say “North” and “South”.

[Queen_Bruin]

@vivalostwages

Now, let’s see how many others know where it is.

It’s on Sunset by UCLA, right in front of Drake Stadium.

[Asimovian]

@fetus

Neither of those makes any sense to me. Why on earth would you say it any way other than “San Pay-dro”?

We’re saying essentially the same thing, although the Spanish pronunciation of the “e” would be a little softer than the way English-speakers pronounce the “ay” in “Pay.” That’s why I came up with “peh,” but we’re talking about the same idea.

However, a lot of Angelenos do, in fact, say San Pee-dro. It’s as inexplicable as most of the other examples brought up in here (see previous references to Los Robles).

[NAF1138]

@Asimovian

We’re saying essentially the same thing, although the Spanish pronunciation of the “e” would be a little softer than the way English-speakers pronounce the “ay” in “Pay.” That’s why I came up with “peh,” but we’re talking about the same idea.

However, a lot of Angelenos do, in fact, say San Pee-dro. It’s as inexplicable as most of the other examples brought up in here (see previous references to Los Robles).

I got an inexplicable pronunciation too. I used to live in the community of Los Feliz (spanish for “the happies” which is strange in and of itself.) It never occurred to me until I moved there that we take a word (feliz) that is frequently used and pronounced with its correct Spanish pronunciation (e.g. feliz navidad) and totally mangle the pronunciation when it comes to the name of that part of the city.

Any time I hear someone say anything other that Los FEE-les, I tend to look at them like they have two heads, and if they actually try to say Los Fe-LEASE with a Spanish accent I am likely to slap them in an attempt to bring them back to reality.
Also, now that I live in North Hollywood, I am constantly shocked by the number of people in the city that don’t know that North Hollywood is a totally separate city from Hollywood. I say that I live in North Hollywood and they respond that we must be neighbors because they just moved here and are living off Franklin and Normandy. Three times in the last month I have had that conversation.* :smack:
Not that exact conversation, but you know what I mean.

[Rick]

Actually I think you mean to say that North Hollywood is a diferent comunity from Hollywood. They are both part of the City of Los Angeles. West Hollywood is a different city.

[Hippy_Hollow]

@fetus

Even goes east-west, odd goes north-south. Now, in the case of loops and spurs, that may not have anything to do with where the freeway actually goes. But an even-numbered interstate freeway’s entrance signs will always say “West” and “East”, and an odd-numbered interstate freeway’s entrance signs will always say “North” and “South”.

Oops, let me clarify. You’re right, but I was referring to the first digit in a three-digit interstate. For instance, I-610 is the loop around Houston and I-410 is the loop around San Antonio. The 710 in the Southland, I imagine is a spur…

[Hostile_Dialect]

@NAF1138

(spanish for “the happies” which is strange in and of itself.)

Eh…not really. In Spanish phrases like that (Los Feliz, which would probably more properly be Los Felices), the equivalent of the English word “people” is assumed. Thus “Los Felices” doesn’t really mean “the happies”, it means “the happy people”. “La gente feliz” or “las personas feliz” are two other, less efficient ways of saying the same thing.

@Hippy Hollow

Oops, let me clarify. You’re right, but I was referring to the first digit in a three-digit interstate. For instance, I-610 is the loop around Houston and I-410 is the loop around San Antonio. The 710 in the Southland, I imagine is a spur…

This I don’t really know much about. But the 805 is most certainly not a loop; it goes pretty much straight on a diagonal across San Diego. Well, not so straight as it gets close to the border, but certainly not loopy. Could be just an exception, of course.

[NAF1138]

@Rick

Actually I think you mean to say that North Hollywood is a diferent comunity from Hollywood. They are both part of the City of Los Angeles. West Hollywood is a different city.

That’s something else. I don’t know anyone who would use the word community when describing places like North Hollywood, or even Hollywood (which is also part of LA). They are all part of LA (except for the ones that aren’t like West Hollywood and Beverly Hills), but they are always described as cities not as communities (if they are described at all.) Also my mailing address is North Hollywood, CA not Los Angeles which adds to the perception that it should be called a city.

@fetus

Eh…not really. In Spanish phrases like that (Los Feliz, which would probably more properly be Los Felices), the equivalent of the English word “people” is assumed. Thus “Los Felices” doesn’t really mean “the happies”, it means “the happy people”. “La gente feliz” or “las personas feliz” are two other, less efficient ways of saying the same thing.

Yes really. My point was about our use of broken Spanish in the city (sorry if that wasn’t clear), and Los Feliz, does mean “The Happies”, unlike Los Felices which would imply multiple somethings that were happy (most likely people). Also, and I could be wrong my Spanish grammar was never great, but I believe that to be grammatically correct it would have to be Las Feliz if they were going to use feliz with the singular article, because the implied noun is feminine.

That being said, I am not a native speaker so what I said above could all be bunk, but I have several good friends that are native Spanish speakers and they all agree that Los Feliz is fairly well nonsense, in the way that saying “como pasa?” instead of “que pasa?” is nonsense. Grammatically it just doesn’t compute.

[Harriet_the_Spry]

I find that people from Southern California pronounce avocado with about 17 syllables, as if they are savoring the most delicious avocado on earth.

[dalej42]

Here is by far the most comprehensive guide to California freeways online.

[Hostile_Dialect]

@NAF1138

and Los Feliz, does mean “The Happies”, unlike Los Felices which would imply multiple somethings that were happy (most likely people).

I’m neither fluent or native in Spanish, but it seems to me that “Los Feliz” is just broken Spanish that doesn’t mean anything except in the context of what “Los Felices” would mean. The word “feliz” has no gender as it’s an adjective and not a noun. Either “Los Felices” or “Las Felices” could be correct, depending on who or what is supposed to be happy: guys? Los. People? Las. Girls? Las.

@NAF1138

Grammatically it just doesn’t compute.

Exactly my point. “Los Feliz” doesn’t mean anything; the closest meaning can be found in “Los Felices”, which is valid Spanish.

@Harriet the Spry

I find that people from Southern California pronounce avocado with about 17 syllables, as if they are savoring the most delicious avocado on earth.

Not sure where in SoCal you were, but I can’t picture what you’re talking about.

[David_Simmons]

@Harriet the Spry

I find that people from Southern California pronounce avocado with about 17 syllables, as if they are savoring the most delicious avocado on earth.

Harriet, you have given me the best laugh of the new year. I have difficulty imagining anything more hilarious than someone from NC commenting on pronunciation. :eek:

[Asimovian]

@Harriet the Spry

I find that people from Southern California pronounce avocado with about 17 syllables, as if they are savoring the most delicious avocado on earth.

Would you be kind enough to try to give an example? I’m extremely curious now. That’s probably the one word brought up in this topic that I’ve never heard pronounced more than one way.

[Lathe_of_Heaven]

You road geeks may wish to check out cahighways.org, another outstanding site chock full of info.

[The_Hamster_King]

@fetus

The way Angelenos pronounce Sepulveda bugs me. I can’t bring myself to do it. My dad corrects me every time, but I can’t sell my soul on that crap.

I’m on a personal crusade to get people to start pronouncing it like it’s the title of an Indian epic: The Sepul Veda.