Why do Texans talk so funny? (Houston, Austin: house, floor, eat)

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by Frodo2008

In a lot of the U.S. it's "you guys". It doesn't matter if women are there or not it's still "you guys".

That's up north and in Canada. I get all sorts of looks down here when I use "you guys". I would start saying y'all, but I am afraid that Texans would think I am just trying to make fun of them by mimicking their accent.

[TexasReb]

This was posted on another thread. One of the most detailed -- if not THE most -- I have ever seen!

Check it out, y'all...

American English Dialects

*curious* How "good" are the rest of y'all in pegging where someone comes from by their speech? Natives, I mean?

I can almost always tell a fellow Texan/Southerner immediately. If not by accent/dialect, then by their/our slang/idiom (y'all, over yonder, coke, fixin' to, etc).

Hell -- in fact, i just got to thinking -- the use of "tell" to mean "can identify" is a tip-off! LOL

Those from the upper Midwest (Minnesota, Michigan, etc) are usually fairly easy...as are those from the mid-Atlantic northeast. Midwesterners in general (with the "bland" accent) is usually not hard, either.

The "West" is the worst to try and peg. As they seem to be a mix-mash of linguistic influences. My g/f is a native of Colorado, and I can't tell (THAT one again! LOL) her accent from someome from Idaho or Arizona...

[Frodo2008]

Originally Posted by iceshots

That's up north and in Canada. I get all sorts of looks down here when I use "you guys". I would start saying y'all, but I am afraid that Texans would think I am just trying to make fun of them by mimicking their accent.

Well how about you say y'all and then just practice your Texas accent. Maybe put on a pair of boots.

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by Frodo2008

Well how about you say y'all and then just practice your Texas accent. Maybe put on a pair of boots.

I've been negligent in going out and getting boots. My wife and I keep saying we have to go boot shopping but something else always comes up. I do have a cowboy hat from when we were in Calgary, but you don't see them much around here.


My daughter has got right into it. She recently went out with her new "Texas born and bred" boyfriend and got herself a pair of boots. Now they are worn about 90% of the time.

She is also starting to pick up some of the Texas speech patterns without even realizing she is doing it. But I haven't heard y'all yet.

[bostoner]

I was raised in rural Northeast and Southeast Texas, spent many years in Houston, and I don't seem to have a discernible accent here in Boston that anyone's commented on, except when I say "y'all." It's a dead giveaway, but I can't seem to control it. LOL

On a related note, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people spell "y'all" like "ya'll." I don't get that! It's a contraction for "you all" so the apostrophe should be after the "y"!!!

[Bideshi]

Starting at an early age, we have to carry two marbles in our mouth until we get the mumble right.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by bostoner

I was raised in rural Northeast and Southeast Texas, spent many years in Houston, and I don't seem to have a discernible accent here in Boston that anyone's commented on, except when I say "y'all." It's a dead giveaway, but I can't seem to control it. LOL

On a related note, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people spell "y'all" like "ya'll." I don't get that! It's a contraction for "you all" so the apostrophe should be after the "y"!!![/

There ya go! (meaning, you got it right! LOL).

Bostoner? Speaking of regional slang/idiom, you might get a chuckle out of this story:

I once dated a girl from Massachussets. We first met on a blind date, and hit it off pretty well from the start (I don't know why, but some of my most serious relationships have been with Northern women! LOL).

Anyway, one evening we were watching TV together and she said -- out of the blue -- "You know what I would really like right now"? "A good GRINDER"!

Hot damn, thinks I. I hit the jackpot. Must be my Texas accent that did it...Woo Hoo!

Hey, how the heck was I to know she was referring to a submarine (po' boy) sandwich????

[bostoner]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

There ya go! (meaning, you got it right! LOL).

Bostoner? Speaking of regional slang/idiom, you might get a chuckle out of this story:

I once dated a girl from Massachussets. We first met on a blind date, and hit it off pretty well from the start (I don't know why, but some of my most serious relationships have been with Northern women! LOL).

Anyway, one evening we were watching TV together and she said -- out of the blue -- "You know what I would really like right now"? "A good GRINDER"!

Hot damn, thinks I. I hit the jackpot. Must be my Texas accent that did it...Woo Hoo!

Hey, how the heck was I to know she was referring to a submarine (po' boy) sandwich????

LOL Yep, I'm finding this area definitely has a lingo of its own as colorful as Texas! During the summer I was at JP Licks, a popular ice cream cafe here, ordering ice cream when the server asked if I wanted jimmies. Remembering my high school-era slang, I was momentarily confused until she explained they were sprinkles.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by bostoner

LOL Yep, I'm finding this area definitely has a lingo of its own as colorful as Texas! During the summer I was at JP Licks, a popular ice cream cafe here, ordering ice cream when the server asked if I wanted jimmies. Remembering my high school-era slang, I was momentarily confused until she explained they were sprinkles.

LOL in turn!

Hey, check THIS one out (the rest of y'all too). The menu, I mean. This is actually a restaurant in Masschussetts!!!

Redbones BBQ

Hell, THIS place would be right at home in Texas. Come to think of it, I would bet the cotton crop the folks who own it ARE from "down here", somewheres! LOL

You might oughta visit it sometime, Bostoner!

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by ETex2

Warning for Texans visiting New Mexico:

1) try not to look too stupid when ordering Mexican food when the waiter or waitress says "red or green?"

2) expect the waiter or waitress to look at you like you're stupid when you tell them that you want butter and honey with your sopapilla.

Got news for ya.....they brought me my sopaillas with both honey and butter to the table, and I hadn't said a word about either.