Regional Words (again)

[neo-dragon]

There's actually an iPhone app for translating Newfie into actual English.

[Ela]

I could only understand isolated words of that.

[VelvetElvis]

I think I understood most of that. Also, two thumbs up for the word f***, one of my favorite sentence enhancers.

[Platypi007]

Good lord, I couldn't understand anything they said in that video! It was like listening to Boomhauer talk to another Boomhauer on King of the Hill or something...

I use "ya'll" and "fixin'" a lot, though I kind of hate how far the former has spread these days. I also say "make groceries", which is a New Orleans term for going grocery shopping, and I refer to the median of a road as the "neutral ground". I sometimes still order hamburgers and sandwiches "dressed" which means I want lettuce, tomato, and mayo on them. I usually end up having to explain myself with that one...

There are "shotgun" houses in New Orleans. These are row houses with no hallway. The rooms open into each other and the doors are in a row down the middle. You can open all the doors and fire a shotgun through the house and not hit any walls. If there are two shotgun houses attached it is a double shotgun (or sometimes a "double barrel shotgun").

"Da Parish" refers to Chalmette Parish (one of the hardest hit areas outside the 9th Ward during Katrina), the parish to the east of Orleans Parish and part of the metro area. Natives of da parish are called Chalmations. (Louisiana, if you do not know, has parishes rather than counties. Part of the French/Catholic influence on the state.)

Other New Orleans sayings (though not used by me unless making a conscious effort) include: "Hows yamomandem?" which is an inquiry as to how one's family is doing (your mom and them), "by my/your house" you stay by someone's house when you stay with them. You axe questions of people, but I know that is in more places than just NOLA. "Lagniappe" (lan-YAP) is another New Orleans word, and a great one. It came from the French Creole and it means "a little something extra" basically, something that you get extra with a purchase but don't pay for.

[Mich]

I got called out today for pronouncing "grocery" as "groash-ree". My two coworkers were quite tickled until I managed to produce a number of people who agreed with me. This then led to learning that it probably happens in some dialects due to the American shortening of syllables and the English language dislike of pairing "sr"; thus, very few two-syllable "gross-ree", and a lot more, proper, three-syllable" gross-er-ee".

Interesting!

Also my friend apparently got made fun of for pronouncing "realtor" as "reel-ter." He was told it's three syllables: "reel-i-tor". Which is stupid.

The only things with "true" pronunciations, in my book, are proper nouns. The rest vary a billion different ways.

[LilBee91]

I say "groash-ree" and the three-syllable version of realtor (though I say it more like "reel-a-tor"). English is weird.

[Claire]

I definitely say "grocery" three syllables, and have never heard anyone say it with an "sh" (that I've noticed.) However, instead of "Bless you" when people sneeze, I always say "blesh you"-- though since I noticed myself doing it, I've tried to stop, haha.

[Luet]

I do say "groash-ree" but I tend to shorten a lot of words. Cottage cheese is "ca-cheese". Social Studies is "sosh-studies".

[Rei]

The only things with "true" pronunciations, in my book, are proper nouns. The rest vary a billion different ways.

Actually, upwards of seven billion ways. Oh the wonders of idiolects!

[Ela]

My kids sometimes make fun of me for sometimes saying "caw-fee" (NYC accent), instead of coffee. And I never even lived in NYC (though I lived on "Lawn Giland" in my elementary school years. )

I usually don't say it that way, but sometimes it pops out.

[Petra456]

That's how I say it... Is there another way?

[Ela]

It's not supposed to have a pronounced "w" sound in there.

[thoughtreader]

That's how I say it... Is there another way?

Fred there are defiantly two very different ways to say Coffee but writing them out they look similar. Give me a call and I call say them both to you because I grew up on Lawn Giland and say Cawffee, but I also grew up in CA and say coffee

[Petra456]

I've been playing with the word all day, i'm pretty sure I know the difference now! I am saying coffee and not caw-fee. It just sorta clicked at some point and I heard a difference!

[Luet]

Yeah, if you grew up on the west coast you probably don't say caw-fee, or tawlk. I say it that way and I'm from upstate NY, though my accent isn't as strong as NYC or Long Island.

[steph]

I got called out today for pronouncing "grocery" as "groash-ree". My two coworkers were quite tickled until I managed to produce a number of people who agreed with me. This then led to learning that it probably happens in some dialects due to the American shortening of syllables and the English language dislike of pairing "sr"; thus, very few two-syllable "gross-ree", and a lot more, proper, three-syllable" gross-er-ee".

Interesting!

Also my friend apparently got made fun of for pronouncing "realtor" as "reel-ter." He was told it's three syllables: "reel-i-tor". Which is stupid.

The only things with "true" pronunciations, in my book, are proper nouns. The rest vary a billion different ways.

I say "groash-ree" (everyone I know does) and I got made fun of for saying "reel-a-tor," being told it was "reel-ter."

[Platypi007]

I say grosh-ree and real-tor. I say caw-fee, too. I think most southerners do the first and last ones, the middle one I'm not sure, I think it's some of each way.

[Ela]

Southern cawfee is nothing like New Yawk cawfee.