Chitchat What is the dialect/slang like where you live?

[Sibelle Grey]

Sticking with English, I was raised on New York slang. My accent's from NY. I'm fluent in AAVE and drop into the accent with no issues, but while my sister speaks it by default, my brother and I organically sound like your typical Manhattan (that's "m'n-ha:'n", aka "the city") dwellers. Before moving to Queens, we lived on Roosevelt Island, a little haven between Manhattan and Queens, which is full of foreigners (many of whom work for the UN, across the river), so there were a lot of accents and we kinda picked the basic one and that's what I sounded like when I was learning English. I always say I don't have an accent, but then again, don't we all?
I say "y'all" more than "you guys" these days. "Wanna", "gonna", "kinda", "sorta", I never organically say "finna". That said, I haven't been in a strictly anglophone environment in years, so my current English slang is mixed with internet slang. The typical New York staples Expel mentioned would technically be my "local" English slang because that's (deadass) what I grew up with, English-wise. My vocabulary is sprinkled with profanity throughout-- the word "shit" and I are inseparable, and the ever-eloquent f-bomb is a close second. The n-word is only used when speaking with certain people (due to a lack of Black Americans in my life) and I write it more than I say it (mostly in exasperation: "I swear, this n--"; when texting my best friend: "my n--" or "don't text that n--!") but it does come naturally and certainly doesn't offend me when used by other Black people-- if it did, I'd have to let go of all of my rap. I overuse the word "like".

 

[Abendrot]

Lemme askya sumpin. Doncha hear difrences between nabahoods here in Philly? The second person plural is yous (not youse) in Kensington, but ya say "yuz" in Sout Philly. Am I right, or what? Fuckin A I am! And if I be in Nort Philly I be sayin you for second person both singular and plural. Word.

 

[Winter_Wolf]

I'm from central CA--I used to say "hecka" when I was younger but mainly if parents were around. I don't think I say that or "hella" anymore.

I believe California Highway Patrol (CHP) is, or at least was in the past, referred to as "Chips" or "Chipsters." I've heard my parents say that before anyways.

Seems to be "soda" here.

I don't know if it's just me but I find that I say "for" like "fer"/"fir."

"Governator" referred to a previous governor, Arnold Schwartznagger, from "Terminator" fame. However the current governor is "Governor Moonbeam," which IIRC comes from when he was governor in the 1970s and wanted California to launch it's own satellite. Also IIRC he still wants to do it. Maybe the next California project will be a high speed train to its own space station....

And of course the best of California dialect, courtesy of the great scholar and statesman of our time named Kevin de Leon: "30 caliber 30 magazine clip."

 

[koshka]

I grew up in Colorado and recently moved to Washington state.

In Colorado, we say “pop.” My boyfriend (who I moved in with and who is native Washingtonian) insists it’s called soda. He even jokes and says he will break up with me if I keep calling it pop.

Also, I pronounce crayon as “cray-yawn,” and my boyfriend says “cran.” It pisses me off.

I say mayonnaise as “may-yun-aze,” he says “man-aze.”

I guess Washingtonians don’t know how to speak properly. :p jk

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

I grew up bilingual (English and German) however I live in Germany and my local dialect is the Palatinate dialect. Just 70 km or 45 miles northwest of me you already have another dialect/language called Luxemburgish which bears some resemblance to my local dialect but I speak both fluently. When I speak English, I speak American English because of my dad, however I am highly precise with pronunciation as where/were/wear/we're, there/their/they're, our/hour/are and your/you're are all pronounced differently. Example "where" (ware), "were" (wuh-r), "wear" (waer) and "we're" (weer). Also I say soda or soft drink. "Crayon" is cray-un. "Mayonnaise" is may-uh-naize. "Wash" is something between my grandma's "warsh" and my dad's "wahsh". I do say "zink" instead of "sink". I say "how are you" or "how are you all". Never "y'all". Folks say I pronounce "water" as "warder".

 

[Morlock]

I don't use the n-word in any form because I don't feel like it's right for me to do so.

I work with a guy who likes using that word, a lot. He is Indian and I don't think he gets that, that word doesn't "belong" to him. Regardless of who is saying it isn't a word to be used in a professional environment anyway. Not to mention I am in Australia and that word isn't really one that was used much historically here anyway, until recently with the whole rap thing.

Getting back to the original question, I'm in Australia. We have our own rhyming slang which confuses many people as it helps to have our accents to make it all rhyme! We tend to say Soft Drink or the specific brand/type of drink rather than Soda or Pop. Tomato sauce rather than ketchup, Chips rather than fries. We still have our own words and terms for things.

Ummm the "C" word can be something you call your best mate or something you call someone you hate. Just like the word Mate actually. You can use for someone you like or someone you want to punch on with or just use it when you don't know or have forgotten someone's name!

 

[velvetcoke]

As an Australian, I think it's fair to say we have quite a lot of slang. I mean, some of it I may not even be aware of when speaking in general but I have been pointed out for using some words online that just confuse people. For example:

thong = it means sandals over here whereas Americans use this term for underwear???
yeah nah= no
nah yeah= yes
bogan = our equivalent of redneck
maccas = McDonalds
servo = petrol station
arvo = afternoon
deadset = true, or 'i'm not lying'
tea = dinner
reckon = for sure (do you guys use this word too????)

I could go on, but I'm afraid I'd go over the word limit

 

[Morlock]

servo = petrol station
arvo = afternoon

I spoke to a Canadian who wanted to know where the "V" is in Afternoon. They couldn't understand how it works. It's not something that needs to be understood at all, it is just is.

I love how we confuse people. Petrol station would also confuse Americans as they would use the term Gas Station.

 

[Countofcristo]

I'm canadian (ontario) so eh and apologies, also we do a weird little pitch change from most other english speakers and use friendly terms (Like bud) a lot.

 

[Yunalescaa]

I live in the midwest but my mom and dad are from Georgia and Alabama. I say a lot of weird things that apparently only southerners say? I definitely call everything Coke and it drives my friends crazy. I'm also guilty of saying y'all all the time. Mix that with "ope, excuse me" and I'm a hot mess.

Not sure if it's affected by age or not. I'm definitely guilty of speaking in memes. YEET is in my regular vocab and I can't stop saying it now.

 

[Laifan]

English is not my native language (Portuguese here, olá!). Most portuguese people can speak decent English and I think my accent is not too bad... I hope. At least I don't think I instantly sound like a foreigner but some words I will struggle with as I deal with written English a lot more than the spoken language, so what happens is I have the vocabulary, just sometimes don't know how to pronounce the words. Also, I'll use a mix of BE, AE and I guess some Australian will seep in too at times. I blame this on the meshup of media I consume, from TV mostly and also the artists I listen to (Coldplay, Sia...). I've been to London a couple of times, so using BE words like tube, for example, is common practice too. And the people I spoke to there said I didn't sound immediately foreigner so I'll take their word for it!

 

[Kenopsia]

This could just be my collective group of people :

• We say fizzy drink not soda
• Cordical instead of cordial
• Thongs instead of sandals
• cuz instead of cousin
• Oi to get people's attention
• Some of my cousins speak in text speak all the time and I have started picking it up ;-;
• Me Mow when talking to cats XD
• And oh my Jesus instead of oh my god

 

[AnimeGenork]

I'm outside Philly, where "jawnt" (however you spell it) and "lit" run a little too rampant. And you know how some people say "wooder"? Apparently that's our fault, even though mostly everyone here says it the way it should be said haha. Otherwise we don't really have anything separate from others, I guess? Unless you count our tendencies to use "y'all" for no reason and the apparent advent of various "bro language" that I needed three boys to teach me. ("sauce", "finesse", etc.)

 

[poison goth]

Eh, I typically say crap, sometimes "y'all" but rarely... and eh.

 

[Yokai]

Saw a couple of aussies on here and wanted to compare the slang from a kiwi perspective. So, here's some common slang/phrases from New Zealand. But before I do, very quickly here is more dialect than slang: oi (trying to get someone's attention, ex. "oi! the fuck you think you're doin', bro!?"), ay? (the nz version of the canadian eh, ex. "oh, ay? is that right, oi?"), eh (more like a sound effect of disbelief, ex. "oh, whatever, ehh").

Actual slang:

• 'Bro' = very common, your bro is your friend.
• 'Cuz' = means cousin but also used as friend.
• 'Mate' = also means friend.
• 'Chur' = thank you, ex. "chur, bro."
• 'Crack up' = funny, "that's crack up!"
• 'Chips' = crisps.
• 'Hot chips' = fries.
• 'Suss' = when something is suss then it's suspicious, "that's a bit suss, bro" also can be used as "I'm gonna go suss out the situation"
• 'Sweet as' = when something is all good, "it's sweet as, bro", also can be interchanged with other words like "cool as".
• 'Gummies' or 'gumboots' = rainboots.
• 'Togs' = swimwear (? idk what other people call them).
• 'Piss' = alcohol, "he's on the piss".
• 'Hard' = agreement, "aw, hard, bro" also can be "hard out".
• 'Yeah nah' = no.
• 'Nah yeah' = yes.
• 'Straight up' = being honest.
• 'Hungus' = someone hungry or who eats a lot, "I'm hungus as, bro."
• 'Not even' = when something isn't true, "not even ow!" and not that kinda 'ow' either.
• 'Keen' = kind of self-explanatory, when you're keen for something but instead you just say "aw, yeah, keen."
• 'Munted' = something that doesn't work right, also slang for being really drunk or wasted.
• 'Toilet' = bathroom, like the whole room is called the toilet.

 

[lexnoblade]

Sorry to bother ya, by! But i'd say Atlantic Canada kinda sounds a'boot like dis. Here, have yourself a can o' pop, or some syrup on yer pancakes, 'der, by!


Newfoundlanders..

Scary things..

 

[rae2nerdy]

Born in the South currently live in the hellhole known as Indiana.

Y’all is a popular one, also calling Louisville (Loouhville).

A lot of hun used as a terms of endearment.

Library is (liebarry)

That kinda of stuff.

 

[DavidEdevane]

Is this thread dead?
If not, I wish to say that I'm an Australian male and there are lies with the stereotype of our slang:
No.1 Bloke maybe be said a lot, but G'day is rare (I'll shank you if you say either however)
No.2 We most definitely ride and eat kangaroos, try it the next time you come down to our hot sweaty anus of a country.
No.3 Impersonating an Australian accent (if you aren't) is extremely irritating, because you're trying too hard and you sound like a bogan trying to do a British accent (Please.Stop. Please.)

 

[Wandering Seraph]

I'm in Oregon and it's an interesting mix of hipster slang and intense white dad speak. It's cool that most people ask for pronouns though. We're very fast talkers, but also pretty enunciated/"proper" with our consonants.

 

[Mike_the_Ike]

We get slang from everywhere in Florida. We get the southerners slang, such as y'all (so much easier to say) and ain't. But we also get a lot of Yankees (northerners) moving down here, so we get some new yorker slang, and then thanks to the internet we also have added internet slang into the mix. Oh, what fun...