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The look on Feli's face when they said drive-thru gun store.

Feli's facial expression when she goes 'DAMN!' 🤭 on the wife beater explanation is hilarious. 🤣 Well done, girl. 👍

As a linguist I love this video in its entirety, but I particularly I love the moment at 21:20 where Geoff doesn't even perceive the difference between the sounds! That's such an elegant example of categorical perception! Basically the idea is that there are no hard boundaries between sounds - they're like colors, they're on a gradient, so you can't draw any clear demarking point. So, our brains/ears have evolved to perceive sounds that are similar as the same sound. The kicker is that not every language has the same inventory, and what we see here is exactly as you described it, evidence an active vowel merger in American English, where Alex still has the different vowels in cot and caught, and so perceives them as different sounds, whereas for Geoff the sounds have merged so they perceive them as the same thing. Also, where I'm from in Texas, we basically don't have them, which is why I think the "traffic circle" one shows up there because that's what they're called in driver's ed which is probably the last time many Texans saw one. In person most people I know in Central Texas actually call them roundabouts or don't know what to call them at all. I've definitely heard Beer Barn though - I remember there was one on Richmond in Houston when I was growing up. Probably still there! And my father was from New Orleans, so I grew up hearing "the devil's beating his wife" whenever it rained while the sun was shining. It's a folksy saying, and I was never sure whether it was just supposed to be contrasting the rain/storm (the devil, representing bad) with the sun (his wife, representing good), or whether the rain was supposed to be the tears of the devil's wife and the devil was the sun because it was hot? Beats me, I'm sure there may be some research into it but I'm not familiar with it.

Growing up in Nashua, NH. we used the word "tonic" as a generic term for soft drinks. If you wanted a particular type, you asked for a Coke, a Pepsi, a Ginger Ale, etc. "Caramel" (3 syllables) is a sweet, while "Caramel" (2 syllables) is a place. A Semi truck is called that because it pulls a semi-trailer. All rubber soled footwear are "Sneakers"; I first heard them referred to as "Tennis Shoes" in Marine Corps bootcamp. They can also be called Deck Shoes for those fortunate enough to afford a yacht. "You" is either singular or plural, depending. I occasionally use "You Guys", and very occasionally "Y'all" (pronounced "yawl"). I say "Gesundheit" when someone sneezes. A "water bubbler" I call a scuttlebut (a Navy and Marine term for a ship's drinking water, kept in a barrel called a scuttle (Fun Facts to know and tell!). "Lightning Bugs" and "Fireflies" are one and the same here (getting rare, I'm not sure why. BTW, "Firefly" was a fantastic TV series, but only lasted one season. Check it out!!) 'Bye now!"

In Chicago we call them gym shoes because most school districts around here make you change into them for gym class, or physical education. For example, it's against district policy to wear sandals to gym class, so you have to change into your tennis shoes, hence "gym shoes"

Thanks again for inviting us on 😊 We ended up learning so much!

After three years in Germany in the US Army, I came home and my mother said, I sound like I was from Tennessee, because most of the guy I was with were from the South. Thank you Feli, love your reports

"Youse" is common in the NYC boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

In Hungary, we also use the term "The Devil is beating his wife" when the sun is shining and raining at the same time ( az ördög veri a feleségét) and we also have the same name for the tank top - wifebeater - (asszonyverő). Never would have thought about a connection like this. 😅

I absolutely LIVE for this type of content! So entertaining, so fun! I’m from North Carolina, and while I grew up saying things a certain way, somehow as I got older, there was a change. Thank you for your super fun and well produced content 🤟

great video. loved the interaction between everyone and great editing.

That was fun, thanks. I spent my childhood in Denver, we got a little bit of most of those there.

It's great to see you with Ben, especially for this type of video and cool having invited Alex and Jeff of AGDW to collaborate for this type of video as well.

In New Mexico (that's in the US), we used to call these drive-thru liquors or drive-up liquors. But all have been outlawed in the state since the 90's, so a lot of people don't even know the term. Most that I have seen are like the example in your video - a drive-thru window, but at a liquor store. I have seen some in Texas that were truly drive-THRU. Imagine a warehouse style building with a garage door at the front and back, and you drive through the building to buy your beer. You don't drive up and down the isles (at least not in the ones I’ve seen), but in a line that goes through the building . Most of the "barn" names you list seemed to be centered in Texas, and I think this is why. I think the reason for these barns is that there are a lot of “dry” counties in Texas, so the liquor stores in “wet” counties have to stock so much more to fulfill the demand. You can tell where some of the “dry” county borders are, because that’s where a bunch of liquor stores and beer barns are located.

Great fun! One of my favorite episodes!

your videos are sooooo interesting and entertaining, thank you

I really enjoyed this episode, Feli, as I do all of your vlogs. I've always have been interested in the different words people in the U.S. use to say the same thing. BTW, if you want to hear people from Philadelphia talk and use the word "yous" watch the first "Rocky" movie. And being born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area I can attest that most of us don't say "yinz." We say "yunze." This colloquial word extends into the little piece of West Virginia that sticks up between Pennsylvania and Ohio and a little ways south into the part of West Virginia around Morgantown along Interstate 79. Keep up the great work with your KZfaq channel . I started watching you after I visited Mainz, Germany for two weeks in 2015 and had the best time. The people were so friendly and helpful to this non-German speaker. Take care.

Canadian here -Runners, although other terms are used, especially if they are specialty shoes, but runners is the overall name. Like all Top hats are hats, but not all hats are top hats. - Pop -mostly three syllable for caramel, but you hear syllables sometimes -pyjamas gets both pronunciations, but PJs and jammies get used a lot -You, you guys get used a lot, you do hear Y’all sometimes, but mostly if it’s transplanted Americans or people they know. -Crayon two syllables, mostly cray-on. -Pecan- both pee can or puh khan -Sir-up, mostly -When someone sneezes, you never know, lots of possibilities -water fountain, drinking fountain or just fountain, but you don’t see them much anymore overall -cot/caught, if there’s a difference, it’s subtle, but context helps - often: usually silent t or barely there -lawyer- loy-yer -Semi= sem-me, or sem-eye -mostly traffic circle -grocery, often two syllables with a soft c, sometimes three syllables, or 2 1/2 -cart or shopping cart -Firefly -no liquor store drive thus around here, so nothing. -raining while the sun is shining? No word for it.

Fascinating, also I had no idea bout AGDW, and am now subbed. Tchuss!

neat cap. wear it! This variation sound in speaking reminds me when you talk about German dialects.

Loved this. My dad grew up in Ann Arbor, MI and moved to CA in the late 50s to do graduate work. He called tennis shoes ‘gym shoes’. I had a roommate in college who was originally from Indiana where drive through liquor stores were popular, but I never saw one in CA in my whole life. To me a ‘bubbler’ is British or Australian (lived in AZ for a year in grade school). Never saw lightening bugs (interchangeable with firefly) in CA, but saw them a lot in rural western PA where I moved to in the late 90s. They live where it is humid in the summer, and it is anything but humid in my part of CA growing up.

Generally, you will not see fireflies or lightning bugs in urban areas. They are mostly in more rural areas whether they be suburbs around the city or out in the country. The farther you move into the country, the more lightning bugs you will find...

Oh Feli, there are regions in Germany where Glühwürmchen are more than common. For example in Odenwald, on warm early summer nights, they are abundant, and yes, I did that „catch them in a jar“ activity when I was younger. ;)

Great episode! Like Jeff, I too am from the Bay Area and we pretty much matched on everything.

I'm from Victoria, BC, Canada, and I would say "Running Shoes", "Carra-mel", usually "Pee-can" (altho I flip-flop on this one), "Sir-up", "Water Fountain" or "Drinking Fountain", usually "Ofen" (no pronounced T), "Big Rig", "Groh-shery", "Shopping Cart". I've never seen fireflies in real life!

Love the videos with Ben.👍

Dear Feli, you had me in stitches. I had a lot of fun listening to everyone (or y'all). God's Blessings, Irish

I am from Michigan. So of the ones I can recall off the top of my head: POP. Tennis Shoes. “ SIRUP”. Shopping Cart. You Guys. I watched the whole video and pretty much stay within the boundaries of my home state on which form of the word I use. On a slightly different take , most of Michigan is standard upper Midwest pronunciations. However when you get to the WESTERN half of the Upper Peninsula you start to run into what is called the Yooper accent. Yooper is a colloquial way to refer to the U. P. ( Upper Peninsula) Hard to describe the Yooper accent. You just know it when you hear it. I think it might come partially from the large amount of people that have Finnish and Cornish ancestry. Also it has a resemblance to a Canadian accent . Great video. I enjoyed it.

Up in the area around Boston they call soda "Tonic." The proper use of "y'all" refers to one or two people and three or more is "all y'all." For the pecan, the pronunciation for the nut is pick-AHN and the pot kept under the bed when you have an outhouse is a pee can. The bubbler was a 5 gallon jug upside down and bubbles when the water is released as you filled your cup, while a drinking or water fountain was the unit mounted on the wall that you leaned over and drank directly from it.

I was born in California and lived till the end of high school. The maps were very accurate about the words that I used and the way I pronounced them. Then I moved to Arkansas and realize that I have changed over time. I now say and pronounce these words according to the maps for my current area. Very interesting video. Thanks

Feli: This was a tremendously interesting video! The different regions pronouncing English words differently is an everyday occurence and usually causes little more than a few seconds of clarification at the worst. But, go to England (or Ireland, etc.) and the differences occur frequently and often cost money. Like when phoning to reserve a Ferry spot costs like £200 more than expected. This was due to saying our vehicle was a "van" but the Brits call it a "people carrier". A people carrier is short (not tall), like an ordinary vehicle; vans are tall to carry workman supplies, etc.

I love this video! I recently spent a week traveling with my parents and I am noticing things they say now that I remember them saying when I was a kid but I forgot about when I moved out. We are from Maryland and we say soda, carra-mel, I switch between y'all and you guys, sneakers, pa-jamm-ahs, cray-yon, seer-up. My parents refer to an ATM as a "Money Mover" and I forgot about that until this past week!

I'm born and raised in San Francisco and I am still living there. The following list is how I say each things that are covered in this video according to how I was taught in school and grew up speaking that way: Tennis Shoes Soda Caramel as "carra-mell" Pajamas as "pa-jommas" You guys or you all (y'all is also sometimes used) Crayons as "cray-ons" Pecan as "PEE-cawn" despite being born/raised/living in the red zone (e.g. Pecan Pralines as "PEE-cawn PRALL-leens") Syrup as "sir-rup" I had to run but will view the rest of this video later when I can. Cheers! :)

I absolutely loved this video, it had me laughing the whole time. I live in ND and have heard most of the words you guys covered in the video. There are alot of Germans in the state and they all stay stuff differently. So in up north we call it a pop. I was told that it was a pop, because when you open a can, it makes a popping noise. I don't know if that is true or not that's just what I've been told. We also call a semi-truck, a tractor trailer, eighteen wheeler, or a big rig. Anyways I really enjoyed the video, keep up the good work.

Very enjoyable video. One of your best. I was raised in Philly, and now live in NE PA and I say "caramel" but when I say it fast, the second "a" is elided so it comes out "carmel". Also, the "yo" is elided in "crayon" so, try as I may, it comes out "cran" (and I live 5 miles from Crayola’s headquarters!) I also say "seerup". For those who think "traffic circle" is a weird way to say "roundabout", I guess you’ve never been to New York City (Columbus Circle), Philly (Logan Circle) or Washington, D.C. (DuPont Circle) or anywhere in Jersey, where every intersection seems to be a circle. And it’s definitely "soda" in Philly, "I went to the Iggles game and ate a hoagie, cheesesteak wit’, two Tastycakes and a soda." (Philadelphians have hearty appetites). If someone sneezes we say, "yo, could ya turn your ugly face away from me when you do that!"

Being from western Pennsylvania was surprised you mentioned yinzers there is a whole dialect around the Pittsburgh area btw I have heard the parts of the state outside Pittsburgh and Philly called pennsyltucky for what that's worth

The quavers or 8th notes, 16th notes, and 32nd notes have some kind of hemi, demi, or semi in some kind of order. A parallel kind of thing is also kind of like the syllables for the accentuation of the Classical Greek words, oxytone (last syllable for the acute accent), paroxytone (second to last syllable), and proparoxytone (third to last syllable). The circumflex accent is called penult (last syllable) and antepenult (second to last syllable).

Your enunciation is SO great! If only my fellow Americans were so easy to understand!

That was fun!

As a life-long northern Californian, I've noticed the word "caramel" change over the last twenty years. When I was a kid, everyone said KAR-mul, but now a lot of people say KARE-uh-mel. Also, when it rains with the sun shining, we call it "liquid sunshine" and I've NEVER heard people around here refer to all soda as "coke".

you have great content. amasing.

We need a second part

I never really noticed until watching this video, but for the pajamas question I use both depending on the sentence and in particular the age of who owns the pajamas. If its an adult, the a as in father; for a child they are a as in jam.

Interesting. @33:59 if you pause this, these 2 are so in sync with one another, they close their eyes at the same time! lol Great content Feli. Great to see Ben again. Instead of blowing up this topic with all the different pronunciations for each, I will just address the 1 you put on the tag line. When I was a kid(many decades ago) being as far West as I am, (not Cali)we would say Pop. Coke, pepsi, sprite, etc. were definitely referenced specifically by name. But the beverages in general were pop. I had east coast relatives move out here for awhile and 1 of my cousins and I actually did get in a bit of a cultural debate/argument over this topic. She called them Sodas. Which at the time, I had never heard used before. Now, ironically, I don't call them pop, I call them sodas. I have since the kid days heard all the terms used here. Except the very last. And your 2 guests today, amplified what I was saying about how your videos educate so many, even Americans. From 1 region to another, if you never leave home, you may never know differently. My vocabulary also includes a lot of words from other nations depending on who I am speaking too and the topic at hand. So long, pardners.

Made me happy seeing title type of video

That was a fun video, with AGDW.

A bubbler could also refer to any device that pumps air through a liquid, such as an aquarium or pond aerator.

As I mentioned in your preview post earlier, I'm originally from Columbus, where we drink pop. However, my dad was from upstate New York and, as a result, he made some important contributions to my personal dialect. For example, "youse" (with a silent "e") is indeed the plural of "you" in everyday small-group discussion. (When speaking publicly, however, I say "you".) Another example is the fact that I pronounce "route" as it's spelled (emphasizing the "out") instead of as "root". Ironically, however, I pronounce "roof" as spelled (emphasizing the "double 'O'") instead of as "ruff" (which is how I pronounce "rough"). And, again perhaps reflecting the Northeastern influence, I pronounce "cot" and "caught" the same way (with the "O" sound). I also pronounce "fought" and "fraught" that same way (with the "O" sound). At the same time, over the years, I've noticed an increasing Canadian influence in my personal dialect as well. There are at least three reasons for this. First, at one point some ancestors on Dad's side of the family were French Canadian. Apparently, they were in Canada long enough that at least traces of the accent have made it into my DNA. (It's noticable enough that, for decades, people have asked me if I'm from Canada.) Secondly, I've lived in Florida twice over the years. And, historically, Florida has had a sizable Canadian population whether year-round or snowbirds. Thirdly, several years ago, I came across some research which indicates that people born on the Eastside of Columbus from and after 1965 have developed what's called the Canadian Shift, which refers to a definite "shift" (thus the name) to a marked Canadian accent. The indication is that, if the trend continues, people in central Ohio will sound more as though they're from Canada than from the Middle West. (Specifically, I am from the Far East Side and was born in the late '70's.) Incidentally, but for the results of the War of 1812-14, Ohio would be one of the largest provinces in Canada today. The history, at least as taught here in the United States, is that the United States won that war. (There are reasons to doubt that claim which would be for another video.) If, though, that's the case, in certain respects Ohio lost that war. At the same time, however, the results of the War of 1812-14 ensured that Ohio was able to make important contributions to victory in the War of the Southern Rebellion (1861-65). Had the earlier conflict ended differently, that would have been a fourth reason for my accent. As to the "traffic circle/roundabout" debate, I come down four square on the "traffic circle" side. However, I use the term derogatorily as I've never liked those things. If transportation authorities seriously want to improve the flow of traffic through busy intersections, they should build interchanges with ramps (colloquially referred to a overpasses). As one final example, I pronounce "grocery" and "groceries" as they're spelled. On the other hand, as I get older I've developed a tendency to refer to the grocery store as a "supermarket", although when referring to the store by name I refer to "Kroger's" due to being from Ohio and the fact that the company actually owns the store where I do most of my shopping where I currently live, albeit the company itself uses a different name. While I'm on the topic, I refer to corner stores or convenient stores as "bodegas", although that again may reflect the New York influence.

Hi Feli, New Jersey here. For me, it's Sneakers, soda, pajamas or PJs, God bless you or Bless you, and once in a while Gesundheit, Cot, and Caught was interesting because Cot is a small portable bed but was not mentioned as such. That was fun to listen to...

1:17 "tennissues"? Yeah, I've got at least ten issues, and my sneakers ain't one! 😂

So great the way you’ve got the entire country all figured out in just a short period of time.

Pop was what I heard in Minnesota, Coke is here in the US South, Soda in other places. That is my experience. Your reference on pecans was a North / South thing. My mother used to say pecan with a soft e because to her pecan with a hard e was a bed pan. As people have moved around a lot, the influence moves a bit. Y'all is a southern thing. And for Ben, his part of the US says Vul. As in Louisvul, Nashvul, Knoxvul for example.

Here in East Tennessee, Soft Drinks are often called “dopes” or a “sodey dope”. Many videos could potentially be done on the language topic. For example, laundromat vs washateria. Good video. By the way, the term “buggy” for a grocery cart is the normal term around here too.

Danke sehr, Feli, this has been truly interesting, as always. In fact, the expression "the devil's beating his wife" is found in Hungarian, too (it's pretty common, actually). Let me just note one thing, as a linguist: the term "accent" refers to the way you pronounce words (like in the "cot-cought" case). Choosing between different vocab items (like "soda" vs. "coke") is not a matter of accent. Thanks! :)

"Semi" refers to the vehicle being in two parts: a tractor with an attached trailer. Some folks refer to the tractor = "truck" = "semi". In actuality, trailers are made as generic as possible so that pretty much any tractor can be coupled to them.

Great video does show how even though in the US we are speaking English, it can be so different. I especially like that you brought on two Americans now living in Berlin (which is where i lived from 86-89)

south coast Maine and north coast Massachusetts call soda tonic. We even have a TONIC aisle in the grocery store.

wait, having lived in NYC for 9 years as a german who loves carbonated water i was taught to order soda as in soda water which does not corroborate with your map, now i am confused. but i always got carbonated water, so i guess it was alright. fun fact, you guys also call carbonated water 'Seltzer' which is a town in Germany that produces - you guessed it - carbonated water :-). being an anglophile wanting to know more about how accents develop I have GOT to get this book! thanks so much, Feli, this was fun and also educating!

Hey, shopping cart is what you showed in the picture, a trolley or a buggy is any kind of push along basket that you can push things in and it has four wheels, so generally not a grocery cart, even a child's wagon, some people would call a. Trolley... Buggies are generally enclosed so if it rains the things inside do not get wet.

Very interesting. I'm from New jersey. (South Jersey) We have both Roteries and Traffic Circles. Rotaries' are fairly new. They are smaller than Circles. ( we normally drop Traffic). Also I have one for you Route? I use both pronunciations 1) Root 2) Rout. Example Take root Y to rout z.

I grew up in New Jersey where we had "Traffic Circles". These were very large at the intersection of sometimes 5 highways coming together, and sometimes it took 30 minutes or more to get thru. The small roundabouts at intersections to me are called roundabouts, but I never saw any till I moved away from New Jersey.

I am from Western NC .... a sweetened carbonated beverage is a soft drink, sometimes a coke, and my grandparents would have referred to them as a dope, or RC cola..... A large truck with a detachable trailer meant to move goods is a transfer truck, or occasionally a tractor-trailer.... a smaller version without the detachable trailer but a box shaped cargo area.... is a straight truck.

After getting my doctorate in upstate NY, I was offered a job in Lexington (KY). I thought I was ready for the culture shock, but I wasn't prepared for "Florence Y'all".

Thanks for this content I found it interesting. Living between Indy and Chicago, I grew up saying tennis shoes and still do sometimes, and sometimes say sneaker or court shoes. My ex was from Wisconsin and converted me from saying drinking fountain to bubbler. Definitely Lightning bugs and yes we collected as kids and put in jars. Growing up all soda pop was a coke, as I got older i've mostly said Soda, sometimes Pop unless I was actually getting a coke.

Cincinnatian here…we for sure have many beer drive thrus lol. Carthage, Oakley, Fairmount for instance have some. Cheers!

Sneakers for me are a more general category where running shoe is a sneaker with rounded tread on the front and back for running and a tennis(or gym) shoe is a flat bottom sneaker for tennis (or basketball).

(Shoes depending on use: ---running shoes, high tops sneakers) (Wash: --- pronounce with an long 'A' or with an R)

I’ve seen a book similar to the one that was mentioned and also there was a quiz that based on how you say certain words, it would show the area where you grew up.,this link to that quiz may still be out there. I couldn’t catch a break. I was born and grew up in NY state. After my 1st year in college, family moved to the eastern end of Pa., after 3 years, I joined the Navy and since then been in several states. 6 or 7 years later, mostly settled for over 10 years in Maryland and now WV (over 10 years). I I got the pop, then soda then after quizzical looks from the northern friends and family, I just compromised and called it soda pop. Mostly say you guys, but on occasion, you all. Water fountain. When I hear people say bubblers, I think of those cumbersome jugs that you have to flip upside down to get on to those pedestals. They would make a gurgle or bubbly noise every so often.

The map says my area (Middle Tennessee) is a coke for everything zone, but I have lived here all my life and have mostly only ever heard older people say that. I think soft drink is way more common now. As for shoes, when I was a kid in the 80s, we used “tennis shoes” a lot, but that’s morphed into more of sneakers or, if you are specifically wanting to wear them for sports or working out, either “athletic shoes” or “(running/basketball/gym) shoes,” referring to the specific use you have in mind.

I've driven past the Florence water tower many time and never knew the story. Now I know, the rest of the story. Oh, and for 'Tennis shoes' I always cram it into the single word of "Tennishoes". And the term semi truck is shortened from "semi-trailer-truck" which is a combination of a "Semi-trailer" and a "semi-tractor". They are called "semi-trailers" because they only have rear axles and didn't have a front steering axle like a wagon so they have to be paired with a "semi-tractor". The 'proper' name for a "Wife Beater" Shirt, is an "A-Shirt" (Like T-Shirt, but A) It is short for "athletic-shirt".

I'm from Pennsylvania, so I call them sneakers or tennis shoes! Great job with the video, Feli!

*sidenote: I was born in Dallas but raised in the northeast part of Arizona. I'm half Hispanic and Native American. Years ago, I was dating a redhead from Missouri. She had a slight southern accent, but I think she also tried to hide it from me. The thing is, she said I had a "Fargo accent." Like someone who is from the northern mid-west and had that "Canadian 'ohh-golly, ohh-gosh'" type of accent! I was rolling. I asked friends about this, and they all agreed, I have a regular bland American accent. I didn't know why she thought that. 😅

In Massachusetts, sneakers had rubber soles and fabric tops. Also a milk shake with ice cream in it is called a frappe and in Rhode Island it is called a cabinet.

Also “bag” and “sack” are interchangeable but I never heard “sack” growing up shopping in Florida but in the midwest it’s pretty common.

I live in Oregon and I use the term drinking fountain, which I think is the most common term here, but, we have over 50 bronze ones in downtown Portland known as Benson Bubblers.

Me: Born/raised in Chicago suburbs for 25 years, specifically in a town called "Palatine," which is a historical name for a region in southwestern Germany. Guess who the original settlers of the place in the early 1800's were? ;-) I moved to Salt Lake City 25 years ago, so ... halfsies in each place. Other influences may include: Dad was born and raised in Idaho. Mom learned to speak in Texas, but spent all of her teens in Utah. And my wife learned to speak in Guam as a child of Idaho folk, and then spent all her teens in Utah. All are people I spoke with or speak with a lot, and thus they affect my speech patterns. 1. It was always "pop" when growing up, but since the move I've grown accustomed to calling it "soda" in my new location. 2. Both were used in Chicago growing up, but we tended to the "quicker" 2-syllable "carr-mull" way more often. 3. Puh-jam-uhs 4. You guys, but aware of "y'all" and even the "yinz" from Pittsburg (we had friends there we'd visit at least once a year) 5. "Cran" -- 1 syllable 6. "Puh-kahn" with emphasis on the 2nd syllable 7. They're still "gym shoes" for me, despite everyone around calling them "tennis shoes." Growing up we were also familiar with the terms "sneakers," "runners, " "tennis shoes," and even "trainers" as well, just used "gym shoes" most often. My dad liked to facetiously call them "tenny-runners" from time to time. The "blue/black" example in your video was *always* a "high-top." 8. Sir-up 9. "Bless you" was most common, but "gesundheit" was quite common also. A fulkl "God bless you"wasn't unheard of, but wasn't really used much. 10. It was a drinking fountain when growing up, but I mostly hear it called "water fountain" in Utah. That said, I think I still say "drinking fountain" on the rare occasion I mention one. 11. Yes, "cot" and "caught" are a perfect rhyme with the same vowel sound, and always were, despite the map showing Chicago pronouncing them differently. FWIW, in your book example, I would say that "stock" and "stalk" do not quite rhyme, nor do "pod" and "pawed." For me "stock" and "pod" use a forward vowel, and "stalk" and "pawed" use a dropped vowel. The difference is very subtle though, so most people listening to me say the words probably would say I'm not pronouncing them differently. Kinda like Jeff not noticing a difference when Alex said cot vs caught. I could hear his difference and see he was moving his jaw differently for each word. Same for me with pod/pawed and stock/stalk. Weird that I don't do it for cot/caught. 12. Often had a silent t when growing up and I stil lsay it that way. My kids all pronounce the t, however. 13. Loy-yer 14. Generally a "semi" but "tractor/trailer," "18-wheeler," and "big rig" are all very common, as well as just the generic "truck." Sem-eye vs sem-ee.... both are valid, but "sem-ee" feels like it's more of an eastern pronunciation 15. Traffic circle, most common. Roundabout is less common, but also in the parlance. 16. I say "grow-shree" but "grow-sir-ee" is pretty common also. 17. Growing up it was a grocery cart. Anymore, it's either a shopping cart or simply a cart. I've heard buggy in the South and trolley as well, but very rarely. 18. Firefly more common, but lightning bug is also well-known. Pretty much interchangeable. But firefly is what springs to mind 1st when seeing the photo of it, possibly due to my parents calling them that, despite me being raised firmly in the "lightning bug" area of the map. 19. Growing up my family were teetotallers so it's not a word I ever used. In Utah, liquor stores are all owned and operated by the state and they don't have drive thru's so there's no word for it here either. I agree that "Brew Thru" is absolutely the best name for it though. 20. This is an extremely rare phenomenon in Chicago, so we didn't really have a word for it. I thought I coined the word "sunshower" for it when I was 13 or so, but later found that no, that was what they are/were called, becuz it's descriptive and not terribly creative as a result.....

Born and raised in middle Tennessee: 1) coke; if I ask a server for coke and they look confused & start naming off different types of Coca-Cola, then I rephrase the question with "carbonated beverage". OH!!! I came back to edit because I thought of a situation where we might be more specific: some restaurants have drinks which are on tap (or dispensed from a "soda fountain") for which refills are free, yet will have others that are offered by the bottle (most frequently foreign sodas, or some fancy local root beer) and therefore must be purchased individually. In a situation like that, you might ask the waiter what "fountain drinks" they offer. 2) care-mull 3) not sure; pretty much always called them PJ's 4) y'all; and if the group to whom I'm talking is only a portion of a collective group I wish to emphasize, then it's "all y'all". Think of being at a family reunion/cookout, and some of the kids come up from the creek and ask if it's time to eat; the meat's about to come off the grill, so you tell them "all y'all need to go wash up and take a seat". The kids who came to ask you know that means they need to go tell the REST of the kids to wash up as well. ;) 5) krey-uhns 6) p' -KAHNS -- that's right, no vowels in that first syllable! Form your mouth like you're going to say "puh", but the instant you start expelling air, start saying "kahns". ^_^ 7) oh man...no hard and fast one there...tennis shoes, running shoes, sneakers, wedges, ...BUT a high-top is a high-top! X-D 8) I think I say it pretty squarely between the two; although around here, there's a lot of people who manage to fit the word into one syllable: surrp! 9) probably "bless you" more often than gesundheit, but I've said both. 10) water fountain, drinking fountain, fountain...yeah, whatever's fine 11) cot = / kɒt /; caught = / kɔt / 12) no T in "often" 13) loy-yer, law-yer; I use them interchangeably 14) mainly semi (sim-aye), but sometimes tractor/trailer 15) roundabout 16) grow-shree 17) it's only a "shopping cart" if you're referring to it anywhere but while you're shopping -- otherwise, the "shopping" part is redundant: "Honey, can you grab us a cart?" 18) lightning bug! 19) I think it was only last year that we were even allowed to purchase liquor on Sundays, and grocery stores were allowed to sell more than just beer; I don't think I've EVER seen a drive-through liquor store! I'm majorly confused as to why 3 of the 4 words for it refer to it as a "barn" though...but I agree that "brew thru" is BRILILANT! 20) I call it "rainshine", and I've never heard those other two before... Oh, and they're called wifebeaters around here as well...I had to stop and think for a minute to even figure out some other term to use, but decided upon "sleeveless, fitted undershirt"...

I found this interesting and plan to order the book. I'm originally from Western Michigan but have lived in the Cincinnati area since the 1970's I still sometimes get accused of having a Michigan accent. There's a couple word usages I find unique to Cincinnati. First, the use of "please" instead of "what" or "pardon me". I believe this might have its roots from the German use of the word "bitte" brought over by early German settlers to Cincinnati. Second, is the use of the word "mango" for "green peppers". I know mango as a somewhat tropical sweet fruit with a big pit. Not sure how the Cincinnati mango came about. Of course, when I first moved to Cincinnati years ago, I was totally confused in a chili restaurant when I didn't know what a 3/4/5 way was. They were also confused at me,

we get the raining while sunny here and I have heard sunshower, granted we also call the rain here liquid sunshine

I'm originally from the UK but have lived in the US for over 40 years. In the UK sneakers/tennis shoes used to be called 'Pumps' or 'Plimsolls' but now 'Trainers' has taken over. We call a shopping cart a 'Trolley'. An 18-wheeler/Semi is called a 'Lorry'.

I grew up in Louisiana saying tenni shoes with a long e sound at the end. I didn't know it was tennis shoes until I was in my 20s living on the west coast.

Mostly the big truck is called a tractor trailer or an 18-wheeler named after the number of wheels. Both become a semi when they attach a second trailer in the back. So you have the tractor in the front pulling along two boxed shape trailers...

To mess you up, the high top blue shoes to me are called basketball shoes. Tennis shoe for the while low top shown right after. A running shoe usually has a narrower sole and is usually very light.

As a kid in Northern Kentucky, I grew up using the term "soft drink". I heard my cousin say, "Hey Grandma, can I have an orange Coke?" I thought that was strangest thing I ever heard. She was also raised in Northern Kentucky. As a young man, I started playing music with a guy from Cincinnati Ohio (just a few miles from where we lived) and he called everything" pop". After a while, I picked that up and to this day (I'm 63 years old) I call it pop. One last thing is when I was a kid, I thought a soda was bought in an ice cream shop as in ice cream soda. I never new it as just being a carbonated drink until I was older...

When I was a kid (late 1960s) visiting my Mom's relatives in Massachusetts, they all called soda/pop 'tonic': once, my Mom's cousin's husband asked me if I wanted a "tonic" and I told him I was too young (I was 12) because I thought of the 'tonic water' my parents mixed with gin... but, by the time I went to college in Boston (mid 1970s), I never heard 'tonic' up there

I'm a Canadian who now lives in Germany. My English speech preferences come from the GTA (the Greater Toronto Area). - Pop - Cara-mel - Pa-jam-as - You (or you guys) (but I also have started texting "y'all" for "ihr" since moving to Germany) - Cray-on - Pee-can - Runners/running shoes - Sir-up - Bless you/Gesundheit (I didn't even know the latter was a German word until I moved here. As it's somewhat common among Southern Ontario). - Water fountain - Cot and caught sound the same - I do pronounce the 'T' in often - Loy-er - A transport truck or just 'transport' - A round-about - Grow-shree - Cart/grocery cart/shopping cart - Firefly - No term I am aware of for drive-thru liquor stores - A sunshower - And bonus: muscle shirt

In the textile producing areas of Virginia and North Carolina. soft drinks were called dopes. Workers in the cotton mills would buy them from dope wagons, which also dispensed snacks and were wheeled through the plants so the workers did not have to leave their machines.

I'm 53, from S.W. Missouri; as far as beverages go, around here both Soda & Pop are interchangeable. I do occasionally hear COKE as a generic term, but in the main it's Soda, Pop, or soda-pop. The age of the speaker also bears noting, as well.

I live in the Mid-Atlantic region. I never say "sneaker," which sounds to me very old-fashioned. "Tennis shoes" would be the generic term, but I do use the term "running shoes" if that is specifically what I am talking about. We commonly use soda and "you guys" but I used to live in the South, so "y'all" will creep in a bit (and is not considered strange here). I definitely will say "cray-on." One feature of our accent is that we pronounce Mary/marry/merry identically. Cot and caught are two distinctly different words for us.

I'm from Chicago (suburbs to be more accurate)and these are the things we say: 1.pop for soft drinks 2. caramel is usually said with only two syllables but sometimes three 3. pajamas as if the second vowel is pronounced as "jam". 4. You guys 5. We say Crayons like "Krey-ahns", but we have a unique vowel shift that causes us to say it that way. 6. Pecan as in PEE-kahn, as far as I know. 7. Gym shoes 8. I've always said syrup like "SIR-UP 9. Bless you, but I sometimes hear God bless you from people. That seems to occur when they are Christians or are Religious of some sort. I've also heard Gesundheit, but that's usually said from my mom's side of the family since my maternal grandmother is from Germany. 10. I just call it a water fountain (in nearby Wisconsin it's called a bubbler) 11. Cot and Caught are pronounced differently here. 12. I tend to say Often more like "Offen" without the T. 13. I've always said Lawyer like "Loyer". 14. Semi or Semi-truck 15. Either a traffic circle or roundabout 16. I say Grocery like "GROSHERY" 17. I just call it a shopping cart 18. Either lightning bug or firefly (but I'm not too sure) 19. no specific word for drive thru liquor store 20. No specific word. However, I thought when the rain slows down and the sun comes out you get a rainbow. I'm surprised rainbow is not on the list! Thanks for sharing Feli! That was fun!! Cheers!

This was a fun one. I grew up in western Washington State, so west coast roughly 20 years. I have spent about 36 years in the Gulf South....Louisiana and, for 6 years, Alabama. So I have lived two very different regional dialects. You example of pronunciation differences "caught" my attention, especially as the West Coast guy could not hear a difference between "cot" and "caught." I have changed my speech a bit over time, but yeah; we West Coasters tend toward broad. Open vowels. Two more examples of them, which you did not include are the words "our" and "roof." "Our can be said as identical either to "hour" or "are." West Coasters say the latter. "Roof" we tend(ed) to pronounce like the more dull "oo" in "foot," whereas many other regions, I suspect most of them, pronounce the "oo" like "oo" in "food," so more closed. Finally, we pronounce "route" like "ow" in "out." Others say it like "root."

From Milwaukee, WI originally. We drink water from a bubbler. Water fountains are landscape displays with moving water.

Feli, I'm in northern IL near WI, and I give them the name based on what their use is, such as hiking, basketball, track, gym, etc. The only brand name I use is Skechers. I live in the pop zone; however in recent decades I'm hearing more and more often the term soda being used here. . . . and then, there's the CA city of Carmel pronounced car-MEL. I noticed the Miami area is a sort of pink. Is that due to the strong Spanish influence? Buggy is the British term (I thought).

Yes! Never actually lived near one, but as a kid visiting the Outer Banks in NC, I thought the brew thrus were hilarious.

used to live in a time and place with a drive through milk/dairy store. (after delivery but before convenience stores)

As you may recall, I grew up in Cincinnati, and my family said "gym shoes," our neighbors said, "tennis shoes," and now I live outside of Atlanta, and we say "sneakers."

I grew up near Santa Barbara, CA., and we called them tennis shoes or tennies. Often, no 't' Semi (seh-MY) or tractor trailer roundabout, but we never had them. Some people I know here in Arizona (where I've been for 30+ years) call them a "clusterf**k" because NOBODY knows how to use them well. Our DOT has even removed some they are so bad. Drive-thru liquor store (we have them in AZ, but I never saw one growing up in CA) Water fountain Car-mul Firefly Loy-yer Sir-up Soda or Coke You guys, though my wife's side of the family is in/from the South, so I've taken a liking to "y'all" Puh-JAM-uz CRAY-on pi-KAHN (for which I get never ending grief from my in-laws) Bless you Cot/Caught are the same Grocery with the SH sound Sunshower

A tractor-trailer or semi can also be called a big rig. It can have even more than 18 wheels, if needed for oversized or special permit loads.

I was at a business conference in Denver, CO. There was a guy from New England and a guy from the deep south having a conversation in Chinese because they couldn't understand each other in English. Both were native English speakers, just couldn't understand each other's accents.