::Earth-Shattering Distinctives::

:: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 ::

This is a copy of the dialect survey that I copied off Kelly's Halloween Blog. I thought it might be fun to blog my own dialect answers. These questionairres really do come in handy during "Writer's Blog" as Carmon likes to call it.



1.aunt - "ant"
2.been - "bin"
3.the first vowel in "Bowie knife" - "long o sound"
4.caramel - "karmel"
5.the vowel in the second syllable of "cauliflower" - "Lee"
6.the last vowel in "centaur" "are", I guess
7.coupon - "kewpon"
8.Craig (the name) "like leg"
9.crayon "cray" as in crayfish
10.creek (a small body of running water) "eek"
11.the first vowel in "Florida" "long o"
12.flourish "ur" as in Ur of the Chaldees
13.the last vowel in "handkerchief" "i" as in "if"
14.lawyer - "loy-er"
15.How do you pronounce Mary/merry/marry? Mary (very) merry (same) marry (Harry)
16.mayonnaise - "may nayz"
17.the first vowel in "miracle" "ir" as in sear
18.mischievous vs. mischievious "mischievious"
19.the final vowel in "Monday," "Friday," etc. "ay" as in "lay"
20.the second vowel in "pajamas" "a" as in apple
21.pecan "pi-kon"
22.poem "po-um"
23.really "rilly"
24.realtor (a real estate agent) "real-tor"
25.roof, room, broom, root "oo" as in boot.
26.route (as in, "the route from one place to another") "Same as 25"
27.the first vowel in "syrup"- "ur" as in "sir"
28.Do you pronounce "cot" and "caught" the same? Yes
29.almond - "Ah-mind"
30.the "s" in "anniversary" "like an s"
31.asterisk "astrisk"
32.candidate " Kan-did-it"
33.the "s" in "chromosome" "s"
34.et cetera "et" as in "letter"
35.the final consonant in "garage" "aj" as in "Haj"
36.the "c" in "grocery" "sh"
37.huge, humor, humongous, human... "long u"
38.the "s" in "nursery" "s"
39.the "s" in the last name of Elvis Presley - "arbitrary"
40.quarter - "or" as in "core"
41.Do you use "spigot" or "spicket" to refer to a faucet or tap that water comes out of? "spicket"
42.strength "straynth"
43.the final consonant in "Texas"- u as in "us"
44.cream cheese "e" as in sheet
45.insurance "ur" as in Ur of the Chaldees
46.New Haven (the city in Connecticut where Yale University is located) New "Haven" as in "Raven"
47.Thanksgiving "accent on 'thanks'
48.umbrella "umm" with the accent on "brella"
49.I ____ her lifeless body from the pool "carried"
50.What word(s) do you use to address a group of two or more people? "you guys" (informally) "all of you"
51.Would you say "Are you coming with?" as a full sentence, to mean "Are you coming with us?" No.
52.Would you say "where are you at?" to mean "where are you?" No.
53.Modals are words like "can," "could," "might," "ought to," and so on. Can you use more than one modal at a time? (e.g., "I might could do that" to mean "I might be able to do that"; or "I used to could do that" to mean "I used to be able to do that") No
54.He used to nap on the couch, but he sprawls out in that new lounge chair anymore (answers 54 - 57 "now")
55.I do exclusively figurative paintings anymore
56.Pantyhose are so expensive anymore that I just try to get a good suntan and forget about it.
57.Forget the nice clothes anymore (referring to babies eating messily after a certain age)
58.Which of these terms do you prefer for a sale of unwanted items on your porch, in your yard, etc.? "Yard sale"
59.What do you call the game wherein the participants see who can throw a knife closest to the other person (or alternately, get a jackknife to stick into the ground or a piece of wood)? I don't call it anything.
60.What do you call the area of grass between the sidewalk and the road? "lawn"
61.What do you call the area of grass that occurs in the middle of some streets?
62.What do you call the long narrow place in the middle of a divided highway?
63.What do you call the drink made with milk and ice cream? "milkshake"
64.What do you call the long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce, and so on? "Hero or Hoagie"
65.What do you call the insect that flies around in the summer and has a rear section that glows in the dark?
66.What do you call the miniature lobster that one finds in lakes and streams for example (a crustacean of the family Astacidae)?
67.What do you call the kind of spider (or spider-like creature) that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
68.What nicknames do/did you use for your maternal grandmother? "Grandma"
69.What about your paternal grandmother (is there a distinction?) "no"
70.What do/did you call your maternal grandfather? "Grandpa"
71.paternal grandfather? Same as 70.
72.What do you call the big clumps of dust that gather under furniture and in corners? "Dust Bunnies"
73.What is your *general* term for the rubber-soled shoes worn in gym class, for athletic activities, etc.? "Gym Shoes"
74.What do you call the little gray creature (that looks like an insect but is actually a crustacean) that rolls up into a ball when you touch it? "Sow Bug"
75.What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? "cart"
76.What term do you use to refer to something that is across both streets from you at an intersection (or diagonally across from you in general)?
77.What do you call the activity of driving around in circles in a car? "Driving around in circles"
78.What do you call paper that has already been used for something or is otherwise imperfect? "Scrap paper"
79.What is your *general* term for a big road that you drive relatively fast on? "Freeway"
80.What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? "showers"
81.When you are cold, and little points of skin begin to come on your arms and legs, you have- goosebumps
82.What do you call the gooey or dry matter that collects in the corners of your eyes, especially while you are sleeping? "sleep"
83.What do you call an easy course? "an easy class or course"
84.What do you call a traffic situation in which several roads meet in a circle and you have to get off at a certain point? "a round-about" or a "glorieta"
85.What is the thing that women use to tie their hair? "a bow"
86.Do you use the word cruller? Yes.
87.Do you use the term "bear claw" for a kind of pastry? Yes.
88.What do you call someone who is the opposite of pigeon-toed (i.e. when they walk their feet point outwards)? a strange gait
89.Can you call coleslaw "slaw"? No.
90.What do you call the box you bury a dead person in? A coffin
91.Do you say "vinegar and oil" or "oil and vinegar" for the type of salad dressing? Oil first.
92.What do you call it when a driver changes over one or more lanes way too quickly? Speeding.
93.When you stand outside with a long line of people waiting to get in somewhere, are you standing "in line" or "on line" (as in, "I stood ___ in the cold for two hours before they opened the doors")? In
94.Do you say "frosting" or "icing" for the sweet spread one puts on a cake? Frosting.
95.What is "the City"? "The nearest big, urban area."
96.What is the distinction between dinner and supper? Dinner is more formal than supper.
97.Which of these terms do you prefer? We say dinner if we all sit down together, supper, if we're on our own on a busy evening.
98.Which of these terms do you prefer?
99.Which of these terms do you prefer for the small road parallel to the highway?
100.Do you cut or mow the lawn or grass? Mow lawn
101.Do you pass in homework or hand in homework? Hand in
102.What do you call the insect that looks like a large thin spider and skitters along the top of water?
103.What do you call the thing from which you might drink water in a school? Water Fountain
104.What do you call a public railway system (normally underground)?
105.What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage? Soda
106.What do you call the act of covering a house or area in front of a house with toilet paper? T.P.
107.What do you call a traffic jam caused by drivers slowing down to look at an accident or other diversion on the side of the road? Rubbernecking.
108.What vowel do you use in bag? short a
109.What do you call the paper container in which you might bring home items you bought at the store? paper bag
110.What do you call the night before Halloween? Halloween Eve.
111.What do you call the end of a loaf of bread? the heel
112.How do you pronounce the word for the type of drug that acts as central nervous system depressant and is used as a sedative or hypnotic? (Please do not look up the word in a dictionary before answering this question.) a drug.
113.amphitheater as in amphibian"
114.citizen citi-zunn
115.What do you call a point that is purely academic, or that cannot be settled and isn't worth discussing further? "case closed end of discussion"
116.How do you pronounce the -sp- sequence in "thespian" (the word meaning "actor")? sp as in special.
117.What do you call the level of a building that is partly or entirely underground? Basement for house, ground floor for buildings.
118.What do you call a drive-through liquor store? a drive through liquor store
119.What do you call food that you buy at a restaurant but then eat at home? Take-out.
120.What do you say when you want to lay claim to the front seat of a car? "Front seat"
121.What word do you use for gawking at someone in a lustful way? Ogling
122.Do you say "expecially", or "especially"?

:: Mal du siecle 8:13 AM |