Regional Traditions

[Misty89]

How, exactly, does one sound Canadian? Despite what people think, we do not say aboot or hoose ( never even heard that one before )or any of those silly words.

not wanting to be mean - but i notice Canadian accent when watching HGTV
some of the shows the hosts are from or in Canada - the biggest giveaway is any word with "o" in it - it's like extended ---"hoouse".

 

[swandiverpatt]

-- if they think someone's being uneducated, has poor manners, etc. they'll call them "a hoosier." As in, "Don't listen to those kids. They're hoosiers!" I'd never heard that before. To me, Hoosiers are a basketball team.

Anyone from Indiana is a Hoosier, so it's just a state rivalry thing. I'm a Hoosier.

 

[Mr. Pig]

southeast WI here -sheboygan to be specific. here are some off the top of my head.

brats -pronounced "brots" -
speaking of brats we ordered one in germany at Epcot once and it came with saurrkraut and we took it off and ate the brat with ketchup & mustard, and ate the saurkraut plain with a fork.

ice melt is called " salt"

soda - white soda for 7-up,etc. orange soda, rootbeer,etc.( and pepsi and coke are NOT the same - i had an "disscussion" with a carnival worker this past summer - he assured me that $3.00 soda was coke - he almost wore it. )

we have an accent - even a county wide one we sound different from others in the state ( not sure why)


we call and outdoor cooking "frying" - "do you want to come over for a brat fry" or " going to fry some burgers"
anything BBQ has sauce on it - BBQ'd ribs. BBQ'd chicken.

beer batter - on onion rings/fish/etc -no panko or bread crumbs yuck

we dont call the beach "the beach" we say " were going down to the lake"

Or even "down by the lake".

I get plenty of comments from out of city co-workers about frying out like "so you're getting you cooker and oil out". Brats on real Sheboygan hard hard rolls - not some modified hot dog bun - are big here.

Maybe it is no longer used but I remember from my youth that we called popsicles "coolers". We also called water fountains "bubblers". I remember being in CA with the family and we were told a line started near the water fountain. We were looking for an actual fountain until we realized they meant the bubbler.

Even within the state there are areas where it is called soda or pop but I didn't know that some places all of it was called coke. The DIS can be educational.

 

[sunshinehighway]

not wanting to be mean - but i notice Canadian accent when watching HGTV
some of the shows the hosts are from or in Canada - the biggest giveaway is any word with "o" in it - it's like extended ---"hoouse".

I was going to say them same thing. Usually I don't notice at first but then something is said and I realize the show is in Canada. Its subtle but there is an accent.

 

[Colleen27]

Another MI memory- Town Club pop and Belle Isle.

Oh, Belle Isle. I miss that. We used to go all the time when I was a teen, much to the dismay of my friends' slightly less Detroit-friendly parents, and my grandparents were members at the yacht club. I don't think my kids have ever been there.

Another good thing we have here: pasties, first syllable is pronounced like past, just how it's spelled. They are meat, usually beef, vegetables, normally including rutabaga, garlic and spices, sometimes gravy but not always, wrapped in dough and baked. Not to be confusted with pasties, first syllable pronounced like paste. Those are two very different things.

A very important distinction indeed.

Didn't you just start your new job? Are you planning to quit and move?

I don't understand when a person moves from their ethnic area to another and then complains about what they can't get.

It is culture shock of a sort. It doesn't mean the reasons for moving don't outweigh the inconveniences, it is just an expression of homesickness and of the difficulty in adjusting to different regional "flavor". I've never lived more than 100 miles from where I sit right now but I've had that issue at times just in the transition from city to country. Detroit is like a whole different world compared to rural Michigan - where I live now you see Confederate flag bumper stickers, "Where do you go to church?" is first-meeting small talk, people drive snowmobiles and ATVs down the streets in winter, and "Mexican food" is the local Taco Bell (which is 15 miles away, certainly not worth the drive). I like where we live for this stage of life, it is a very "Mayberry" small town and my kids are enjoying a very old-fashioned, "Be home when the streetlights come on" childhood that they couldn't have in the city. But it is an adjustment and at times I have been known to complain about some particular aspect of city living that I really miss.

 

[Janepod]

NJ here. Won't dig too deeply on the manners here but we most certainly do have them. No one region has the lock on good manners nor does one region have the lock on rudeness. Throwing out stereotypes just makes one look ignorant. Doesn't matter if it's a regional stereotype or a cultural one.

We say please and thank you. We help others. We do chat in stores and make eye contact. If you are in your neighborhood you lift your hand to wave to ANYBODY you pass even if you have no clue who they are. We say Miss and Sir and only use Ma'am for the elderly but most will get a kick out of it if you call them Miss instead, especially if you are a man

Now - NJ - GREAT food! We are so culturally diverse that you can get the best of the best here. Great Italian, Indian, Chinese, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Peruvian - you name it we have it and it's all fantastic! The only food that I can think of that is really just local has been mentioned- Taylor Ham(pork roll).

The left lane is not just for passing. It is also not for doing anything less than 75/80 mph. If you are doing under 75 in the left lane and not keeping up with the guy in front of you then you have a death wish.

Our property taxes suck.

NJ is vastly underrated.

 

[alex9179]

I hate, hate, HATE when people call something tacky just because its different to them. That being said those are the definition of tacky!

I believe that's the point of them, at least I hope so. To make it as monstrous as possible without causing a wardrobe malfunction. You should see the grocery stores and craft stores in the fall! Yeah, they sell them at the grocery store. Moms pack the aisles at Hobby Lobby gathering the stuff. One day, my daughter will wear one and be proud of it <shudder>.

 

[Crystal Brewer]

How, exactly, does one sound Canadian? Despite what people think, we do not say aboot or hoose ( never even heard that one before )or any of those silly words.

I'm NOT bashing here "eh" For my family we befriended a lady only in our state for a short time-She was from Canada (with much pride) therefore she was to return sometimes she would try to perfect our "southern slang" knowing when she pitched it out in her home country ppl would lol We picked up the "eh" at the end of many statements when speaking with her and it stuck to some extent?!?Sometimes in my fam we are speaking to one another instead of "did ya hear" (slang) we will loudly let out an "eh" We know 3 ladies with her name so when I speak of her my DS12 says "O the lady who spoke Canadian" My children have DEEP southern accents so as I began this isn't a call out just an experience related to the question** goodvibes

 

[Misty89]

Or even "down by the lake".

I get plenty of comments from out of city co-workers about frying out like "so you're getting you cooker and oil out". Brats on real Sheboygan hard hard rolls - not some modified hot dog bun - are big here.

Maybe it is no longer used but I remember from my youth that we called popsicles "coolers". We also called water fountains "bubblers". I remember being in CA with the family and we were told a line started near the water fountain. We were looking for an actual fountain until we realized they meant the bubbler.

Even within the state there are areas where it is called soda or pop but I didn't know that some places all of it was called coke. The DIS can be educational.

can i ask what city you are from?

i have to admit - I will not order a burger anywhere when we are out of town - to me it's not a real burger without a hardroll. even when i visit my sister in Appleton LOL - its just NOT the same

yes to the bubbler thing!

 

[Colleen27]

How, exactly, does one sound Canadian? Despite what people think, we do not say aboot or hoose ( never even heard that one before )or any of those silly words.

The concept of a Canadian accent is as hard to pin down as an American accent, I think, because the country is so large with so many different regional and ethnic influences. That "aboot" accent is particular to northern/rural Ontario, in my experience. I don't recall hearing it in Windsor or Toronto or Vancouver, but when you get up north on the other side of the river you really do come across it. But it mo more represents all of Canada than a Texan or Bostonian accent represents all of the US.

 

[swandiverpatt]

not wanting to be mean - but i notice Canadian accent when watching HGTV
some of the shows the hosts are from or in Canada - the biggest giveaway is any word with "o" in it - it's like extended ---"hoouse".

My mother was from central Virginia and they also pronounced it that way (the word "about" was like that as well).

We were mean Hoosier kids when we were growing up and teased her out of saying "poke chop" for "pork chop." They also said amb-a-lance and a semi was a tractor-trailer-truck.

Then moving to central FL from Indiana, my DH and I were shocked at how long yellow lights are down here - -and I have to remind him when we're in Indiana to remember they're a lot shorter up there!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

not wanting to be mean - but i notice Canadian accent when watching HGTV
some of the shows the hosts are from or in Canada - the biggest giveaway is any word with "o" in it - it's like extended ---"hoouse".

You can also hear it if you ever turn on Degrassi. I notice the accent most when they say the word "sorry". Down here, it is pronounced "sah-ree". In Canada, it has more of a "sore-ee" sound.

 

[swandiverpatt]

To confuse things further, my DH is from Connecticut and I remember wondering what the heck he was talking about when he said "jimmies." Sprinkles to me. I think he used bubbler instead of water fountain as well. Not sure about the buggy instead of grocery cart, though.

And I learned his love for belly clams.

 

[Momvic5]

Exactly! Like you, I thought of corsage, then we went to Homecoming to actually see one! Oh my, now you see my point... oh and can I add those monstrosity's cost a ton. I'm talking in the $100-200 and up range. They are custom made and displayed proudly on a young girls chest.
I for one did not "get" it at all

Born and raised in Texas....I have never understood why these things continue year after year. They are heavy and pull on your dress; however, girls have options now; you can pin it on your dress, wear it on your arm or wrist, or carry it like a bouquet. In the matter of the mum, size matters! Haha...

 

[alex9179]

not wanting to be mean - but i notice Canadian accent when watching HGTV
some of the shows the hosts are from or in Canada - the biggest giveaway is any word with "o" in it - it's like extended ---"hoouse".

Noticing accents isn't mean. Yes, vowel sounds have a certain lilt and some people have a cadence. That's true for most regions. I adore the southern Louisiana cadence with that Cajun influence. It's like butter to my ears.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Something that I noticed while at WDW (and please don't think that this is an insult because I do not mean it as such) is that people from the North East area seem to speak louder than people from other regions. For example, we were going to Animal Kingdom early one morning for Tusker House breakfast prior to the park opening. A family from the North East area (sounded very New Jersey or New York and I apologize that I am unable to tell the difference) all sat at the back of the bus. You could hear every word that they said to each other, but they weren't angry or shouting. They were simply talking in normal voices that were louder than what I am accustomed to living where I do. I noticed this in lines, as well.

 

[shoney]

Something that I noticed while at WDW (and please don't think that this is an insult because I do not mean it as such) is that people from the New England area seem to speak louder than people from other regions. For example, we were going to Animal Kingdom early one morning for Tusker House breakfast prior to the park opening. A family from the New England area (sounded very New Jersey or New York and I apologize that I am unable to tell the difference) all sat at the back of the bus. You could hear every word that they said to each other, but they weren't angry or shouting. They were simply talking in normal voices that were louder than what I am accustomed to living where I do. I noticed this in lines, as well.

NY/NJ are not part of New England.

I find groups are loud...no matter where they are from.

When the accent is something you aren't used to, it seems even louder!

 

[sunshinehighway]

Something that I noticed while at WDW (and please don't think that this is an insult because I do not mean it as such) is that people from the New England area seem to speak louder than people from other regions. For example, we were going to Animal Kingdom early one morning for Tusker House breakfast prior to the park opening. A family from the New England area (sounded very New Jersey or New York and I apologize that I am unable to tell the difference) all sat at the back of the bus. You could hear every word that they said to each other, but they weren't angry or shouting. They were simply talking in normal voices that were louder than what I am accustomed to living where I do. I noticed this in lines, as well.

New Jersey and New York are not part of New England.

 

[mamacatnv]

I believe that's the point of them, at least I hope so. To make it as monstrous as possible without causing a wardrobe malfunction. You should see the grocery stores and craft stores in the fall! Yeah, they sell them at the grocery store. Moms pack the aisles at Hobby Lobby gathering the stuff. One day, my daughter will wear one and be proud of it <shudder>.

Born and raised in Texas....I have never understood why these things continue year after year. They are heavy and pull on your dress; however, girls have options now; you can pin it on your dress, wear it on your arm or wrist, or carry it like a bouquet. In the matter of the mum, size matters! Haha...

My DD, the same one that I have to nag at to shower, to brush her hair or heaven forbid wear something other than a t-shirt and jeans has made it very clear she wants and expects a mum next year just like all the other girls. DH made some comment about decorating the wheelbarrow for her to schlepp it around in all day - that comment was not met with amusement! I started saving last year........

Here is one I just thought of - Oregonians don't pump their own gas! We used to live near the interstate that many would use to come to Nevada from Oregon and it was always funny to see the Oregonians trying to figure out the gas pumps. There is no self serve in NV and in Oregon there is no Self pump

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

NY/NJ are not part of New England.

I find groups are loud...no matter where they are from.

When the accent is something you aren't used to, it seems even louder!

New Jersey and New York are not part of New England.

Yeah I meant North East but just got ahead of myself. This wasn't a large group; it was just a normal family. And I understand about a different accent seeming louder, but I haven't noticed people from up north or the deep south sounding louder than other groups.