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When we first moved to eastern NC, I felt like I was living in another country. You "carry" your young'uns to school, you're "fixin to" go to the Piggly Wiggly and they never asked "where do you live", it was always where do you stay?" The glove box was the "boot" and "down the road apiece" was common. Drove me nuts and made the people talking sound so illiterate. I couldn't wait to leave there but we wound up living there 9 years.
Another one that is annoying is saying ax instead of ask. "I axed her if she wanted to go shopping with me?". What is that all about?
It's an old English form of "ask" used by some dialects in the British isles that apparently carried down over the centuries into certain groups in the United States. It's even spelled "aks" in some old documents.
It's a good idea to remember that linguistically speaking, there is no one "correct" way to speak a language, and language changes constantly. The "correct" form of English or any other language is that which comes to be known as correct by the speakers of the language who are in power or otherwise prominent in society.
However, that perception of correct English is codified, and we make judgments based on the way a person speaks. I had a coworker in a high-level position who grew up in the Bronx, and he said "ax" for "ask" and "birfday" and other forms of words usually associated with African-American speech, but he wasn't black.
As for the others, that "I need a place to stay" business pops up on the NJ forum from time to time. Many times it is used that way by immigrants from India, I've noticed. "Stay" sort of infers that someone is looking for a temporary place, not a place to live. Which is odd in itself because "stay" does not really mean temporary. But in most parts of the country, we "stay" at a hotel, and we "live" in our house.
English is a strange language.
I've told this story before about traveling through Georgia on our way to Florida with my parents when I was a teen. We pulled into a gas station in the early evening, and this man came out and said to my father, "Weezafixinfotoclosenow". My father asked him to repeat what he said, and he repeated, "Weezafixinfotoclose". I can remember the confused looks on both my parents' faces, and then suddenly I got it. "They're closing, Dad!" Then the man nodded and said something to the effect that they'd already turned off the pumps.
I also don't like 'baby bump', as someone else said upthread. It sounds like a tumor.
Can't rep you again. Old enough here to remember when we didn't NEED a term for baby bump. We noticed when ladies were pregnant but we didn't go around discussing their bodies in public at length.
"looks like Mary is expecting." Yup, that just about covered it.
Well, this year, 4 blue jays from nowhere drop in about 8 times a day to relish my bird feeder!
They're grabbing and flying off with all the peanuts I leave there for the squirrels - they make more efficient trips than the squirrels can keep up with.
The phrase that bothers me — “curated” collection. I’ve seen a number of stores out here using this term and to me it means they don’t have enough money to carry stock. Not to mention, VERY pretentious.
How do you feel about "My pleasure" when used the same way?
That sounds fine! Now that I think about it, "no problem" was often used sarcastically when I was younger.
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Solly says — Be nice!
