Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic If You Speak American English...

...or even if you don't, this is a fun quiz.

What kind of American English do you speak?

I came in this way:

75% General American English
10% Upper Midwestern
10% Yankee
5% Dixie
0% Midwestern

And actually, this is pretty accurate. I've lived a lot of places across the US and I generally think I have no accent. Since I currently live in the Upper Midwest, I think this quiz really tells it like it is.

Lynn

Interesting quiz! I've been curious about this sort of thing for a while, actually, and was looking through an old linguistics book that had a sample survey--but it didn't say which words came from where, unfortunately.

I test:

70% General American English
15% Upper Midwestern
10% Yankee
0% Dixie
0% Midwestern
(Note: The missing 5% is due to the question on what you call an easy class. I've never called it anything, and have barely even heard of one or two of those terms, so they don't apply.)


My mom grew up in Pennsylvania and my dad grew up in Ohio, more, though he was born in Massachusetts and lived for a time in upstate New York. However, I have not lived east of Illinois since I was 3, and lived in Iowa and Missouri alternately from 6-13. After that I've lived solidly in the Northwest (WA state) for the last 6 years. So that explains the Yankee and Upper Midwestern portions.

Fun

75% General American English
10% Dixie
5% Midwestern
5% Upper Midwestern
5% Yankee

I grew up in Pennsylvania, but I'm not surprised about the high percentage of Dixie; I've lived in North Carolina nearly 15 years *and* I listen to country music

PJ

55% General American English
30% Yankee
10% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

I think that 5% Upper Midwestern comes from the random choice I made on the "easy class" question (didn't realize no choice was an option). I've never even heard any of those terms before.

I'd be more impressed with the quiz (which is cribbed almost entirely from somewhere else -- I have taken the older version) if they could spell mischief properly.

A related map.

And I need someone to call me up and pronounce the word 'caramel' in less than three syllables.

That cannot be done, can it??

CC- who figures the 'y'all' was a dead give away

Well, I've heard it pronounced - and even seen it spelt - carmel!


Wendy

55% General American English
25% Yankee
15% Dixie
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern

A bit surprised about the 15% Dixie, but I was born in Georgia. <shrug>

Also no idea what to call an easy class other than an easy class. Certainly never heard any of the terms mentioned there. So, I left that one blank. Thanks, Rivka.

CC, there is an alternate pronounciation of "caramel" that basically skips the A in the middle. It comes out sounding something like "CAR-mul," and you say it fast, almost slurred. I use either pronounciation, depending on my mood and the situation. Usually, if it's part of a phrase/name, it's "CAR-mul," but if it's on it's own, it's "car-a-mel."

Paul

Indeed. More about saying "caramel" and other words. I do! I used to think "carmel" and "caramel" were to different words, with distinct meanings. I now know to spell both "caramel," but still use the two pronunciations to mean different things.

They are "caramel" apples, because you make them by melting those little square, mostly solid, candies that Kraft makes (caramels). But Twix bars have "carmel" -- the gooey, liquidy stuff. Oh . . . except I say "carmel" corn. I don't know why!

And that article had the linguistic maps I was trying to find before:
Linguistic Survey Results

Here's a couple in particular:
carmel
in honor of the packrat thread
by accident (I know we had a poll here on this one)
soda!

This is me:

70% General American English
20% Dixie
10% Yankee
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern

And how many of you remember the Nestle Crunch commercial that they were voting for how to pronounce "caramel"?

See y'all (I never said that except when I'm kidding, even though I live in Texas -- been here for only a few years, probably not enough to actually start speaking like a true Texan),

malu

Fun quiz!

I'm such an anomaly here in Alabama. My mom is from San Antonio, but I haven't lived there since I was 3. My dad and all his family are from Queens. I realized in high school that it was quite the crime to say "you's guys" down in the Deep South. :p Two of my roommates are originally from here, though, so every now and then a "y'all" will slip out when I'm around them. Eek.

LOL. Of course it can be done!

JD

Interesting . I've lived in Cleveland my entire life . . . I have no clue how I picked up any Dixie! And I had no idea that anyone pronounced the "a" in caramel until I saw that commercial a few years ago! I always thought the a was silent. And I won't go into pop vs. soda or tennis shoes vs. sneakers . And no one will ever hear y'all coming from my mouth. EVER!

Just because I was curious...

Not that I know the difference between Yankee or Dixie

I didn't know you could leave a question unanswered - if I did, I'd leave that easy class one.

See y' all
AnnaBtG.

This was fun.

I left no questions unanswered ... I am well versed in the term "blow off class" (also have heard it called a "Mickey Mouse class", but that wasn't an option) and I always pronounce caramel with only two syllables.

I did get quite a kick out of the mary/merry/marry thing, since I used to work with a guy from Long Island and he insisted that there was a difference. We could all hear it when he said it, but no matter how much we practiced, we could never imitate it!

But the results definitely fit me, since I've lived in four states, but they are all midwestern (Michigan, northwest Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana). Though I will confess that, having lived in central IL and central IN for the last 7 years, which seems to be where the "southern accent" thing starts creeping in, I have noticed myself beginning to drawl more than I used to. I have yet to catch myself using "Y'all" in easy conversation, but I will no longer be shocked if and when it finally happens.

Kathy

Well, I can't explain my score:

55% General American English
25% Yankee
15% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

I was born and raised in Toronto, but I've lived a good chunk of my adult life in the U.S. Some Canadians tell me that I sound American; some Americans say that they can hear the infamous "out/about" thing. I've never heard it.

But where on earth did the Dixie come from? I've lived outside of New York City and in California. My only idea is that for a couple of the questions, I had never heard of the answer choices, or at least never used any of them. So I arbitrarily picked one - maybe those were "Dixie" choices and enough to skew the score. Or maybe I could blame it on the 3.5 years I spent in Germany...

Kathy

75% General American English
15% Yankee
5% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

That's my score.

I spent most of my childhood living in Northern Virginia, which is significantly different than the rest of Virginia. There's very little accent there, unlike the southern accents used in the rest of the state.

Then I spent fifteen years in San Diego, followed by several years in Oregon, where I am now.

Well, as a Brit, I was curious to know how American I am <g>.

35% General American English
25% Yankee
5% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern

Of course, I wasn't able to answer several of the questions, because the word I use wasn't listed. One had me totally baffled:

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

What??? Is this done as a prank? To keep the toilet paper industry bouyant?

And to this:

"You tend to call the sweet spread on top of cake: Icing, Frosting, Both"

...I say - it depends on whether the stuff on top is icing or frosting.

Yvonne

Vandalism. <G> I know this is a teen custom, but not much else about it. Something to do with celebrating graduation? Hallowe'en? Both? Neither? An 'any excuse' 'prank'? No idea. Mostly, like egging houses, I'm just glad these customs haven't yet travelled across the pond.

My scores were roughly around the same area as yours, Yvonne. Which is grossly unfair. How are we supposed to write US for US characters when you guys can't even agree on what you call soda/coke/pop/whatever? Make it difficult, why don't you?

LabRat

Vandalism sums it up just right. <g> And it's such a small world, too. I rolled somebody's trees in junior high, and then went I came to college, I made a friend whose fiance lived in that house. We're still chuckling about that every now and then. Anywho, it's just an excuse to play a prank.

JD

Oh, there's nothing more satisfying than admiring your handiwork when the sun comes up to reveal trees swathed in ribbons of Charmin and bushes wreathed with bands of white! It looks so cool.



But dang, is it a pain to clean up. Especially if it rains and the toilet paper starts to disintegrate.

I call this "TP'ing". And I've done it before. Yes, as a prank.

Anna, a Yankee is someone who comes from the north, usually the New England states, and would have fought on the side of the Union back in the Civil War. Dixie refers to those in the south (usually south of Virginia) and who would have fought for the Confederate side during the Civil War. That's a pretty generic description, but if you live in the south, "Yankee" is derogatory for northerners.

Lynn