Do you speak American?

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:55 pm

This is the name of a program on public television that will be shown here in the DC area tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. They have toured the United states studying regional and local dialects. I understand that they found that we are divided North/South. The big changes were apparently divided by the Ohio river. This should be very interesting.

See you there.

Ron

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:16 pm

Tomorrow? But I'm taking yet another segment of my family to Phantom tomorrow! Quel conflict!

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:27 pm

RonKiley wrote:This is the name of a program on public television that will be shown here in the DC area tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. They have toured the United states studying regional and local dialects. I understand that they found that we are divided North/South. The big changes were apparently divided by the Ohio river. This should be very interesting.

See you there.

Ron

That sounds good! I wonder if it's playing here? I'll have to check our listings.

Redwolf

pearl grey · Post by **pearl grey** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:15 pm

emmline wrote:Tomorrow? But I'm taking yet another segment of my family to Phantom tomorrow! Quel conflict!

And I have to watch the new episode of "Lost"!!! (Are you talking about the Phantom of the Opera movie? Is it any good?)

missy · Post by **missy** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:16 pm

well, I don't know about the program, but living in Cincinnati, I can certainly attest to the Ohio being the dialect "dividing line"!!!

Missy

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:19 pm

pearl grey wrote:
emmline wrote:Tomorrow? But I'm taking yet another segment of my family to Phantom tomorrow! Quel conflict!
And I have to watch the new episode of "Lost"!!! (Are you talking about the Phantom of the Opera movie? Is it any good?)

Well...this will be my third trip. But I'm perhaps unusual. In this instance, I'd direct you to Yahoo-movies, and suggest you give the user reviews more weight than the critic reviews.

pearl grey · Post by **pearl grey** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:22 pm

emmline wrote:
pearl grey wrote:
emmline wrote:Tomorrow? But I'm taking yet another segment of my family to Phantom tomorrow! Quel conflict!
And I have to watch the new episode of "Lost"!!! (Are you talking about the Phantom of the Opera movie? Is it any good?)
Well...this will be my third trip. But I'm perhaps unusual. In this instance, I'd direct you to Yahoo-movies, and suggest you give the user reviews more weight than the critic reviews.

Nah, I'm too lazy for all that!

I take it that you love it, then, since you're going for the 3rd time. I used to be TOTALLY OBSESSED with Phantom in high school, the way some girls are about boy bands or pop singers. My feelings have cooled considerably since then, but I think I'll probably go see it and enjoy it.

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:55 pm

RonKiley wrote: The big changes were apparently divided by the Ohio river. This should be very interesting.

Since I LIVE on the Ohio River, I can attest that it IS interesting. The dialect here is very interesting, that's for sure

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:37 pm

As a matter of fact I just got back from Cincinnatti, actually Milford. I did notice a distinct difference between those on the Ohio side from those on the Kentucky side. But I think you can hear a difference between the two sides of the Potomac river also. On the maryland side "hill" is pronounced with only one syllable.

Ron

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:52 pm

RonKiley wrote:This is the name of a program on public television that will be shown here in the DC area tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. They have toured the United states studying regional and local dialects. I understand that they found that we are divided North/South. The big changes were apparently divided by the Ohio river. This should be very interesting.

See you there.

Ron

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to check and watch (if there's not another football game my husbands glued to). I still have tapes of PBS's The Story of English, so this is definately of intrest.

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:59 pm

RonKiley wrote:This is the name of a program on public television that will be shown here in the DC area tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. They have toured the United states studying regional and local dialects. I understand that they found that we are divided North/South. The big changes were apparently divided by the Ohio river. This should be very interesting.

See you there.

Ron

ROFL!!

Divided North & South?!?
BWHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA

And they based this on... dialects?

Holy Christmas Trees, Batman - I could have pointed out to them that the State of MAINE is divided North & South based on dialects! East & West, too!

Hahahahaaaaa

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:22 pm

I don't see how the Ohio river could be the primary basis of dialectical differences unless they only studied the US as it was circa 1800 (when the western boundary was the Mississippi river).

The Ohio river is not a dividing line for over 2/3rds of the US, and if you travel down from Minnesota to Texas you'll hear at least 3-4 different dialect zones. Travel west from St. Louis to LA and you find different dialects, too. The Ohio may be convenient line for some areas, but in the midwest/Great Plains you find dialects based upon European immigration patterns of the 1800s and early 1900s.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to watch. I find dialects fascinating.

Eric

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:41 am

This website has a map of divisions. I think it's over generalized. To the untrained ear the Wisconson and Minnesota dialects may be the same but they are actually quite different. There are also big differences within Minnesota itself. Some of it is more in common with Eastern North Dakota. In Michigan the upper penninsula is quite different from us LP folks.

Look at the difference in Virginia alone. My favorit is what I call the "blueblood" accent: "Gud moanin' Suh. Ah trust yew slept well." Not too hard to imitate. Just watch the movie "Gettysburg".

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 5:55 am

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:02 am

pearl grey wrote:
emmline wrote:
pearl grey wrote: And I have to watch the new episode of "Lost"!!! (Are you talking about the Phantom of the Opera movie? Is it any good?)
Well...this will be my third trip. But I'm perhaps unusual. In this instance, I'd direct you to Yahoo-movies, and suggest you give the user reviews more weight than the critic reviews.
Nah, I'm too lazy for all that! I take it that you love it, then, since you're going for the 3rd time. I used to be TOTALLY OBSESSED with Phantom in high school, the way some girls are about boy bands or pop singers. My feelings have cooled considerably since then, but I think I'll probably go see it and enjoy it.

I'm glad for the clarification, because I initially assumed this was just another unusual American town name, like Desolation, Forgiveness, or Butt Creek.

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