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  • From: Sil Greene <quack AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [internetworkers] What type of English do you speak?
  • Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 12:16:57 -0400 (EDT)



From Scott G. Hall:

When you are having "greens" with dinner, what are you eating?
a) A Salad (midwest)
b) Collared (south)
c) Vegetables: cucumber, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, etc. (California)


Umm, southerners eat salad too. Collards are a member of the cabbage family like broccoli and kale and are a traditional dish of the region, but that doesn't prevent us from eating other green veggies. 'Sides,
you forgot the green/string/pole beans.




Also I would have categorized a slightly different set of labels:

Dixie
Midwesterner
Upper Midwesterner
Californian
Texan (Texas, Okl., New Mex.)
Yankee
New Yorkian (New Jersey/New York speak;
as opposed to high society "New Yorker")

You could label the last two: Upper Yankee and Middle Yankee

I find distinct differences in both pronunciations and colloquialism
for all seven regions. And I tend to only understand those from the
midwest.


Well, of course you do. I think all the categorizations are just as ridiculous; we can take any of those categories and subdivide them into distinct differences until the cows come home, but it's a silly exercise and really isn't worth the effort. If we wanted a true representation, we'd have to mention the real languages in various parts (like Gullah or creole); the absolutely astonishing dialects (eg that found on Harker's Island on the NC coast); the fact that New England dialects don't fit into any of the categories you've mentioned.

We can subdivide Dixie into Coastal Dixie, Carpetbagger's Friend Dixie, Deep South Dixie, and Appalachian; and then we can further subdivide those.
But at some point you have to say enough to the endless categorizations and simplify things. Otherwise you end up with a linguistics thesis (or three) and a headache.

--sil




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