The Soda Shop Message Boards

Depending on your environment, and the people around you, there are different words and slang you use. Some might seem foreign to another English speaker living across the country or the sea.
Inspired by hipster's post on Nationalities, I thought perhaps it'd be interesting to see the differences between our vocabularies.

I call my parents mom and dad. A group of people we call a head.
The words "sketchy" and "psyched" I use when something looks strange or I'm growing excited.
The words dude, bro, and brah fall into more speech more than I care to admit. Any sandwich is simply a "sandwich."
I pronounce almond as "all-mund," carmel as "car-muhl."

Please give word on the phrases and bits in your vocabulary, I'd love to see the variations.

My parents are Uma (mom) and Apa (dad). They're the korean words. A group of people is guys.
Sketchy and lit, for me.
Loser, fail, noob, failure, LOSER, I HATE YOU, and friend are all appropriate words to refer to friends. Subs/hoagies are subs, sandwiches are sandwiches, get it right folks.
Almond is all-mun (no "d") and caramel is care-a-mel.

SirWhit wrote:My parents are Uma (mom) and Apa (dad). They're the korean words. A group of people is guys.
Sketchy and lit, for me.
Loser, fail, noob, failure, LOSER, I HATE YOU, and friend are all appropriate words to refer to friends. Subs/hoagies are subs, sandwiches are sandwiches, get it right folks.
Almond is all-mun (no "d") and caramel is care-a-mel.

I hear lit, I just would prefer not to use it in a sentence. All my friends are guys, dudes, and bros though.
For me, there is no difference between a sub and a sandwich. A sandwich is any filling between two of the same pieces. If you put cheese between crackers you have a cheese sandwich.
If you order a sandwich at a sandwich shop you give it a proper name before sandwich. Salami, tuna, veggie, even ice cream.
In fact, everything is sandwiched. People, clouds, inanimate objects...the only time I hear sub is when it's used in Subway's commercials.

So apparently yall (or y'all) isn't as universal as we Okies think? I say cahr-mell and ahl-mund, too

Connie G. wrote:So apparently yall (or y'all) isn't as universal as we Okies think? I say cahr-mell and ahl-mund, too

Hmm...it sounds Oklahomish. I do know people who say y'all, they're originally from the mid-west though.
I'm thinking this is universal right now though..."roasting and smoking" are words used to describe insulting someone. And "smoked" is the result, or if someone is worn out, physically or mentally.
Another one is "dusty" which is used to negatively describe a person. Referring to how boring or dull they are.
When people are angry I hear a tonne of OMG's, and which I don't use though aren't really bothered by.

When I say syrup I say "seer-up."

I also use the phrases y'all and all y'all. When non southerners try to use the work y'all in a sentence, it's hilarious!

Bethany Shepard wrote:When I say syrup I say "seer-up."

I also use the phrases y'all and all y'all. When non southerners try to use the work y'all in a sentence, it's hilarious!

How could y'all tell I've been faking a southern accent?
We "sir-uhp" for syrup.
I'm not sure if this is a normal thing... I hear people from the south also pronounce wash as "walsh." Then washcloth comes out sounding as "walshcluth." Is this a popular pronunciation in the south?

Sir-uhp here, too. Once in an AIO fanletter Chris read at the end of the show the person used the word "y'all" and Chris pronounced it terribly xD Like she was actually putting the ' in there like Hawaiians do My fam and I just cracked up

Connie G. wrote:Sir-uhp here, too. Once in an AIO fanletter Chris read at the end of the show the person used the word "y'all" and Chris pronounced it terribly xD Like she was actually putting the ' in there like Hawaiians do My fam and I just cracked up

...Is it pronounced as "yahl" then or "yall?" I'm confused...

It's "yahl" like the word "all" with a "y" on the front. Think of the word "drawl" with a y. You can add "are" to the contraction by simply adding the "r" sound to the end, making it "you all are" or "y'all'r." Used in a sentence, it would go something like "If yall'r ready, we can go now." Yeahp, we really talk like that.

When we were in Israel, we were around Southerners 24/7, and by the time we got home, we sounded about as southern as you get(we are not originally from the Midwest, my family is from CO and there really isn't any accent for CO. ). I try to use(most of the time) "proper" grammar(it drives my friends crazy) and I don't really use much of the modern words, but I do sometimes.

@GJFH: we have several friends who say it "warsh" "ruf" instead of a long "O", its a short "o", and they add a "r" in wash.

I'm a Midwesterner, so I speak correct American English and have no verbal peculiarities whatsoever.

Where are you in the Midwest? I am in Kansas... I will say I can do a good mixed accent that sounds like nothing from any one country. I makes everyone laugh when I do so.

AuntKate wrote:When we were in Israel, we were around Southerners 24/7, and by the time we got home, we sounded about as southern as you get(we are not originally from the Midwest, my family is from CO and there really isn't any accent for CO. ). I try to use(most of the time) "proper" grammar(it drives my friends crazy) and I don't really use much of the modern words, but I do sometimes.

@GJFH: we have several friends who say it "warsh" "ruf" instead of a long "O", its a short "o", and they add a "r" in wash.

That is literally me. I know I still have my flaws, though am a self-labelled member of the grammar police.
That's what I meant, it sounds strange to me. The first time I heard it I thought the woman was saying worst cloth.

T.S. (myself) wrote:I'm a Midwesterner, so I speak correct American English and have no verbal peculiarities whatsoever.

The thing is T.S., your definition of correct American English probably is different than mine. Our language has evolved from spreading across the world, and as diversity continues to increase with immigration. Perhaps you live where isn't too much variation, I wouldn't know, though is correct American English an actual stagnate thing? *strokes chin*

Yeah, I was mostly joking. The Midwestern accent does tend to be the most neutral and sort of "standard" American accent, but of course that's debatable.

AuntKate, I'm from Indiana, but I've lived in Minnesota (which has a more recognizable accent) and Illinois. Northern and Central Indianians tend to have a pretty neutral accent, but it gets noticeably more Southern in the southern part of the state.

No, Califorians have it right! (aka me)

T.S. (myself) wrote:Yeah, I was mostly joking. The Midwestern accent does tend to be the most neutral and sort of "standard" American accent, but of course that's debatable.

AuntKate, I'm from Indiana, but I've lived in Minnesota (which has a more recognizable accent) and Illinois. Northern and Central Indianians tend to have a pretty neutral accent, but it gets noticeably more Southern in the southern part of the state.

Oh...I thought you might be .
People from Minnesota actually have an endearing accent that sounds nearly Canadian.

Agent.MontyWhittaker wrote:No, Califorians have it right! (aka me)

That is debatable, considering the slang and shortcuts used by the stereo typical Californian. What particular region are you speaking of? Northern, Southern, or coastal(surfer)?

SAN Bernadino area.

Agent.MontyWhittaker wrote:SAN Bernadino area.

Ahh...southern Californian with a barely recognizable allude to the accents of Spanish speakers, nice .

Connie G. wrote:It's "yahl" like the word "all" with a "y" on the front. Think of the word "drawl" with a y. You can add "are" to the contraction by simply adding the "r" sound to the end, making it "you all are" or "y'all'r." Used in a sentence, it would go something like "If yall'r ready, we can go now." Yeahp, we really talk like that.

I love being from the South. I don't think my accent is that noticeable most of the time, but it really comes out when I'm angry, stressed, or excited. I used to try to use "proper" English and text using correct grammar and spelling, but then I kind of realized that I was trying too hard at something I didn't actually care that much about, so now it's pretty much a roll of the dice whether you can understand a word I'm typing or not.