# The NYTimes 25-question American Language Guess-Where-You're-From map/algorithm **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104 "2013-12-24T21:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/161 "2013-12-27T19:47:20Z")
Well, it really covered the bases with me…it gave me three cities: Spokane, Salt Lake City and San Jose. So basically, anywhere in the Western US. I actually grew up in Washington and now live in Oregon, so I guess Spokane was in the ballpark at least. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/162 "2013-12-27T19:48:25Z")
And growing up in Washington, we called easy classes…“easy classes.” ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/163 "2013-12-27T19:58:19Z")
Mine had dots on Worcester, Boston and Providence but the red was most concentrated on Worcester. I lived there from age 5 to 20 and still live in Worcester County now. However, if this were a regional accent test it would never put me there, and most likely wouldn’t even put me in New England. So I picked up the lingo but not the accent. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/164 "2013-12-27T22:07:33Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Missed it completely, as I grew up in Anchorage. However, I’ve lived all over the place and picked up regionalisms from the people I’ve worked with, so that likely influenced things. I grew up in Fairbanks, but was born in Seattle and now live in Seattle, and it pegged me as either Seattle or Portland. So it’s a fair cop. They could easily peg the Alaskans with a couple of Alaska-specific terms but I guess there aren’t enough Alaskans to bother separating them from the generic west-coasters. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/165 "2013-12-27T23:21:05Z")
It had me as either Louisville or Lexington Kentucky, or Little Rock Arkansas. I was raised in Dayton Ohio, so Kentucky ain’t far off. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/166 "2013-12-27T23:26:04Z")
I’ve now tried this thing a half dozen times, and it doesn’t get anywhere near to where I grew up, even if I change some answers. Once it confidently pegged me as being from Salt Lake City. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/167 "2013-12-27T23:30:17Z")
One of the three cities they suggested (DC) is where I was raised, and the other one (Baltimore) was 30 miles away. So, surprisingly accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/168 "2013-12-27T23:42:26Z")
I’m a linguist and had a hard time taking this quiz. It was hard to separate what I knew of the lingo in the various places I’ve lived versus what I knew I was “supposed” to answer version my correct, gut answer. The first time I took it, it was nowhere close. The second time I took it, I thought harder and took my time. It came up with a diagonal band of red that contained the three places I have lived 30 of my 33 years, so yay. I did it “right”. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/169 "2013-12-28T00:27:58Z")
It reckoned NYC, Yonkers, and Baltimore for me. I was born 13 miles from Yonkers and actually lived my first year or so in Maryland, though I doubt that had much influence. Perhaps it was just trying to split the difference between “sunshower” (evidently a major NY giveaway) and “y’all” (which I’ve developed since moving to NC). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/170 "2013-12-28T01:12:33Z")
It did put my wife in the New York area. She’s from Buffalo. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/171 "2013-12-28T03:13:25Z")
Pretty close. Newark, New York and Yonkers. It works for word usage but not accent. My accent is a lot more neutral than the Tony Soprano dialect from NE Jersey. > [@Alessan](#): > > Incidentally, it seems as though the tri-state area is the only place in the country where people pronounce Mary, merry and marry each in a different way. I wonder why that is. I think that is one of the things that most nailed it down for me. That and Mischief Night. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/172 "2013-12-28T03:14:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It did put my wife in the New York area. She’s from Buffalo. Well, that’s great. I guess it’s only me that the thing couldn’t figure out what to do with so it put me in Lexington KY, Augusta GA and some other city I don’t remember, cause I don’t know nuthing’ bout nuthin’ east of the Mississippi. I have at least been to Lexington but I only stayed a few days. Took in a couple of races, counted my money & left. I was an Air Force brat, but only in the western part of the US and for a couple of years in Germany. I must have picked up weird expressions from kids who came from those other places. For some reason the distinctive thing seemed to be the drive-through liquor store. I checked “we have them here but there is no name.” We have ONE. Of COURSE there’s no generic name. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/173 "2013-12-28T04:06:15Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I think that is one of the things that most nailed it down for me. That and Mischief Night. I think it was the “Mary,merry,marry”- I got the same three cities, but I have no name for the night before Halloween. (we did our mischief on Halloween) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/174 "2013-12-28T04:12:41Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It did put my wife in the New York area. She’s from Buffalo. My wife’s from Buffalo, as well, and it pegged her to Buffalo, Rochester, and I can’t remember what the third one was, but in the same general region. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/175 "2013-12-28T04:12:45Z")
It pegged me for Fresno and Socal. Fresno is ballpark since I grew up mostly in little towns in northern California with parents from Phoenix and rural WA ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/176 "2013-12-28T16:41:52Z")
It pegged me pretty close, with Spokane, WA, Boise, ID, and Salt Lake City being the most similar to my way of speaking. New Orleans is my least similar city. Big dark blue spot there. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/177 "2013-12-28T23:55:03Z")
Spot on for me. New York, Yonkers and Newark, and I’m from Queens. I’ve lived all over, so I answered as I would have at 19. So Expressway instead of freeway (like in the Bay Area where I live now) and yard sale instead of carport sale, like when I lived in Louisiana. It seems sun shower nailed me. I didn’t get the sneakers question, which was mentioned in the article in the Times about this. Hero instead of hoagie probably helped 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:** [December 29, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/178 "2013-12-29T01:41:35Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > And growing up in Washington, we called easy classes…“easy classes.” I went to high school in Ohio, college in Missouri, graduate school in Colorado and Ohio. The only term I’ve ever heard for that concept is “cake.” Which wasn’t one of the choices. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/179 "2013-12-29T06:44:56Z")
It got close enough. The map at the end included my location, and the three cities it named formed a triangle. It fits what I thought, too, that I was more Missourian in my speech than Arkansan, as two of the cities were in Missouri. I do hate that the Facebook share button doesn’t actually share my map, though. It’s the reason I didn’t bother with it. The thing that got me most was “crawdad.” That pulled me back down to Arkansas, I think. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104/180 "2013-12-29T07:17:48Z")
Pegged me exactly (New York City). Things that surprised me, from this quiz specifically and the data from which it’s drawn. ([Overall/Maps](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html), and [By State](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/states.html).) – I didn’t know that [sneakers](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_73.html) was such a Northeastern thing. I assumed it was the same everywhere: “sneakers” is the overall category, while running shoes, tennis shoes and others are subcategories. And “gym shoes” is what a private school kid says to differentiate from the dress shoes he normally wears to school. – I was shocked to see that “[hero](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_64.html)” is basically limited to NYC and Long Island (they don’t even use it upstate). I know about the other terms, and will use “sub” almost interchangeably, and I assumed that was mostly the case elsewhere. Instead, while most of NYC calls it a “hero,” that term is around 1% in most states. – I have no word for the [night before Halloween](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_110.html), but what surprises me is that the whole damn state of [New Jersey](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/state_NJ.html) calls it mischief night and I’ve never heard the expression (nor am I even familiar with the night before Halloween being a thing). – [“Kitty-corner”? “Catty-corner”?](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_76.html) What the hell are you talking about? It’s just “that corner over there.” I might use “across diagonally” if the area in question wasn’t in sight. Until today I would have no idea what someone meant by any other term. I’m also a little surprised they didn’t ask if [“pin” and “pen”](http://dialectblog.com/2011/04/17/pin-pen-merger/) are pronounced the same. My father’s from Alabama originally, and the two sound identical to him: “Hey, hand me that pin in the drawer.” “Where?” “In the drawer, right there.” “… I don’t see one.” “The blue pin, right _there_.” “You mean the PEN?” “That’s what I said!!!” We’ve had that conversation at least three times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nytimes-25-question-american-language-guess-where-youre-from-map-algorithm/677104.md?page=10)