Regarding the pronunciation map...How do YOU say these things... (to rent, Home Depot)
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aunt: [ænt] as in "ant"
been: [bɛn] as in "ben"
caramel: ['kar-məl]
cauliflower: ['kal-ɪ-flaʊ-wər]
coupon: ['ku-pan]
lawyer: ['lɔi-jər] as in "joy"
Mary/merry/marry: all the same
mischievous: ['mɪs-t͡ʃə-vəs] (3 syllables)
pajamas: [pə-'jæ-məz] as in "jam"
pecan: [pə-'kan] as in "con"
realtor: ['riəl-tər] (2 syllables)
roof: [ruf] as in "food"
root: [rʊt] as in "put" OR [rut] as in "food"
syrup: ['sər-əp] as in "sir"
cot/caught: very slightly different (cot has more [æ] in it)
garage: [gə-'raʒ] as in "Taj Mahal"
grocery: ['groʃ-ri] as in "lotion"
insurance: stress on the second syllable
two or more people: you guys
"Are you coming with" as a full sentence: correct (I use this construction all the time)
sale of unwanted items: garage sale
firefly vs. lightning bug: firefly
crawfish vs. crayfish vs. crawdad: crayfish
sneakers vs. tennis shoes: tennis shoes (pronounced ['tɛn-ɪ-ʃuz])
highway vs. freeway: all freeways are highways, but not all highways are freeways (freeway=interstate)
roundabout vs. traffic circle vs. rotary: roundabout
frosting vs. icing: frosting
"The City": the Twin Cities, though we would probably pluralize it ("going up to the Cities")
water fountain vs. drinking fountain vs. bubbler: drinking fountain OR water fountain (but NOT bubbler)
soda vs. pop vs. coke: pop
bag: closer to [beɪg] as in "fade" than [bæg] as in "fad"
night before Halloween: I have no word for this, but Des Moines people think it's called "Beggar's Night," ughh
Merry: Meh-ry (short E. I find "Mary Christmas" annoying and incorrect. Merry is pronounced differently)
Marry: Ma-ry (short A as in cat or bat)
This is so interesting. I always see this brought up in discussions about American accents, but it's always just described as "pronouncing these three words the same/differently" rather than actually spelling out how they would be pronounced differently. It never even occurred to me until a few years ago that anyone would pronounce these words differently. They're all ['mɛər-i] (rhymes with "airy") for me, and that's all I've ever heard (or noticed) in person.
What do people think is the most localized pronunciation quirk they have?
For me, other than "Duck Duck Grey Duck," it's probably the "come with" or "go with" construction. Like "I'm going to Target, do you want to go with?" rather than "do you want to go with me." I don't think I've ever heard anyone from outside the "Minnesota-sphere" use that.
I'm from Southwester Virginia and here is how we/I say some random words that seem to alternate regionally.
Feel free to add more examples...This is sorta on the fly.
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Carbonated Beverage: Usually you hear people ask for a Coke and then specify but it seems like proper nouns for the beverage is most common...I.e., Sprite, Mello Yello, Mr. Pibb, etc.
Shopping Cart: Buggy
To address a group of two or more people: Most people say y'all but some random people say "yun'z."
Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdad: Most people say crawfish but I hear crawdad quite a bit too.
Splinter or Sliver (A piece of wood that gets caught in your finger): Splinter
Pecan Pie: Usually Pee-Kahn
Fuzzy little worms: Usually wooly worms or rolly polly
Spider with 8 very long legs and a very small body: Granddaddy Long Leg
Term for an Attorney: LAW-yer..........not LOY-er.
Caramel: Carra-mel
I'm from central Michigan -
Carbonated beverage: Pop (you can say "soda" and get away with it occasionally)
Shopping cart: Cart
Group of two people: You Guys or You All
Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdad: I usually hear Crayfish but I don't really use it
Splinter/Silver: Splinter
Pecan Pie: PEE-kahn or pee-KAHN, don't really know
Fuzzy little worms: Roly poly, but don't really use this either
Spider: Daddy long leg
Attorney: LOY-er
Caramel: KAR-muhl
Carbonated Beverage: Usually you hear people ask for a Coke and then specify but it seems like proper nouns for the beverage is most common...I.e., Sprite, Mello Yello, Mr. Pibb, etc.
soda
Shopping Cart: Buggy
cart or carriage sometimes but usually cart
To address a group of two or more people: Most people say y'all but some random people say "yun'z."
you guys
Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdad: Most people say crawfish but I hear crawdad quite a bit too.
crawfish but we don't really eat or have these up here
Splinter or Sliver (A piece of wood that gets caught in your finger): Splinter
splinter
Pecan Pie: Usually Pee-Kahn
pee-can
Fuzzy little worms: Usually wooly worms or rolly polly
rolly polly
Spider with 8 very long legs and a very small body: Granddaddy Long Leg
daddy long leg
Term for an Attorney: LAW-yer..........not LOY-er.
loy-er
Caramel: Carra-mel
cara-mel, like the names Cara and Mel as in Melanie or Melissa put together
In my area, most people also say tawk for talk, awl for all, waw-ter for water, lawng for long, wawk for walk, dawg for dog, etc.
I grew up in a small redneck town on the Missouri/Kansas border:
Carbonated Beverage: "Pop," but I will sometimes say "Coke." Never soda. Shopping Cart: Cart To address a group of two or more people: Y'all Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdad: Crawdad. (I used to catch them in the backyard as a kid.) Splinter: Splinter Pecan Pie: "Pah-con" Fuzzy little worms: Rolly Polly Spider with 8 very long legs and a very small body: Daddy long leg Term for an Attorney: "Law-yur" Caramel: "Car-mull"
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