Where I talk to you about linguistics and anthropology, science fiction and fantasy, point of view, grammar geekiness, and all of the fascinating permutations thereof...
I can partially verify the first map, about river crustaceans. I grew up (and my mother grew up) in and around Sacramento, in the north-central part of California, and say "crawdad." In Louisiana, where I taught for a while, they definitely say "crawfish," and they are delicious boiled with spices!
Apparently the boo-wie pronunciation came from the Irish word "bui" meaning "yellow." This was something I didn't know until a friend pointed it out. :)
Original spelling "buigh" and the origin of "boy" as a person's name: like "John Boy" (John the Yellow) as opposed to John Finn (the White), John Flann (the Red), John Dubh (the Black), or John Dun (the Brown). Flynn, aka Flainn, comes from Flann.
I've lived in enough places that I have multiple ways of pronouncing many of "those" words. The more I think about it when I take those pronunciation and word choice quizzes, the more confused I get about which one is my "default" pronunciation. I'm a linguistic chameleon, evidently.
Here on the banks of the middle Delaware River, we distinguished between "creeks" and "cricks." A "creek" was big enough to have a name, like Bushkill Creek or Martin's Creek. But a "crick" was a small, nameless stream like the one running off Mammy Morgan's Hill through the farmlands below and ultimately into the aforesaid Delaware. But we had also hereabouts a lot of German pronunciations, phrases, and the like.
R.E., thanks for the comment! Yes, in some regions y'all is actually the singular and all y'all the plural. Something tells me this map wasn't fine-grained enough to show that particular distinction.
How about linguistic differences within the San Francisco Bay region? There are many, depending on the town and neighborhood. (And I am not referring to immigrants, which is a seperate topic.)
For example, there's a large Italian populace in South San Francisco, and a local accent that reminds me very much of the NY/NJ region. (Though I've not narrowed it down any further.)
Right now I'm reading the novel "A Confederacy of Dunces," which is acclaimed for its clear depiction of several distinct New Orleans spoken accents.
Personally, I spent enough years in the South and in Texas to say 'y'all' quite often. But I wasn't in regions which distinguish the plural with 'all y'all.'
Nowadays I visit my mom in North Dakota, where it's a bright 'hello!' instead.
Oops, pushed Add too quickly. I mean, a bright 'hello' instead of 'howdy.'
Of course, here in the Bay Area, and to the despair of decent Spanish teachers everywhere, there's a popular mix of Spanglish words blended into most everyone's conversations.
Then there's our freeways. We northern Californians do _not_ drive on "the 5" or "the 101" but people down in LA do. Ours are simply "I5" or "101."
Cool!
ReplyDeleteI can partially verify the first map, about river crustaceans. I grew up (and my mother grew up) in and around Sacramento, in the north-central part of California, and say "crawdad." In Louisiana, where I taught for a while, they definitely say "crawfish," and they are delicious boiled with spices!
Yes, it's really fun to test out the results against one's own experience. Thanks for commenting, Calvin!
DeleteEnjoyed looking over these! I especially found the bowie knife map interesting.
ReplyDeleteApparently the boo-wie pronunciation came from the Irish word "bui" meaning "yellow." This was something I didn't know until a friend pointed it out. :)
DeleteOriginal spelling "buigh" and the origin of "boy" as a person's name: like "John Boy" (John the Yellow) as opposed to John Finn (the White), John Flann (the Red), John Dubh (the Black), or John Dun (the Brown). Flynn, aka Flainn, comes from Flann.
DeleteWow, cool! Thanks for that, OFloinn. So does that mean you are "Michael the red"? Great stuff!
DeleteI love these kinds of things. Thanks for linking.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in enough places that I have multiple ways of pronouncing many of "those" words. The more I think about it when I take those pronunciation and word choice quizzes, the more confused I get about which one is my "default" pronunciation. I'm a linguistic chameleon, evidently.
E.L., I have similar trouble because I've hung around a wide mix of people for most of my life. It's fun, though. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteHere on the banks of the middle Delaware River, we distinguished between "creeks" and "cricks." A "creek" was big enough to have a name, like Bushkill Creek or Martin's Creek. But a "crick" was a small, nameless stream like the one running off Mammy Morgan's Hill through the farmlands below and ultimately into the aforesaid Delaware. But we had also hereabouts a lot of German pronunciations, phrases, and the like.
ReplyDeleteFascinating. Thanks for sharing those!
DeleteI believe it's "all y'all" (y'all is paradoxically considered singular) 8^)
ReplyDeleteR.E., thanks for the comment! Yes, in some regions y'all is actually the singular and all y'all the plural. Something tells me this map wasn't fine-grained enough to show that particular distinction.
DeleteInteresting!
ReplyDeleteHow about linguistic differences within the San Francisco Bay region? There are many, depending on the town and neighborhood. (And I am not referring to immigrants, which is a seperate topic.)
For example, there's a large Italian populace in South San Francisco, and a local accent that reminds me very much of the NY/NJ region. (Though I've not narrowed it down any further.)
Right now I'm reading the novel "A Confederacy of Dunces," which is acclaimed for its clear depiction of several distinct New Orleans spoken accents.
Personally, I spent enough years in the South and in Texas to say 'y'all' quite often. But I wasn't in regions which distinguish the plural with 'all y'all.'
Nowadays I visit my mom in North Dakota, where it's a bright 'hello!' instead.
Oops, pushed Add too quickly.
ReplyDeleteI mean, a bright 'hello' instead of 'howdy.'
Of course, here in the Bay Area, and to the despair of decent Spanish teachers everywhere, there's a popular mix of Spanglish words blended into most everyone's conversations.
Then there's our freeways.
We northern Californians do _not_ drive on "the 5" or "the 101" but people down in LA do. Ours are simply "I5" or "101."