What Kind Of American English Do You Speak? (Quiz)

[Crystal Clarity]

I stole this link off of another DUer in the Linguistics forum. Found it kind of cool. 20 quick questions.

Here are my results. Thought I'd have a higher % of Yankee, but did spend my first 12 yrs of life in NJ. Don't know where the 10% Dixie and Upper Midwestern result came from though... :shrug:

You Speak General American English!

45% General American English
35% Yankee
10% Dixie
10% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

Here is the quiz. Tip: If you tend to use both word choices go w/your first inclination.
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/

[Lasher]

1. Survey sez I talk American.

55% General American English

40% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

0% Yankee

[Mopar151]

2. Survey written by a dubba

If you don't know what a dubber is, try dufus. Yes, Dubya was a dubba.
Seriously, this is far too simplistic to have any validity. Northern New England is a stewpot of linguistic influences, and many of our expressions are A) not represented in the survey, and B) change considerably across the region.

[suninvited]

3. no surprises here

except I thought I might score higher on the Dixie part.

70% General American English

15% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

[Crystal Clarity]

4. Yeah I would think your living in

Alabama would give you a much higher Dixie percentage! But as someone else pointed out, this quiz is probably too simplistic. Plus, I'm not seeing any Western (south or north)... I would think there'd be some regionally specific words/terms there too.

But who knows, maybe they fall under General American? :shrug:

I still think it's kind of interesting though. :-)

[suninvited]

7. now if they had asked questions like

when you are going to do something do you say:

I'm fixin' to do that
I'm about to do that

well, then the Dixie percentage would have been higher.

[rrneck]

5. Fairly accurate but...

65% General American English

30% Dixie

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

I actually sound like the guy on the right:

[elocs]

6. No surprise. But outside I drink water from a "bubbler".

70% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie

[Crystal Clarity]

9. That's pretty funny. Never heard it put that way.

Makes sense though.

But yeah, I found things like that. On the question about the night before Halloween, they didn't offer 'Tick Tack Night' (which is what it was called in NJ) so I chose 'nothing' since no one in Maine has ever heard of night-before-Halloween activities... that I'm aware of.

[elocs]

11. We have no word for the night before Halloween. About bubbler:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler

The 'bubbler' was developed in 1888 by the then-small Kohler Water Works (now Kohler Company) in Kohler, Wisconsin, which was already well-known for its faucet production. While Harlan Huckleby is credited with the actual design, it was Kohler who patented it and trademarked the name. The original bubbler shot water one inch straight into the air, creating a bubbling texture, and the excess water ran back down over the sides of the nozzle. It was several years later before the bubbler adapted the arc projection, which allowed the drinker to partake more easily.

The term is still used in several regional dialects of the United States, originating in eastern Wisconsin and remaining well-known throughout the state. The term is widely used in NSW Australia. Oregon is also known to be quite familiar with the term, specifically in the Portland region where in the late 1800s Simon Benson installed 20 fountains, which are now known in the Portland area as "Benson Bubblers". It is also commonly used in New England, especially the state of Rhode Island and Worcester, MA. Despite its widespread usage in the aforementioned areas, the term "water fountain" is much more commonly used than "bubbler" throughout North America.

[Common Sense Party]

45. I knew you had to be from Wisconsin.

I've only met one family in my life who called it that, and they were from Milwaukee.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. You Speak General American English!

70% General American English

15% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

Seems about right to me!

:hi:

[Crystal Clarity]

10. I wonder if that is why

there seems to be no category for the West... Maybe they lump all of you into General American English? Doesn't seem right though. I KNOW there are differences in accent, so one would think there'd be differences in terminology as well.

:hi: backatcha Peggy!

[Raven]

12. Yankee. No surprise there. n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

20. Ditto but some response triggered 15% Dixie

and THAT makes no sense.

[struggle4progress]

13. You Speak General American English!

55% General American English
30% Dixie
15% Yankee

[Moondog]

14. You Speak General American English!

55% General American English

30% Yankee

15% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

Not surprising, really. I haven't spent any time in the Midwest, other than in airports.

[Inchworm]

15. Can I get a Yeehaw?

35% General American English
25% Dixie
20% Yankee
15% Upper Midwestern
5% Midwestern

:P

[Odin2005]

16. Upper-Midwestern.

[xchrom]

17. and yet -- i was born and raised in part in peoria

You Speak General American English!
45% General American English

30% Yankee

15% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

[Broken_Hero]

18. ...

75% General American English

10% Dixie

10% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

[pacalo]

19. I love quizzes!

I got these results:

65% General American English

30% Dixie

5% Yankee

[sakabatou]

21. OK

55% General American English

35% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern. Upper Midwestern

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

22. General American also

You Speak General American English!
60% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

10% Dixie

5% Midwestern

5% Yankee

God chose your birthday for a reason. (I did not click that link)

:hi:

[Kaleva]

23. General American

[femmocrat]

24. General American English--- but I really speak Pittsburghese.

'n@

[bluedigger]

25. Nearly the same as you.

45% General American English
35% Yankee
15% Dixie
05% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

:) I guess you can take the man out of Maine, but you can't get Maine out of the man!:shrug:

[provis99]

26. go figure. It says mostly General for me.

0% midwestern and 0% dixie, but I'm a Mississippian living in Indiana.

[XemaSab]

27. This quiz needs an option for "Californian"

:D

[petronius]

28. You mean "normal English", right?

That's what I speak too... :)

[Xithras]

34. No, Californian is a recognized dialect, with several recognized sub-dialects.

The problem with California is that it's population is relatively "young" historically, so our speech patterns haven't had that much time to diverge. It IS interesting to point out that, before the 1930's, most Californians sounded like they were from Boston. That was before the midwesterners moved in :)

At this point, however, our language is developing some regionalization. Most lifelong Californians can differentiate between a southern and northern Californian within minutes, and we can all recognize out-of-staters fairly rapidly (note to you poor souls from landlocked, cold places...freeways are properly appellated as "THE", and not "I", "Interstate", or "Highway"..."THE five", "THE four-oh-five", or "THE one-oh-one". Please don't come here and try to correct us).

There are also very distinctive speech differences between those in the southern Central Valley and those who live almost anywhere else in the state. It's an interesting merger of Okie and Midwestern English, with distinctive Chicano influences to vowel pronunciation. Many Californian's from the rest of the state don't even recognize it as a California accent right away, and it's properly named the "Bakersfield Dialect", though it's use extends far beyond Bakersfield itself in that area of the valley.

[petronius]

35. As a patriotic Californian, I was being facetious, but thanks for an informative post!

:)

[tabbycat31]

29. my results

You Speak General American English!
50% General American English

40% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern


Don't know how dixie got on there at all. I guess 3 months last year in KY rubbed off.

[mikeargo]

30. 50% Yankee

Wicked pissah quiz!

By the way, I say "tonic," not "soda" or "pop."

[vixengrl]

31. The "route" question stumped me--

I drive on "Root" 1, but I know someone that had a paper "rowt". 50% general AmericanEnglish for me.

[sarge43]

32. 75% GA

15% Yankee
5% Dixie
5% Upper Midwest

Live(d) in all three regions, so some of it stuck.

[nuxvomica]

33. Missing choices

An easy class is a "cake course".
The day before Halloween is "Cabbage Night"

[kath]

46. Another missing choice -

Here in Okie-hell they call the 4-wheeled thing you put your groceries in a "basket". In Pittsbughese (where I lived 'til age 11) it's probably a "buggy" (I do know for sure that we used the phrase "baby buggy"). Nowadays I generally call it a "cart" or "shopping cart" (from my stints in Ohio, Chicago & St. Louis, I guess).

I agree with "cake course" - surprised that one wasn't on there. Another term we used for an easy class was a "mick" (short for "Mickey Mouse") - "yeah, that class is a real Mick!"

Is anyone else aware that in part of Central Ohio they refer to a bell pepper as a "mango"? What. The. Hell.

[DainBramaged]

36. Joisey

[hayu_lol]

37. Fun test...

you can even see where the different terms are coming from.

Had a problem with caramel since I pronounce it carmel...as in carmel apples, even though I know how it is spelled.

60%
and bits from elsewhere except midwest which was 0.

[BlueJazz]

38. 55% Yankee ..45% General American English,

[frogmarch]

39. Weird

I've lived in South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska most of my life, from around age 7 on (lived in Japan before that) but here is how I speak: (5% upper midwestern and 0% midwestern? weird!)

50% General American English

30% Yankee

15% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

[TK421]

51. I got the same results as you, and I've always been in PA

interested to know what the "dixie" results were out of that thing

[ZombieHorde]

40. Here's mine...

60% General American English

30% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

[Bucky]

41. If I sprinkle phrases like "Spot o' chootney in your tea, guv'nah?" in my dialog, am I still Texan?

Of do I gotta say "Spot o' chootney in your tea, guv'nah-yall?" to just to keep my street cred?

[trof]

42. 40%Dixie, 40% American, 20% yankee.

Interesting.

[Bucky]

43. I'm 55% GAE, 35% Dixie, and 100% boy

55% General American English
35% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
5% Yankee
0% Midwestern

I woulda thunk my mama growing up in Chicago woulda had more of an impact on me.

[Gold Metal Flake]

44. #4. 4.The act of covering a house or area in front of a house with toilet paper is called...

Wrapping. The only term we ever used. I nearly went pro. Not offered as a choice.


You Speak General American English!
60% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

15% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern


Being from East Texas from NW Louisiana folk and being that the voice training I took to develop a nuetral mid-western broadcast voice did not affect regionalistic terminology such as the test attempts to determine and weight, this test sucks.

[denbot]

47. 60% Muirakin

You Speak General American English!
60% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

15% Yankee

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

[UrbScotty]

48. From Michigan... but not much (Upper) Midwestern here

65% General American English
10% Dixie
10% Upper Midwestern
5% Midwestern
5% Yankee

[snooper2]

49. 75% General American English

You Speak General American English!
75% General American English

10% Dixie

10% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

[ceile]

50. 70% general, 25% dixie and 5% yankee n/t