# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/161 "2019-06-05T12:30:50Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > If you greet someone with a nice cheerful “How y’all doing?” or “Y’all come back now, hear?” and you’re talking to JUST ONE PERSON, you’re not actually from the South. > > “Y’all” is plural, y’all. Not this again! Southerners are Southerners. They don’t care about your grammar rules. I see “y’all” singular on a regular basis. ---
**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 5, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/162 "2019-06-05T14:31:59Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I wonder whether some of you are identifying a particular “A” vowel as an “AL” sound. Because the commercials I linked to are clearly pronouncing “ahmond” with no L. I dunno. To me, it clearly sounds like a light “l.” I’ve posted several examples above where I don’t hear any sort of “l” whatsoever, so I’m not sure it’s the initial vowel sound (which does exist in my dialect, as we’re not part of the cot-caught merger.) I don’t hear the “l” in any of the Forvo links except the last two. I _do_ hear it in the Almond Joy commercials you linked to, though. So it doesn’t always sound to me like it has an “l” in it. I pronounce it as /ˈɑl mənd/ with a very light “l” there that is different than if I say /ɑ mənd/. It’s not as strong as “all” + “mond”, just a very light touch of the tongue against the palate, when my mouth closes to transition from the “a” sound to the “m.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/163 "2019-06-05T14:38:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I dunno. To me, it clearly sounds like a light “l.” I’ve posted several examples above where I don’t hear any sort of “l” whatsoever, so I’m not sure it’s the initial vowel sound (which does exist in my dialect, as we’re not part of the cot-caught merger.) I don’t hear the “l” in any of the Forvo links except the last two. I _do_ hear it in the Almond Joy commercials you linked to, though. This is just one of those things where we can’t trust our ears. Just as our brains fill in detail that our eyes don’t see we can hear or ignore sounds in our brain. In the thread about ‘jaguar’ many people have heard it pronounced like ‘jag-wire’, I’ve never noticed that pronunciation but it wouldn’t surprise if I never pick it up without concentrating on it. I think there is only a very slight difference in the way the mouth would make the sounds for ‘all-mond’ or ‘ah-mond’, so the sound itself is barely there. ---
**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 5, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/164 "2019-06-05T14:40:11Z")
^ Sorry, I didn’t mean palate, but rather the alveolar ridge. ---
**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 5, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/165 "2019-06-05T14:41:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This is just one of those things where we can’t trust our ears. Just as our brains fill in detail that our eyes don’t see we can hear or ignore sounds in our brain. I do agree that we’re not the best judges for that reason. Since I say it with a light “l,” I expect to hear a light “l.” But my point was also that I found a bunch of sound examples where in the vast majority I do _not_ hear that “l,” even though I expect to hear it. So clearly I can, at least at times, distinguish it. It’s possible that all those commercials, as they had a lot of background noise, helped my brain to “fill in the sound,” whereas with the bare vocal samples, it was clear. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/166 "2019-06-05T14:42:25Z")
I say All-munds like Allman Brothers. But then again, I’ve been ridiculed for rhyming reese’s peecies. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/167 "2019-06-05T14:48:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I do agree that we’re not the best judges for that reason. Since I say it with a light “l,” I expect to hear a light “l.” But my point was also that I found a bunch of sound examples where in the vast majority I do _not_ hear that “l,” even though I expect to hear it. So clearly I can, at least at times, distinguish it. It’s possible that all those commercials, as they had a lot of background noise, helped my brain to “fill in the sound,” whereas with the bare vocal samples, it was clear. Yeah, in any one case there could be the subtle L. I would hear it the opposite way as if it wasn’t there. There are definitely people who pronounce it clearly, but that doesn’t jar me as some mispronunciations would, it seems to work just as well either way. And not saying it is mispronunciation since it’s acceptable now either way. ---
**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 5, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/168 "2019-06-05T14:59:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yeah, in any one case there could be the subtle L. I would hear it the opposite way as if it wasn’t there. There are definitely people who pronounce it clearly, but that doesn’t jar me as some mispronunciations would, it seems to work just as well either way. > > And not saying it is mispronunciation since it’s acceptable now either way. I’m also one of those people who pronounces the “l” in “folk” and “yolk.” I was, frankly, shocked to find none of the dictionaries I checked had the “l” pronunciation for “folk,” but some did have it for “yolk.” “Yolk” and “yoke” are not homophones the way I say it. Once again, it’s a very light “l,” but it’s there in my accent, or at least in my personal pronunciation. It always feels a bit weird to me when I purposefully say “foke” and “yoke,” as if I’m trying to affect an accent, even those are the standard pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/169 "2019-06-05T15:00:40Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I say All-munds like Allman Brothers. But then again, I’ve been ridiculed for rhyming reese’s peecies. Reese’s Pieces doesn’t rhyme? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/170 "2019-06-05T15:07:28Z")
I’m assuming bobot says risiz instead of risəz and so makes pisəz into pisiz to force the rhyme, while his friends and neighbors just say risiz pisəz. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/171 "2019-06-05T15:07:47Z")
They don’t rhyme with “greasy”, which is how I hear it when I see the words. But rest assured, I’ve had my ass handed to me about that in another thread! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/172 "2019-06-05T15:22:50Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m also one of those people who pronounces the “l” in “folk” and “yolk.” I was, frankly, shocked to find none of the dictionaries I checked had the “l” pronunciation for “folk,” but some did have it for “yolk.” “Yolk” and “yoke” are not homophones the way I say it. Once again, it’s a very light “l,” but it’s there in my accent, or at least in my personal pronunciation. It always feels a bit weird to me when I purposefully say “foke” and “yoke,” as if I’m trying to affect an accent, even those are the standard pronunciations. Well this is getting weird for me. Now as I read through the thread I’m starting to ‘hear’ the L in almond pronounced in my head as I read :). Is that happening for you with ‘yolk’ or ‘folk’? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/173 "2019-06-05T15:30:58Z")
I’m wondering if the issue with almond is people hearing the dark L and thinking it’s part of the vowel. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/174 "2019-06-05T16:34:28Z")
Nobody’s mentioned New Englander’s broad “A” yet. New Englandaaas all talk like that. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/175 "2019-06-05T16:48:43Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > They don’t rhyme with “greasy”, which is how I hear it when I see the words. But rest assured, I’ve had my ass handed to me about that in another thread! If I sound it out, it sounds like a bag of dismembered monkey parts. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/176 "2019-06-05T17:13:26Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Well, I’m not so stupid as to claim there are any absolutes in language use. And I know anecdote is not data. But I’ve lived in the South for thirty-odd years, and everyone I know - family included, and my Dad was the only one to ever leave North Carolina - uses _y’all_ as a plural. > > Now, there are occasions when I’ve heard _y’all_ addressed to a single person. But even then, it’s with a plural meaning. For example, when I talk to my cousin, she’ll ask me “how are y’all?” She’s talking just to me, but she’s asking how my family - wife, parents, sister - are. > > I _have_ heard both _y’all’s_ and _all y’all_. _Y’all’s_ is a possessive - “I cain’t wait to meet y’all’s new dawg”. _All y’al_" is to specify a large group, rather than just two or three people. “Are all y’all coming back to the house, or just y’all?” > As I said, I have no doubt that some Southerners have used _y’all_ as a singular. And I’m only really familiar with northern Georgia, and North Carolina. But around here, the word is pretty much exclusively plural. Y’all’s MMV, of course. My friend from Lubbock, Texas most certainly uses “y’all” as singular. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/177 "2019-06-05T18:37:36Z")
Utah folk talk weird. Words ending in “ing”, the “g” isn’t pronounced. Whatcha doin’? Also sometimes the “t” is silent. There is a city called Layton. It is pronounced Lay-un. They will say, “Oh fudge”. This is to avoid saying the word for copulation. Probably due to the Mormon influence. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/178 "2019-06-05T18:44:36Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Words ending in “ing”, the “g” isn’t pronounced. Whatcha doin’? That’s just standard Mercan English. ---
**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 5, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/179 "2019-06-05T19:22:46Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Utah folk talk weird. > > Words ending in “ing”, the “g” isn’t pronounced. Whatcha doin’? Yeah, nothing particularly Utah about that. Dropping the “g” in “ing” is common across all sorts of English dialects. It’s certainly normal around here in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789/180 "2019-06-05T20:56:44Z")
There have only been two people in my life I’ve heard pronounce the word “tour” as a two-syllable word, rhyming with “sewer.” They were both from the St. Louis area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-syllables-that-give-an-indication-of-where-youre-from/834789.md?page=10)