# Words (or syllables) that give an indication of where you're from **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789 "2019-05-30T20:28:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/41 "2019-05-31T15:53:47Z")
There are still a few folks in the Baltimore area who pronounce the long “o” sound in a distinctive way - almost as if you open your mouth to say “ay” while saying the “o” - that’s the best way I can describe it. I can’t do it myself, but a few of my cousins used that pronunciation, and you’d hear it from long-time residents of Charm City. When I was in the Navy, attending some training in Georgia, I pegged one of my instructors as from Baltimore as soon as he started talking. But these days, the unique characteristics seem to be losing out to homogeneous accents. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/42 "2019-05-31T16:09:38Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > There are still a few folks in the Baltimore area who pronounce the long “o” sound in a distinctive way - almost as if you open your mouth to say “ay” while saying the “o” - that’s the best way I can describe it. If I understand what you’re describing, I have heard people from North Carolina do the same thing. An example would be Vivian Howard on the PBS show _A Chef’s Life_. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/43 "2019-05-31T16:41:49Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > If you say “warsh” instead of “wash”, you’re in the swath of territory that runs from MO, through southern IL, s. IN, s. OH and s. PA. . . . And a fair number of those folks moved to California, so you can find pockets. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/44 "2019-05-31T17:17:26Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > “Yinz” (for “you all”) is Western Pennsylvania. I think it’s more “yu’inz”, than yinz. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/45 "2019-05-31T17:19:14Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I think it’s more “yu’inz”, than yinz. Disagree. I syllable ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/46 "2019-05-31T17:19:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That overlaps the region where crayon is pronounced ‘crown’. My wife says crown for crayons and she’s from the Mid-Atlantic region. As a result, our children pronounce it that way as well, and they have grown up in the Midwest. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/47 "2019-05-31T17:21:08Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > Disagree. I syllable I agree it’s one syllable, but there is a distinct U sound before the I. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/48 "2019-05-31T17:25:25Z")
“Jagoff” will at least usually cause the astute listener or reader to suspect that I’m either from the Chicago area or Pittsburg (though my accent should betray my Chicago roots in and of itself.) “Gangway” is another one. We use that term to describe the space between houses in the city. (These spaces are typically around 6 feet wide or so and allow access to the backyard and often a side door.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/49 "2019-05-31T17:28:07Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > If they say “The 405” they’re from Southern California. If they say “The Fucking 405” they’re from LA. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/50 "2019-05-31T17:34:52Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > If you say “warsh” instead of “wash”, you’re in the swath of territory that runs from MO, through southern IL, s. IN, s. OH and s. PA. My late ex-mother-in-law was from St. Louis, and had the habit of adding an “m” sound into words like “sweep” or “sleep.” So, for instance, she would ask “did you sleemp well?” I don’t know if this was just her or if it’s a Midwest thing. She also used to reminisce about when Dizzy Dean was a sportscaster and would say things like “he slud into second base.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/51 "2019-05-31T17:59:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “Gangway” is another one. We use that term to describe the space between houses in the city. (These spaces are typically around 6 feet wide or so and allow access to the backyard and often a side door.) And, speaking of words / pronunciations that clearly place one as being from Chicago: “frunchroom.” The word is actually “front room,” and is a synonym for living room, but use of it (and particularly the “frunchroom” pronunciation) are diagnostically Chicago. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/52 "2019-05-31T18:54:57Z")
Did anybody mention “[ope](https://www.kansascity.com/living/article185849943.html)” yet? What’s the dialect map for that syllable? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/53 "2019-05-31T19:00:55Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And, speaking of words / pronunciations that clearly place one as being from Chicago: “frunchroom.” > > The word is actually “front room,” and is a synonym for living room, but use of it (and particularly the “frunchroom” pronunciation) are diagnostically Chicago. 😃 Omg, I remember my cousin saying it exactly that way. I think all we kids did when we were little, and we must have got it from our Chicago born and raised parents, though I don’t remember any of them saying it that way. Hell, I know my mother didn’t. She would die before she’d commit such a heinous assault on elocution 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/54 "2019-05-31T19:48:07Z")
Extremely local to the town where I grew up, people who were smart academically were called “Cones”, referring to the Saturday night live skits. It was utterly ubiquitous and I was taken completely by surprise when I got to college and nobody had any idea what I was talking about. Years later I had a colleague said that a friend of hers from this town told her to ask me if I was a cone. So it clearly a shibboleth for my town. 50 internet points to anyone who can identify the town. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/55 "2019-05-31T20:11:22Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > This thread reminded me of a really weird and violent book I read once, set in the ancient Middle East, where some people trying to deny their ethnicity to escape an act of ethnic cleansing were outed by pronouncing a word in a signature way, resulting in them all getting killed. > > Does this ring a bell for anyone? 😉 I think I read that same book. HATED it. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/56 "2019-05-31T22:58:31Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And, speaking of words / pronunciations that clearly place one as being from Chicago: “frunchroom.” > > The word is actually “front room,” and is a synonym for living room, but use of it (and particularly the “frunchroom” pronunciation) are diagnostically Chicago. 😃 I pretty much do that with all words beginning with “tr” in rapid speech. The “tr” becomes “chr” much in the same way “str” sounds becomes more like “shtr” sounds to me. It takes _a lot_ of effort for me not to mash that initial sound into a fricative “sh” sound. (And, honestly, I do have a hard time really distinguishing the difference between “train” said with a “clean” “tr” and one said as “chrain.”) I don’t do it with “st” words, so it’s not like some weird German influence or anything. It’s only in “str” words. So my “street” is probably closer to “shchtreet.” ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/57 "2019-05-31T23:55:59Z")
Not sure if it is specific to Singapore, but they often end a sentence with “la.” My wife still occasionally slips one in. Often in questions. “Where do you want to go to dinner la?” ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/58 "2019-06-01T01:23:49Z")
I’m not sure if this counts because it may be a family idiosyncracy, but my mother and aunt add a superfluous “s” to many words. Eg, Costco becomes Costco’s, Seinfeld becomes Seinfelds (actually Steinfelds…) If it’s a regionalism it would be a Philadelphia thing. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/59 "2019-06-01T02:26:27Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I’m not sure if this counts because it may be a family idiosyncracy, but my mother and aunt add a superfluous “s” to many words. Eg, Costco becomes Costco’s, Seinfeld becomes Seinfelds (actually Steinfelds…) > > If it’s a regionalism it would be a Philadelphia thing. Chicagoans do that a lot too. “Sophie, I’m going down to da Aldi’s, ya need me to getcha anything?” ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/60 "2019-06-01T02:55:14Z")
_Grinder_ if you are from Boston, _Hoagie_ if you are from South Jersey, _Hero_ if you are from NYC, _Sub_ if you are from anywhere else. It’s a _Frappe_ if you are from New England, a _Milkshake_ everywhere else. ETA: one that I must have picked up when I was in college in Pittsburgh - _jag_. As in “crying jag." [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789.md?page=4)