# What are some \*subtle\* differences among various dialects of English? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 12, 2017, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145 "2017-09-12T06:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/201 "2017-09-18T02:30:19Z")
I always notice when a British person tacks on the unnecessary (to my reasoning) _time_. AE: “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” BE: “I’ll be there in ten minutes _time_.” ---
**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:** [September 18, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/202 "2017-09-18T02:31:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To this American, “geezer” definitely implies advanced age, but does not imply anything at all about frailty. You can have a tottering old geezer or a tough old geezer. And in the case of “tough old geezer”, there’s definitely an undertone of respect. To me, in US English, “geezer” connotes a grumpy old man. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/203 "2017-09-18T04:02:07Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > American waitresses of a certain age will call their customers “honey” or “sweetie”. Or “Shug.” (Short for “Sugar.” ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/204 "2017-09-19T11:42:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Various ways to resurrect a “plural you”: > > You-uns [yunz or yinz], as already noted in Pittsburg area. > > Yous or Yous guys; New Joisey > > Y’all –\> All y’all; various parts of the south No, normal people don’t say “youse guys” in New Jersey. Nor do we say “bada bing bada boom.” Or “Joisey,” for that matter. I’ve only ever heard youse guys used once, by a school lunch lady on Long Island\* in 1978 or so. I remember it because I went home and asked my mommy what she was on about.\*\* Never heard it in “in the wild” again. “Y’all” is common, even outside the South. “Yinz” was definitely in use in Pittsburgh, at least amongst working-class folks in the early '90s when I lived there - though I think it was typically avoided because “Yinzer” had become a negative stereotype. - Long Island is indeed pronounced Lawn Guyland by natives, though not in such an exaggerated way. \*\* Deliberate use of a British-ism there. 🙂 We would say “what she was talking about” instead. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/205 "2017-09-19T12:07:30Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > No, normal people don’t say “youse guys” in New Jersey. You have to come to Australia for that one… > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Nor do we say “bada bing bada boom.” Or “Joisey,” for that matter. …but there, I got nothin’ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/206 "2017-09-19T12:12:30Z")
Perhaps not _subtle_ but while evacuating from Irma I listened to the Beeb overnight on my 22(!) hour drive from Melbourne to Louisville and some - but not all - announcers pronounced the name of the _next_ hurricane as “Joe-zay”. Which made me cringe but then I realized that the American pronunciation of “Hoe-zay” probably makes Spanish speakers cringe equally. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/207 "2017-09-19T12:53:00Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > No, normal people don’t say … Or “Joisey,” for that matter. > > I’ve only ever heard youse guys used once, by a school lunch lady on Long Island\* … > > - Long Island is indeed pronounced Lawn Guyland by natives, though not in such an exaggerated way. > … And many New Jerseyians totally do say “Joisey”, though not in such an exaggerated way. 🙂 Or at least that’s what it sounds like to most people from elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/208 "2017-09-19T15:13:00Z")
Back in college, I had a roommate from New Jersey, and in most regards, his accent was basically just the Wonder Bread newscaster accent that you could hear anywhere in America… except that he called the compartment you pull out in a dresser a “draw”, instead of a “drawer”. I’m not sure if he thought it was spelled “draw”, or knew the spelling and was just eliding the final R. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/209 "2017-09-19T16:35:55Z")
“Youse” and “youse guys” is definitely used among some (sub)dialects in Chicago. I will occasionally use it in the phrase “Hey, whatchoose guys up to?” “Youse” is far more common. I could swear I’ve heard it in the New York metro area, but there’s just so many accents out there. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/210 "2017-09-19T18:21:18Z")
> [@](#): > > “Y’all” is common, even outside the South. “Yinz” was definitely in use in Pittsburgh, at least amongst working-class folks in the early '90s when I lived there - though I think it was typically avoided because “Yinzer” had become a negative stereotype. I had a roommate in the Air Force from Youngstown, Ohio who sayd “yunz”. When I was going to college, there was a guy in one of my classes from Southern Georgia, who spoke with what would almost have qualified as a New Jersey/Brooklyn accent, with the “joisey” pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/211 "2017-09-19T20:50:57Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I always notice when a British person tacks on the unnecessary (to my reasoning) _time_. > > AE: “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” > > BE: “I’ll be there in ten minutes _time_.” But does it then become “ten minutes’ time”? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/212 "2017-09-20T07:47:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > except that he called the compartment you pull out in a dresser a “draw”, instead of a “drawer”. Oh, that’s how we say it here as well - so it’s a “chest of draws” - even though you’ll _write_ “chest of drawers” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/213 "2017-10-30T23:28:36Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Can the Rightponders clarify a usage I often hear on British television: the singular were. An example might be someone saying of a third person “He weren’t a bad bloke.” > > Is this a subjunctive nicety I should know, or merely a characteristic usage of a particular class or locale? The subjunctive mode is common – you must remember (1) that in England, politeness is often a form of rudeness, and (2) openness is an American characteristic. A British TV character wouldn’t call his friends “nice” or “good” unless he was taking the piss or was unsufferably worthy. On the other hand the subjective tense is local dialect. An Australian would say “he wasn’t a bad bloke” or “He’s not a bad bloke”. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/214 "2017-10-31T12:32:09Z")
One I’ve been wondering about is “hold by”. In Orthodox Jewish communities, it’s a way of saying you follow a particular religious ruling- i.e., “I don’t do X, I hold by Rabbi Ploni.” I don’t think I’ve heard it used in any way in the wider world. I don’t know if there are other English speakers who say something similar, or if it’s just a Yiddishism that found its way into Yinglish. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/215 "2017-10-31T13:13:17Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > One I’ve been wondering about is “hold by”. > > In Orthodox Jewish communities, it’s a way of saying you follow a particular religious ruling- i.e., “I don’t do X, I hold by Rabbi Ploni.” I don’t think I’ve heard it used in any way in the wider world. I don’t know if there are other English speakers who say something similar, or if it’s just a Yiddishism that found its way into Yinglish. It’s somewhat common where I grew up, almost always in the negative “I don’t hold by these newfangled ideas.” ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/216 "2017-10-31T14:35:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Oh, that’s how we say it here as well - so it’s a “chest of draws” - even though you’ll _write_ “chest of drawers” In my mid-Ohio accent: /dɹɔɹz/, rhymes with “wars”. I’m not surprised a non-rhotic dialect like from New Jersey would drop the latter “r”. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/217 "2017-10-31T14:53:27Z")
My Scottish grandmother used to use the term “He makes a good screw” to describe someone who had a good job/salary. This didn’t go over well with the other wives in town until it was explained to her what that meant on this side of the pond. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/218 "2017-10-31T15:04:53Z")
Folks in the Great Lakes area frequently append unnecessary possessives to business names, regardless of whether it’s in the name or not. e.g. Let’s shop at _Meijer’s_ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/219 "2017-10-31T15:42:16Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Folks in the Great Lakes area frequently append unnecessary possessives to business names, regardless of whether it’s in the name or not. e.g. Let’s shop at _Meijer’s_ Yes, we do. It just sounds right to us. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145/220 "2017-10-31T20:52:32Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > It’s somewhat common where I grew up, almost always in the negative “I don’t hold by these newfangled ideas.” Oh, that’s right! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145.md?page=12)