topic Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT in Community Chat

PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Oznell — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:10:32 GMT

Article in New York Times-- "How Y'All, You Guys, and Youse Talk". I cannot link because of controversial side bars, but do google if you want to take the questionaire.

I've taken this sort of test before, but this one was far more precise. Although I spent most my formative years in Canada, our nearest cluster of U.S. T.V. stations was from Buffalo, and constantly beamed into every southern Ontario household. The quiz said my way of speaking was closest in the U.S. to those of Buffalo, Rochester and Aurora, Illinois. Bingo!

In the past, when I've taken a test to see how close they could pinpoint my dialect, they always put me in the general "Great Lakes" dialect category.

They ask both pronunciation questions ("how do you pronounce Mary, marry, merry," etc.) and choice of word questions ("what do you call rubber soled shoes", etc.)

It's quick and fun, and in my case, eerily accurate.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Janey2 — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:21:15 GMT

My results were accurate. Exactly where I live.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Oznell — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:25:10 GMT

Wow, @Janey2-- neat!

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

NickNack — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:29:35 GMT

It got my general area of the country right, too.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Allegheny — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:31:50 GMT

Don't know why mine wasn't accurate. It indicated my dialect was heavily used in Nebraska and Kansas. I'm from SW Pennsylvania.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Oznell — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:34:00 GMT

Oh, how interesting, @Allegheny. In these kinds of analyses, it's as interesting when they don't get it right, as it is when they do! Would love to know what factors were at play.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Carmie — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:43:53 GMT

Mine pinpointed me in the Yonkers New York, and NJ area.

i live in South Central PA.

Close, but no cigar.

I am familiar with NY and NJ accents, and I do not speak like that.

I have always had people who were confused about my accent...everywhere I go. My DH's accent is very strong and different than mine. We grew up in the same community.

I think because of my job in communications, I learned to lose the slang.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Tyak — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:48:38 GMT

It pinpointed Omaha and Denver for me and I'm originally from NW Pa.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

luvzchiz — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:54:53 GMT

spot on!

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Allegheny — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:56:55 GMT

@Oznell It did show on the map that some of my dialect is used in my region, but most highly concentrated in Southern Nebraska and Kansas.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Carmie — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 18:59:32 GMT

@Oznell wrote:
Oh, how interesting, @Allegheny. In these kinds of analyses, it's as interesting when they don't get it right, as it is when they do! Would love to know what factors were at play.

I talked to many people all over the US for over 20 years on the phone. It is easy to get a general idea of where people live by the way they speak.

in PA alone, we have some areas that say You, Yinz is very popular where I live, but I don't use that word, some areas like Pittsburgh and York say Youz.

Pop or soda, sneakers or tennies?

i love to hear the varieties of the English language. Sometimes people move to another area, or they grew up with patents who have different accents and use different words for things. Sometimes like me, you have to loose the slang because of your job or people won't understand you.

The history channel, I think, had a program about our language and the progression of it over time and how a lot of it was influenced by immigrants. They also showed and explained why and how some people speak slow and other speak fast. I find it fascinating.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Cakers3 — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:03:24 GMT

Pinpoint right down to the home city. Amazing.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

WaJa61 — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:14:53 GMT

It guessed my correct region of the country, but didn’t list my exact state.

A fun quiz, @Oznell ~ thank you! 👍

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

golding76 — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:20:32 GMT

Generally speaking, my section of the country is accurate -- but there is an emphasis on the South that I did not realize I had.

My main cities were: Baltimore; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Greensboro, N.C.

I think my "you all," which was a prevalent way of addressing others in my Maryland hometown, threw me southward. However, the test cites "yard sale" as the great revealer of my dialect.

Thank you so much, oznell. Enjoyable!

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

geezerette — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:33:52 GMT

This was a bit different from the quizzes I’ve taken before in that it showed the regional area after each question based on your pronunciation.

It was interesting to me in that I have lived in a few totally different areas of the country for several years at a time, and evidently have picked up various regional pronunciations and expressions of each.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

FastDogWalker2 — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:35:57 GMT

That was fun-thank you for writing about it. I scored accurately for where I come from - Buffalo/Rochester NY. I could have "tweaked" my results to reflect where I live now but resisted!

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

goldensrbest — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:37:30 GMT

I was in red, denver area, never lived there, i living in new england sinse early 80's ,i still have the southern indiana dialect ,people still what to know where i am from.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

J Town Girl — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 21:22:30 GMT

@Allegheny wrote:
Don't know why mine wasn't accurate. It indicated my dialect was heavily used in Nebraska and Kansas. I'm from SW Pennsylvania.

I'm also from SW Pennsylvania and mine said Nebraska and Ohio. I get the Ohio but I'm not sure where the Nebraska came from.

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

Oznell — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:43:15 GMT

You were an honest test-taker, @FastDogWalker2! I do think the test is designed to pick up the dialect we were first exposed to, (since that tends to be the most persistent, I imagine) although many people eventually shed aspects of their birth dialect as they move around to other places.

I still have a bit of a Canadian overlay to mine, that comes out ("oot") most when I'm talking to relatives, or am surprised or excited!

Re: PINPOINT YOUR DIALECT

golding76 — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:58:15 GMT

Who among "you all" has a Tennessee accent? I love that one and the Tidewater Virginia accent.

Hear Tidewater Virginia below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RzVKCWXrRA

[By the way, I, too, thought the test would focus more on sound rather than word choices for particular meanings.]