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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Phighter » Sun Jan 05, 2014 8:29 pm

http://nyti.ms/1cCrIFr

Being that I'm from Philadelphia, it makes sense, but I apparently also have a thick Yonkers and Newark accent.

EDIT: Took it again, and now I also have a Tuscon accent.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby OrangeEyebrows » Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:10 pm

I got San Francisco / LA. Although some of the questions are tricky. For example, I don't really have a word for a mountain lion or whatever, because they're just not something I think about. Same with fireflies - we don't get them here. And I call soft-soled shoes for gym "pumps", which wasn't an option (neither was "other"). Last time I took it I got something way on the East Coast - I think I may be suffering from "I've forgotten how I say things" syndrome.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Delta Jim » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:19 pm

http://nyti.ms/1dW3oTT

Close. I'm from Chicago (Da Bears!).

Also, I picked up some terms (like different definitions for "highway" and "freeway") while living in north Idaho for a few years, which is why that area is dark orange on the map.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby blehblah » Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:07 pm

http://nyti.ms/1cf26yF

All Southern Florida, including Ft. Lauderdale. That's odd because we have an office there, and they most certainly hear my Canadian accent. I actually temper my accent when I'm in certain parts of the US. It's not because "Eh" jokes get massively fucking tired after the millionth repetition, but because I got tired of people trying to roll me for my health card. rimshot

To be honest, I was kind-of hoping to see it determine that I'm a dirty alien and report me to the authorities for trying to hack the NYT. Of course, I'm assuming that it did, in-fact, not do that.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Nullbert » Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:17 pm

My three most similar areas are apparently San Jose, Honolulu and Boston. The only accent of those that I've heard is a Boston accent.
My three least similar are Akron, Corpus Christi and Shreveport. I've never heard of any of these places.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Doodle Dee. Snickers » Sat Mar 01, 2014 4:22 am

That shit's cray cray. It narrowed down exactly which small city in southern Florida I spent the largest amount of years (6) living. And also, Arlington, which is weird. I find that weird, though, because Florida's kinda the same type of melting-pot state as California and New York, where there really is no unified accent. But then, I suppose it did base the majority of it on my vocab, rather than my pronunciations.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Blackfish » Sat Mar 01, 2014 3:48 pm

I've never set foot in the US, so like 52Max I thought my cities'd be all So Cal and New Yawk , but no - it's Honolulu, Boston and Fresno, and overall I sound most like someone from New England. I sound least like people from Philadelphia, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Bertman wrote:What gives me away is apparently that I call a drive thru liquor store a "brew thru". In some parts of the country those are called "THEY HAVE THOSE!!! WTF!!!"

Apparently the people of Fresno are just absolutely incredulous that that are such things as drive-thru liquor stores.

Typical Michael wrote:I pronounce the "t" in "often"...I know that upsets a lot of people.

I hope that's why you pronounce the 't'.

There was one question that had two answers that were "rhymes with sit" and "rhymes with seen". That has always stumped me. What's the difference? I pronounce the 'i' and 'ee' sounds exactly the same.

Will do the quiz that was actually meant for me at some point. All that mandatory stuff, bleh. Can't be arsed right now.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby blehblah » Sun Mar 09, 2014 10:53 pm

I like to pronounce the "h" in both "weird" and "cool whip". I blame Stewie Griffin.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Ladki96 » Sun Oct 18, 2015 3:43 pm

That was quite a confusing quiz for my little non-American head. I am apparently from Honolulu, which is nice. :)
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby LaChaise » Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:31 pm

I have no ideas how these sound like, but apparently I sound like them.

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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Delta Jim » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:35 am

LaChaise wrote:I have no ideas how these sound like, but apparently I sound like them.

-Wisconsin and Minnesota-


Have ya ever seen da movie "Fargo"? Kinda like dat.

If you haven't, here's a video of a comedian doing the accent:



From now on I'm going to imagine all your posts in a thick upper Midwestern accent.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby LaChaise » Wed Oct 21, 2015 1:33 pm

I sound absolutely nothing like that. You're dead to me, internet test.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby Tuli » Wed Oct 21, 2015 1:36 pm

There's some differing questions each time, so first time I took the test I got Florida, second time I got this. Dunno.
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby gisambards » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:44 pm

I got this both times I took it:
http://nyti.ms/1GTv2gj
To put it in context, I have a heavy Yorkshire accent. Coincidence, perhaps, that I keep getting New York?
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Re: You talk funny.

Postby cmsellers » Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:58 pm

@LaChaise: The standards American Englishs which evolved in Upstate NY, Pennsylvania, and parts of the Midwest. "Radio English" was never really influenced by much of the region, and the Northern Cities Shift means that most of those areas where General American originated now speak oddly. But we still have a stereotype of "Midwestern" as being a "neutral" American. This stereotype is particularly strong in the Midwest itself.

Any rate, because of this stereotype, a lot of materials trying to teach standardized American English draw on any and all dialects of the Midwest, including those weirdos in Minnesconsin. I recall as a kid in Elementary school, I had an "IQ test," part of which was defining the words someone from the Midwest was saying. I couldn't understand half the words, and the administrator wasn't allowed to repeat them. I still scored above average, but about 20 points below where I scored on a different, less-culturally-biased, test in high school.

Point being, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the teaching materials you used drew heavily on the Upper Midwest.

Several of the answers I wasn't sure about, because I found multiple answers acceptable. For example, when talking about the grass in the middle of the street, it's an "island" if you're talking about a small one, a "traffic island" if you're giving directions involving a small one, and a "median" if it runs for a long time. A circle you go around in is a "roundabout" if it has only one lane and a small circle, and a "rotary" if it has two lanes and a large circle. (Though I'd default to "roundabout," while most New Englanders default to "rotary.")

Then there's things like pill bugs and service roads, which we don't have where I come from. I know about pill bugs from a book, but also know the terms "sow bug" and "roly poly," Unlike fireflies, which I would never call "lightening bugs," I'd probably call a pill bug by whatever name the person I was talking with about it uses. Similarly, I call the highway-parallel roads "access roads" when I'm in Florida and "service roads" in Texas.

I'd like to note that every result, the test claims that the answer which shows I'm from near Springfield is "sneakers," which is BS. The whole Northeast uses "sneakers," but only Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Brattleboro, VT area use "tag sale."

Any rate, here's one of my results.
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