American Dialect Quiz

[zitronenhai]

A little bit ago, this American dialect quiz was floating around on Facebook. People who have lived in a lot of different regions of the US, or have lived abroad, got some less predictable results. My results pinned me dead-on.

Comments

[clevermanka]

I've heard that accents are the toughest thing to drop as a lifetime habit. One can hold a fake accent for a time, but adopting different pronunciations permanently is really, really difficult.

[zitronenhai]

I sure can't get myself to adopt the term "roundabout," no matter how wonderfully British it might sound. "Traffic circle" comes out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about it.

[clevermanka]

Either of those are nicer than what automatically comes out of my mouth when those things are referenced.

[zitronenhai]

I still hate that huge one on Ward Parkway.

[pamelonian]

This dialect quiz continues to inspire discussion. People love to talk about how they talk. I even had a discussion of the quiz with my parents. My dad, of course, believes that his pronunciation or word is THE correct one in all circumstances. I tried to get him to look at things regionally, but he's an absolutist. I shouldn't be surprised.

[zitronenhai]

Ha! I am sure you are not, actually, surprised by this. I know I'm not. =)

[elaineofshalott]

Here's my map, which puts me, correctly, around Boston, Worcester (MA), and Providence (RI), though possibly only because of "rotary". ("Roundabout" is what my GPS says, so I sometimes use that too.) My word for that particular insect would just be "ew", and I cannot recall ever seeing one. "Party barn" I've never heard but it cracks me up. I didn't know a drive-through liquor store could be a thing. They are probably illegal in Massachusetts. Hee. And I've never heard most of those terms for "sunshower"--"the wolf is giving birth"? Really? That makes me think of wolf-mama bodily fluids raining on my head. No thank you.

[zitronenhai]

There are no party barns or drive-through liquor stores of any kind in Kansas! It hasn't been all that long since our liquor stores began doing business on Sundays.

Yes, those bugs, they are gross, and I am glad for you that you have never seen one.

I like the term "rotary." I would try to adopt it, but nobody around here would know what I meant.

[fbhjr]

It is an interesting quiz.
And, it is interesting to see your answers one by one.
Thank you for sharing them!

[zitronenhai]

You're welcome! It is fun to take memes and add commentary. =)

[chezmax]

Even if I try, I can't make cot and caught sound different.

[anomali]

For me, cot has an "ah" sound and caught has an "aw" sound.

[zitronenhai]

That sounds imaginary. ;-) Pam is in your camp on this one, though.

But seriously, for me, they both have the "aw" sound.

[anomali]

This has all been so much fun! I've had conversations about pronunciation and terms for various and sundry things with friends from all over the world who speak English as either a first or second language.

It is funny how weird an unnatural pronouncing it differently fee;s in the mouth, isn't it?

How about Mary, merry, and marry? I know you, Z, pronounce them the same but I wonder if anyone else pronounced marry with a bit of a sheep or goat sound in the middle there with m"aah"ry and the other two with m"air"y. I didn't even realize I did this until I spoke them out loud for this quiz.