Time to learn a new word!

[cheeseface]

Hmmmm... well I can't really think of anything unique to where I live except in relation to fast food. All the privately owned burger joints in our city that aren't a famous franchise have a "Fatboy" on the menu. It's a nice, greasy chilli burger and it doesn't matter what end of the city you're in or how "mom and pop" the place is. A chilli burger is always a Fatboy where I live.

 

[krazy kat2]

kareang, there is actually a book or two on "how to speak Southern." They are meant to be funny, but are pretty accurate. I moved to the midwestern US, and people looked at me so funny when I talked to them, like it was a different language. It is also a very different accent. To Southrners, Midwesterners seem to have no accent at all. The South and the Northeast have the most distinct of American accents. We both think the other sounds funny.

 

[kateang]

Originally posted by Hwangster
he last two, the an easier romanization is

Gia Soo

and Bei Dan Ah

that is so cool.... Hey Hwangster, is there anything in taiwanese that is unique?

 

[tonim68]

I'm a born and bred New Yorker (or should I say New Yawka) who grew up in Brooklyn. I don't think I truly know how to say the "r"'s at the end of sentences. It's "mutha", "fatha", "Sista", and "Brutha", right? I moved to the 'burbs a few years ago so my accent has softened a bit but it will definetly rear it's ugly head if I'm excited or arngry. Know what I mean? Fugghetabouttit!

The funny thing is that friends of mine from other states (California, Texas, Nebraska, etc..) all make fun of my accent. But I don't HAVE AN ACCENT - everyone ELSE does!!! LOL

 

[hwangster]

Kateang..... What do you mean by unique. Taiwanese is a language, it's actually Hokken.

 

[jcat]

Originally posted by TONIM68
I'm a born and bred New Yorker (or should I say New Yawka) who grew up in Brooklyn. I don't think I truly know how to say the "r"'s at the end of sentences. It's "mutha", "fatha", "Sista", and "Brutha", right? I moved to the 'burbs a few years ago so my accent has softened a bit but it will definetly rear it's ugly head if I'm excited or arngry. Know what I mean? Fugghetabouttit!
The funny thing is that friends of mine from other states (California, Texas, Nebraska, etc..) all make fun of my accent. But I don't HAVE AN ACCENT - everyone ELSE does!!! LOL

I used to have a s.o. from New York. People used to laugh when he told them we lived on "Toidy Toid" Street in Philadelphia! Of course, I still slip up and say "wudder" instead of "water".

 

[wellingtoncats]

Mags, that Aussie slang was hilerious(sp?)

Thanks for sharing!

 

[tamme]

Originally posted by kateang
only singaporeans use them and very frequently we add these words to the back of our sentences
lah..
lor...
hor...
meh...
they have no special meanings, just something which makes our language special and we call it Singlish... what's unique in your own language?

Kateang we use 'meh' too! I thought it was just something Darrell and I made up as a 'all round' response/feeling. We use it as an affirmation to a question or as a negative response or just "*sigh...meh". It's been good to really describe how I'm feeling at the moment. Just put some feeling behind it and you can say a lot withought saying anything at all!

We say "eh" a whole lot but on the east side of Canada the slang gets out of control. My g/f from Nova Scotia says "where'd ya get that to?" Which means where did you get it from. 'To' replaces 'from' in all questions.

 

[wellingtoncats]

I say Meh in the same context as you Tamme..

and I also say aye and eh alot,

.

 

[tonim68]

I used to have a s.o. from New York. People used to laugh when he told them we lived on "Toidy Toid" Street in Philadelphia! Of course, I still slip up and say "wudder" instead of "water".

HAHAHA! I also say "faw" instead of "four" and "chawclette" instead of "chocolate"!
I never noticed this before but we say "wanna get a pie?" if we want to order pizza. My friends in Texas think that's hysterical.

Side note: when I was in California, I ordered an Egg Cream and they looked at me like I had eight heads! Apparently, it's a New Yawk thing. For the uninitiated, and Egg Cream actually has no eggs at all. It's a drink - Milk, Seltzer (not Sprite!) and Chocolate Syrup. MMMMMMMMM!!!

 

[jcat]

Originally posted by TONIM68
HAHAHA! I also say "faw" instead of "four" and "chawclette" instead of "chocolate"!
I never noticed this before but we say "wanna get a pie?" if we want to order pizza. My friends in Texas think that's hysterical.

Side note: when I was in California, I ordered an Egg Cream and they looked at me like I had eight heads! Apparently, it's a New Yawk thing. For the uninitiated, and Egg Cream actually has no eggs at all. It's a drink - Milk, Seltzer (not Sprite!) and Chocolate Syrup. MMMMMMMMM!!!

I'd probably call that a "chocolate soda", although that could also be with Sprite or 7-Up. Two of my sister's kids were toddlers when they moved to the Midwest, and a third was born there. They still tease me about the look on my face when the youngest asked me to buy him a "sucker". To me, that was somebody who would buy the Brooklyn Bridge, not a "taffy". It also took me some time to get used to a "sack" instead of a "bag", and "pop" instead of "soda".
Here's a little anecdote. Germans, when ordering Ceylon Pekoe, Assam, etc., say "black tea", as opposed to green, herbal or fruit tea. One of my students, whose English is really excellent, was in London last year, and was very perplexed when he came back. He told me, and an Englishwoman in the class, that he'd gotten a very strange look from a waitress when ordering, and wanted our reaction to his order. When he said, "I'd like black tea, please, with milk or cream," we naturally laughed. One time, when I was an exchange student here, I had two friends (English) over for coffee, and we were gabbing away. My husband-to-be said he was going into center city, and asked if anybody needed anything. L. asked if he would buy her a "rubber". He, being used to my American usage, and having gone to school in Bavaria, formerly an American occupation zone, bought her a pack of condoms, not an eraser. I wish I'd had a camera when that little misunderstanding was cleared up.

 

[katl8e]

Since Mom is from Georgia, I understand Southern and use a lot of the idioms.

If someone has a big butt and wears tight pants, we say that it looks like "two pigs fighting in a gunny sack". If said pants split: "You can't cram 10 pounds of mud into a 5-pound sack."

"That dawg don't hunt" means that we don't believe someone's excuses.

"Ugly as a mud fence" is pretty much self-explanatory, as is "pretty as a picture".

My ex was from Buffalo and my Alabama-born friend Nancy and I had to explain Moon Pies and Goo-Goo Clusters to him. He never would eat grits. He DID like my black-eyed peas, ham hocks and cornbread, though. I fix them, every New Year's.

Bill is from Texas (I forgive him, though) and he grew up eating the same things that I did. We both grew up along the Mexican border and insist upon real Mexican food. You'll never find one us, at Taco Bell. We DO disagree about fried okra - I can't stand the stuff!

 

[sid_the_cat_man]

Originally posted by georgiagirl8
Hey Sid, you mean you were dating a country girl and actually stopped seeing her? What's up with that? We country girls can be pretty fun, ya' know

.

I was actually married to the gal from Texas. I had a great time during my visits to the South, [which was a first time thing for me]. Unfortunately, I guess I'm not the one she wanted to be with.

BTW, I love Okra!!

 

[crazy-cat-lover]

I'm Canadian and the word used most here is eh! "Your cats are cute... eh?"

 

[22angel]

Tamme, I used to live on the East Coast, in Cape Breton (Northern NS), and I am originally from the West (Manitoba). They had a lot of different sayings, I can't remember them all, I might be able to find some, but what I noticed more than anything, is that they hardly ever said "eh"! I thought all Canadians did that! lol My friends used to tease me about it all the time, and over the course of my stay, it got less and less, except when I talked to home. Then it would come back! lol I still do it lots, and I think I notice it more often than not now.

I'm just looking around at Canadian slang, (cuz I can't think of any off the top of my head!) and came across this: Top 10 reasons to live in (put your province here). It's rather funny, particularl if you live in Canada/one of the provinces and can understand it!
http://www3.sympatico.ca/taniah/Canada/misc/

Interesting Canadian facts...that are also kind of funny!
http://www.hopstudios.com/canada/

People give distances in times, not miles. So true!! lol

Anyhow, I think that's enough "slang" for now! Good reading for a laugh!

 

[jcat]

"Oy vey" is too "meschugga" for NY's Department of Transport:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast....ap/index.html

This article is perfect for this thread!

 

[melissa]

Originally posted by Crazy-Cat-Lover
I'm Canadian and the word used most here is eh! "Your cats are cute... eh?"

Mostly in Western Canada

Us Easterners don't say it much.

Around these parts we tend to leave the R's off of the end of a lot of words. Such as Harbah (harbor) and partnah (partner). We have a lot of words that are just plain made up too- like saying ayuh instead of yes, and combining whole sentences into a single word ( things like 'Did you eat yet' become 'Jeetyet'.)

I LOVE my slang

 

[wellingtoncats]

Originally posted by Melissa
Mostly in Western Canada

Us Easterners don't say it much.

Around these parts we tend to leave the R's off of the end of a lot of words. Such as Harbah (harbor) and partnah (partner). We have a lot of words that are just plain made up too- like saying ayuh instead of yes, and combining whole sentences into a single word ( things like 'Did you eat yet' become 'Jeetyet'.)

I LOVE my slang

That's like us.. Instead of saying "what are you doing?" or "what are you up to" we say chup2?