# What are your regional "vocal tics"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956 "2018-02-01T16:34:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PapaJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@PapaJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapaJoe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/21 "2018-02-01T18:08:18Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I’ve noticed, and sort of collected, a similar thing about parental reflexive vocalizations. When very young children are about to do something wrong or dangerous, parents have these regional noises they make to signal their disapprobation. These are the noises that generally will stop children in their tracks long before a word or phrase can do it. My dad used a simple, sharp “Eh!” I find I use this with my kids, too. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/22 "2018-02-01T18:26:04Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > That same article also mentioned the possessive S. That’s hardly a Milwaukee/Wisconsin/Midwest thing. It’s bad grammar and nothing more. It seems to me that’s like saying ‘you know your in [our city] when people write your instead of you’re’. No, it’s just a common mistake. In fact the possessive S is common enough to have it’s own name, The greengrocers apostrophe. No, it’s definitely not the same phenomenon as the greengrocer’s apostrophe. (Or at least what I’m talking about in my post isn’t the same thing.) This is something that manifests itself in speech. The greengrocer’s apostrophe is misuse of the apostrophe in written form, [i.e. using the apostrophe before any and all “esses,” usually mistakenly writing plurals as possessives.] What I’m talking about is treating trade names that don’t end in “s” as possessives. For example, you know how you would say “I’m going over to Mike’s” tonight? Well, we might say “I’m going over to [the] Jewel’s to pick up some groceries.” Or, “Did you see the sale they have over at Zayre’s” (The trade name is “Zayre,” or at least was, when it existed.) It is completely distinct from the greengrocer’s apostrophe. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/23 "2018-02-01T18:31:43Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I’m pretty sure that when you drove up to visit your son you took THE 405 or THE 5 and maybe at some point used THE 22 or THE 57 freeways. Oh, he’s not from LA, man. That’s hella far from where he lives. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/24 "2018-02-01T18:36:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m sure Chicago has many of them, but I think of the extraneous possessive “s” added to business names. It doesn’t happen with all business names, but, for example, Jewel is the main local grocery chain. People will say they’re going over “to da Jewel’s” instead of “to Jewel.” This construction was also used with historical places like Venture and Zayre department stores. It doesn’t seem to be in use as much with newer chains (I’ve never heard “Target’s” for instance. That said, I have heard “I’m going over to Costco’s.” Doesn’t work with “Walmart.” Not sure what the rules are for when it is used or not.) We have some of that over here, too, and I think it has something to do with the ending letter. It particularly seems to happen to stores with vowels on the end. (And L and R at the end of words are semivowels). That said, we also have (or at least had) a tendency to change the -mart at the end of a store name to “mark” or “marks.” My dad used to always talk of going to Wall-marks. Which reminds me of another regionalism: we tend to add Rs in certain words. I grew up using a worshrag, and had no idea it was the word wash plus rag. We also use “Chest 'o drawers,” aka chesterdrores. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/25 "2018-02-01T18:44:19Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Oh, he’s not from LA, man. That’s hella far from where he lives. Totally. Fer sure. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/26 "2018-02-01T18:47:52Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > They use it often in WI was well, **Happy** > > [COME HERE ONCE AND LEARN ALREADY SCHOLARS FIND THAT GERMAN-BASED WISCONSIN-SPEAK IS MORE DISTINCT IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS.](http://host.madison.com/news/come-here-once-and-learn-already-scholars-find-that-german/article_02072b4b-1c4c-5ee6-8564-81b2a19bf7cf.html) Well that’s interesting. Finally have a possible source to give my dad for our linguistic weirdness. And here in Michigan, people add an s to business names as well- “I work for Fords, going to Krogers, shopping at Kmarts…” And with the ope thing: I’ve caught myself saying something similar, but it’s more of an “ut.” ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/27 "2018-02-01T18:51:00Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My aunt is from Texas and cannot get over the fact that I guess us Ohioans say we are going “by” someone’s house instead of “to” someone’s house. She’s been in our family for 30 years and will still stop you dead in a conversation to mock you about driving by and waving if you say “Yeah we went by uncle Fred’s for a bit…” Well, she ought not. I’ve heard that expression all my life here. “We went by Grandmom’s on the way over here.” I’m fixing to get us a coke. What kind do you want? I’m having Dr Pepper. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/28 "2018-02-01T18:56:44Z")
I’m sure you’re all familiar with typical NJ/NYC ways of speaking. I just re-realized the other day that certain phrases that we use every day such as “whatchya doin’?” sound peculiar to people from not around here. In my Air Force days, my fellow airmen would get a kick out of phrases I used (and I guess the way I said it) such as “you bustin’ my balls?” And the way I pronounced coffee. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/29 "2018-02-01T19:05:26Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > I’m sure you’re all familiar with typical NJ/NYC ways of speaking. I just re-realized the other day that certain phrases that we use every day such as “whatchya doin’?” sound peculiar to people from not around here. Definitely used around here (Chicago), too, or at least it doesn’t sound at all odd to me. It can be “whatchya/whatchoo/waddaya doin/up to/up ta.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/30 "2018-02-01T19:07:05Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > They use it often in WI was well, **Happy** > > [COME HERE ONCE AND LEARN ALREADY SCHOLARS FIND THAT GERMAN-BASED WISCONSIN-SPEAK IS MORE DISTINCT IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS.](http://host.madison.com/news/come-here-once-and-learn-already-scholars-find-that-german/article_02072b4b-1c4c-5ee6-8564-81b2a19bf7cf.html) We’ve lived in Wisconsin for less than three years, and already my seven-year-old son spontaneously says “come with.” ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/31 "2018-02-01T19:09:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Definitely used around here (Chicago), too, or at least it doesn’t sound at all odd to me. It can be “whatchya/whatchoo/waddaya doin/up to/up ta.” Yeah, all those sound right to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PapaJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@PapaJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapaJoe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/32 "2018-02-01T19:22:13Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > I’m fixing to get us a coke. What kind do you want? I’m having Dr Pepper. I recall in grade school, we had a new student arrive from Texas. The first time a group of us went to play at his house we were greeted by his mom. Mom: You boys want a coke? Us: Sure! Mom: What kind? Us: Uhhhh. Diet? Mom: We don’t have that. Us: What do you have? Mom: We got grape, cherry, Mountain Dew … Us: _Stare dumbfounded_ This is also due, I think, to our regional habit of calling carbonated, flavored, sugar-water “pop”. Coke was a type of pop to us. This was my first exposure to regional idioms. is “idioms” right? I don’t care. I’m usin’ it. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/33 "2018-02-01T20:52:24Z")
I still occasionally do the ‘aina’ thing for ‘is it not so’. I grew up in 'Sconsin, so if someone is a truck driver for Wal-Mart, “he drove truck” for Wal-Mart. And it’s not “pop”, it’s “soda”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/34 "2018-02-01T20:53:52Z")
People around here say “like”. Like all the time. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/35 "2018-02-01T21:14:20Z")
Cincinnati has some weird ones. People around here often say “please?” in place of “what?” or “excuse/pardon me?” when asking for clarification of something or for you to repeat yourself. A lot of Cincinnati west-siders will alter words, turning “wash” into “warsh”. We also have some local phrases, like “up the pike” in place of “up the street”, or calling I-75 in Kentucky the “cut in the hill”. Of course, we also have “Who Dey”, which can end with a question mark (“Who dey?”) or an exclamation point (“Who Dey!”). The last couple seasons “Who Dey” has mostly ended in questions marks for the Bengals though. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/36 "2018-02-01T21:15:04Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > They use it often in WI was well, **Happy** > > [COME HERE ONCE AND LEARN ALREADY SCHOLARS FIND THAT GERMAN-BASED WISCONSIN-SPEAK IS MORE DISTINCT IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS.](http://host.madison.com/news/come-here-once-and-learn-already-scholars-find-that-german/article_02072b4b-1c4c-5ee6-8564-81b2a19bf7cf.html) I grew up in a very French Canadian area. I actually had an old man yell at a bunch of us “The next time you go through my, you go around!” > [@TruCelt](#): > > I’ve noticed, and sort of collected, a similar thing about parental reflexive vocalizations. When very young children are about to do something wrong or dangerous, parents have these regional noises they make to signal their disapprobation. These are the noises that generally will stop children in their tracks long before a word or phrase can do it. > > My Georgia Mother made a very gentle, drawn out, back of the throat noise: Uhn-ahh, Unh-ahhh! > > My New Hampshire relatives (including Dad) all used a very loud, harsh sound like the “a” in “yam”: Anh, anh, anh, anh! > > A Father I knew from Texas used: Whup, whup, whup! > > A Brooklyn Mom use a sing-songy repeat of the NH “a”: anh, anh, AYaa-uhhhh! anh, anh, AYaa-uhhhh! > > A Mother from India (don’t know what region) used a five sound repeat: NAH! nah-nah-nah, naaaahhh NAH! nah-nah-nah, naaaahhh > > I find these noises absolutely fascinating for some reason. I think they were probably the true beginnings of language. It was always “Uuuhht-tut-tut-tut.” I still sue that one on the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/37 "2018-02-01T21:24:55Z")
I’ve a really strong Scottish accent - a bit of a mix of one because we moved around a fair bit when I was growing up. British people with strong accents can usually code-switch, so toning it down, speaking more slowly, enunciating fully every word, dropping regionalisms. It’s pretty necessary in this big old interconnected world of ours where I’m as likely to phone an office in Bangalore or Baltimore as one in, err, Barrhead. But I can’t stop using “aye” for “yes”. It seems to be hardwired now. It’s not a problem because every English speaker knows what it means anyway, but the closest I can get to eliminating it is to answer a question with “Aye, yes” rather than just plain “Aye”. Most odd. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/38 "2018-02-01T21:27:01Z")
When I moved down to Florida from Western NY, for about 10 years I still used “eh” as an affirmation “tag question” at the end of a sentence. At first it never occurred to me that everyone didn’t do the same until everyone kept accusing me of being Canadian. I still think it’s useful and easier to say than “right?” I also now use y’all for the plural second person because that’s useful as well. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/39 "2018-02-01T21:35:53Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > When I moved down to Florida from Western NY, for about 10 years I still used “eh” as an affirmation “tag question” at the end of a sentence. At first it never occurred to me that everyone didn’t do the same until everyone kept accusing me of being Canadian. I just watched an episode of “Forensic Files” filmed somewhere in the trackless wastes of Canada. The female protagonist, her mother and her father were interviewed, and all of them were unable to end a single sentence without adding “eh”. I practically rooted for the evil guy, because he was the only one on the show who didn’t keep saying “eh”. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956/40 "2018-02-01T21:44:57Z")
Grew up in Maryland and live in Ohio. If anything I have consciously chosen to use the most neutral words possible. For example, in Maryland “coke” or “soda” was common (if you consult the US map of pop/soda/coke I think MD is a state with overlap/multiples, iirc). Here, it’s “pop.” I say “soft drink” or something more broad. Other things I tried hard to drop. Think I successful beat “warsh” out of my vocabulary. I think that was around the time people started asking me what country I was from. I’m sure there are many things I have retained that I’m just not aware of but I can’t think of any. In my experience all the California lingo ends up spreading. I have relatives in CA that I visited when I was a kid and heard some words that I would hear again YEARS later in MD. It seems like they travel all the way East before coming back Midwest, though. The other night I overheard some dudes speaking like 1993 Californians, but probably weren’t born until the mid-90s and have never left central OH. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-regional-vocal-tics/807956.md?page=3)