I went to the hair salon today and was conversing with several of the ladies. It was soon evident that I (Illinois, Ohio, New York) used words differently. Carbonated beverage is a "soda" here, my sister who lived in Illinois all her life called it "sody pop". "May I have a ride" in Illinois is "would you carry me" here in Texas, and in New York they just ignored you. Here in Texas you "run" cattle. In Illinois you had a herd, and in New York you imported beef from Texas and the midwest. I love regional dialects and word usages. Do you have any local expressions?
Even within my own regional travels one may hear three different names for the same item. Case in point, the beverage of milk, Ice cream and syrup. At a local ice cream stand it is called a frappe, other places you order a milk shake. Still, even in this area, there is a microcosm in northern Rhode Island and SE Massachusetts where you order a cabinet. The tourists have a field day keeping track. And of course, we all know the flavored carbonated beverage is called tonic. Jerry P.S. Cattle can't run around here....too many rock walls.
In Ireland: Carbonated beverage = fizzy drink May I have a ride? = Can I get a lift? Run cattle = drive cattle
This reply is more about accents than different word usage, but anyway, here goes: When I was a kid, I lived in western NY state (Buffalo) until the age of six. W NY state is known for its broad 'A's. When we moved to NJ., I remember bring told by a NJ classmate that 'Brad' was a boy's name & not the stuff you ate! I lived in NJ long enough to pick up a bit of the NJ-NYC accent. I still say 'water' like 'werter'. Recently, I went out to brunch with my husband & another couple. My husband (Cuban, slight accent) ordered 'lox and bagels'. The waitress (hearing 'lots of bagels') asked 'how many?' My husband repeated himself, to no avail. So our friend joined in to help. Only he is Hungarian with a more than slight accent. The poor waitress, clearly trying to be patient, says, yes yes I know but you need to tell me HOW many bagels! It was so funny, but the poor waitress!
I'm an Aussie, so my accent sometimes gets in the way of understanding. Americans roll their Rs much more than we Aussies do. As an example CAR for an American is CAAA for me...and any other words where the R is pronounced, but I don't, often leaves me with blank stares or head shakes. Word usage too is different. I had to learn to say elevator instead of lift, cookie instead of biscuit, biscuit instead of scone, jello instead of jelly, trunk and hood instead of boot and bonnet...it goes on. And sometimes, as senility is slowly setting in I forget the american word for something, so it's always a blessing if my children are with me because then they can translate.
Ah yes I remember a French lass on a visit who had trouble with doors which said 'Push' or 'Pull' who was found in tears next to one which said 'Lift'.
I'm from going down the road ...... means I'm just back to this location cause I was over there and now I'm back. I drink 'pop' too vs soda or fizzy pop. Remote for the TV is a clicker box.
P.S. Cattle can't run around here....too many rock walls. Don`t worry Jerry,, they don`t run here either. The people who own them do. They run to get feed or run to get hay or run to get medicine ect. Thats why I do not have cattle. People would really freak out if they knew you also have to "work" cattle. LOL ! And I thought Texas was hard to understand. I just call it Coke or Dr.Pepper.
Oh! Here in the South, we're always "fixin' to..." As in, "I'm fixin' to go to the store. Want anything?" And then there's "done done." As in...."What you done done now?" Yeah. I know. Translation: What on earth have you done?" A common greeting: "What you know good?" (pronounced Wachoo know good) The South, as a region, is very religious, part of the Bible Belt. So it's very common, when you're telling someone of your hardship, difficulty, issue or other problem, for the response to be "I'll pray for you." Alternately when someone is telling YOU about same and they're trying to work it through "...so I prayed about it." And finally, and this could be said in a derogatory manner, as a sincere statement, with a shake of the head, or in various other ways depending on tone of voice and context. "Bless his/her heart!"
Hmmm ... a lot of those work here. But apparently us Canadians have some sayings of our own. Loonie and Toonie refer to our $1 and $2 coins. We no longer have paper money for them. Double double refers to the way a lot of people order their coffee ... 2 milk and 2 sugars. Molson Muscle means beer belly Klick is a slang word for kilometer Two-four is slang for a 24 pack of beer Toque is a knit hat, usually with a pom pom, for winter wear. A 'Mountie' is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A bag of milk ... how we buy milk. I was shocked when I found out Canadians are the only ones to do this?!! If someone needs me to drive them somewhere, I am giving them a ride. I don't think I've ever seen a cow 'run'. I know I have been late for work because my neighbours cows are on the road, and they just stand there LOL And finally, a carbonated beverage is called POP here. And apparently our POP is made with sugar, unlike American SODA is make with corn syrup. Not sure if thats true.
For years I have heard of your RCMP officers referred to as Mounties....I watched The Adventures of Rockie and Bullwinkle with their friend Dudley Do-Right of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. And back the TV show Due South back in the late 1990's. Many sodas (cold drinks) here are made with real sugar now a days, people finally got smart about corn syrup, thank goodness. Cold drinks are what others call soda and pop....but you have to specify which type...coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, etc. so the term cold drink isn't used so much anymore. But if you are asked if you want a cold drink while at a friends house you might get an alcoholic mixed drink (they might be offering you a big glass of iced tea with nothing but sugar added so be sure to clarify that before saying yes or no). A cold one refers to a can of beer. A Klick has been a kilometer for years too..old military reference that was used a lot during the Vietnam war. Also used in Science Fiction movies and TV shows to refer to a distance in space. But since we still say Miles, you won't hear kilometer used hardly at all down here otherwise. Cows run, especially when being driven by a line of 'cowboys' on a trail drive. Or scared by a bad thunderstorm in movies. I give friends rides too but the country folk I know still use the word carry. When one genteel lady uses the phrase "Bless her heart" you can bet your bottom dollar that she is not speaking kindly about another person. Almost forgot about Canadian Mountie Sgt. Preston....Sgt. Preston of the Yukon...a TV show from 1955-1958
I had a cousin that lived in the u.s. and he was injured once by cattle. He went into a paddock where perhaps ten milk cows were grazing and lounging-about. I can't remember what he said that he was doing, but he found himself way out in the paddock and all of a sudden he noticed that the cows were looking at him and swinging their heads, he said, and he became nervous. He decided to leave the paddock and turned in the direction of the fence and started walking....the cows followed and got closer to him. He panicked and began walking faster...so did the cattle...and they got even closer. Finally he totally panicked and began running for the fence and the cattle were chasing after him. They did not trample him but when he got to the fence he had trouble getting over it and his trouser leg hung up on the barbed wire..he fell over the fence and skuffed his arms and twisted his knee on the "safe side". Anyway--he said that the cattle ran him. He has talked about that for years telling folks how cattle will run you. I thought that it was preposterous, but my grandfather assured me that it was true. So what do you do then if you are worried, I asked him. He said that you must stand your ground...or if you are feeling luck walk at them, shifting your eyes from cow to cow. He further added that it was wise to take a walking stick with you into the paddock. This and other things were things that I had to learn as a child because I was sent each summer to the farm to help my grandparents. I developed a great love for cattle and eventually learned how to deal with them ... sort of like "whispering", you might say. It was a skill that came in handy when I was doing the bird nest protection in farmers' paddocks here. My bride and the others in our group were amazed. They were city dwellers, you see. My bride took some nice foto's and a couple of vids of me in the fields. I was even surprised myself how friendly they were, how the followed me and acted almost like dogs. I would walk among them and touch them on their backs and necks in a certain way and apparently they felt comfortable...even the "pinks", as we call them. Pinks are ~9 month old cattle. They can be unpredictable, but when they feel confident they are almost affectionate. All this waffling was about yet another use of the word"run" in relation to cattle. I guess the meaning was "chase" sort of.
