People outside the US probably won't find this very interesting, but considering past discussions about regional dialects and terms like "yankee", I thought some folks might find this amusing.
To find out how much Southern blood your speech shows, simply choose the words you use below, then press "Compute My Score!" at the end. The Alpha Dictionary will compute your score and tell you where you're coming from: are you (all) speaking Bubbaese or are you(se) a Yankee Doodle Dandy? The higher your score, the deeper from the South you are coming. (The test is based on research by the Harvard Computer Society enhanced by Dr. Beard's own research here at alphaDictionary.)
My score: 78% Dixie.
That sounds about right.
Giles: "We few, we happy few."
Spike: "We band of buggered."
New England has some great regionalisms that I really miss hearing.
In eastern Massachusetts a drinking fountain is called a "bubbler." I still remember my first day working at a museum in Worcester after moving there from Connecticut: A kid came up to me and said, "excuse me mistah but wheas the bubblah?" I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
A police car in Mass. is called a "cruiser" and a milkshake is called a "frappe." (In Rhode Island, it's called a "cabinet," believe it or not). What other Americans would call a "hallway" is called a "corridor." The little sprinkles that you put on ice cream are called "jimmies."
Somewhere on the Internet there's a map that shows the geographical boundaries of all the different regional expressions for "soda" (as in soft drinks like Coke or Pepsi). Fascinating stuff (even more fascinating that someone took the time to do all the research and compile a map).
Ne'mind, Slude Dude, I enjoyed it.
As an English-ish Irishman (Or Inglish Erseman?) of Olster uxtraction I turned up 46% Dixie (or Buckskin, as I'd prefer to say). Seems fair.
Longest time I spent in the States was in Neutral old Kentucky.
The interesting thing was the alternation between NewYork/New Jersey and the Great Lakes area.
I'm 25% Dixie, which makes sense since I lived in the northeastern US almost all of my life. I also noticed that I had a lot of New England influences in my speech. I'm sure that has to do with where I lived in NY (on the Vermont border).
Someday, everything is gonna be diff'rent
When I paint my masterpiece.
