Posted on 09/07/2011 7:26:08 AM PDT by no gnu taxes
I'm originally from Louisiana, but I have been working in North Carolina for some time.
Well, as part of my job, I was dealing with a lady on the phone, and all of a sudden she blurts out, "are you a yankee"? I say, "why would you ask me that"
It seems I said the word "pecan," and pronounced it puh-KAHN and she felt it should be pronounced PEE-can. I told her I am from Louisiana and we consider her to be the yankee.
She took it all in good stride, but from what I have discerned since then, PEE-can is definitely the more yankee version.
Ya, I know.. been overseas for 13+ years.. I just return the favor and call Brit -> Euros, Irish -> Brit, and Scottish -> Brit..
As for the rest, I just find out what is as insulting to them ;)
Up north..99% say “pray-lines”..first time I heard it the right ( southern) way..I had NO idea what they were talking about..I thought it was some kind of crayfish..
Oh, btw... I was being sarcastic about the tooth thing.. not that I don’t want to :p
Grandaddy was from southeast Georgia and he said pickann.
Being from NY, I always called them “PEE-KAN.” Yeah, neither syllable is de-emphasized, which is unusual for English words. Not. “PEE-kan” or “PEE-kin,” but “PEE-KAN.” Having a strong immigrant and first-generation population probably is responsible for resisting the English trend to transform one of the vowel sounds in a two syllable word into a schwa.
They are all nuts.
Although my dad is from the midwest and mom was a navy brat, I grew up in VA. The test gave me about 63% Dixie.
Same here. I've lived in VA all my life (so far, that is) and never have heard it different.
Another sign of being a NYer:
“Shirley, Long Island,” as if “Long Island” were the name of a state.
Long Island geography for “mainlanders”:
“The (Great South) bay” is actually a lagoon.
“The East River” is a strait. “The (Hudson) river” is a fjord.
“Fire Island” is an archipelago and spit.
“The Island” is Long Island. What does that make Manhattan Island and Staten Island?
The boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island, but not part of Long Island, which is comprised only of Suffolk and Nassau Counties
Hence, the majority of people who live ON Long Island are not Long Islanders.
“The Race” is a strait, where “the Sound” meets the ocean.
“The (Greenwhich) Village” is an unincorporated neighborhood in Manhattan
“Upstate” starts at the Bronx-Westchester line, to a Long Islander, to whom it largely means, “the mainland.”
To a mainlander, “Downstate” begins at the next county South of them, unless they live North of Dutchess County. It largely means, “land of the crazy folk.”
“The North Fork” refers to the peninsula forming the northern portion of “the East End.” The South Fork refers to the peninsula forming the southern portion. “The crotch” refers to Newark Bay, though, not Riverhead, which lies between the forks.
puh kahn is Cotton state pronunciation
pee can is northern to me
it’s funny how quick it’s all changed
go to metro Nashville, Atlanta or Piedmont and you will begin to notice WHEN you here a southern accent
accents which were once near universal in those parts
Yankees are different in their manners, speech and posture than southerners..no question.
Some more than others and sometimes the divisions are stark.
Try driving from Tucumcari to Amarillo...it changes immediately from New Mexico to Texas..even that far west.
I fear middle TN, central NC and metro Atlanta are going to end up like coastal Florida
just different
I did notice though that Dallas retains more southerness than I figured when I was there in June
I’m an American. I’m also a conservative. Are you? There are some people who keep trying to stir up the old civil war debate to divide conservatives. I’m an American.
Where 4, 7 and 11 meet is a unique dialect (Scranton). The one flaw with the Office, culturally, is that it does not include Scranton English. Probably to minimize the number of WTF moments.
Good post.
I never knew Alabama said Pee-Can...I’m Mississippi and it’s puhkahn
always has been to me
100%...though I wavered over faucet and spigot...
I’m sure my fellow freepers are shocked..I give off such northern erudite vibe and all
this sounds crazy, but this map asserts that downtown New Orleans uses the dialect otherwise used in the New York metro area:
I lived in Louisiana for awhile and a Cajun told me that the real definition of a Yankee was anyone from north of I-10.
We say puh-kahn. (Tx)
a pee-can is something old timers used to keep under their beds at night.
We Okies know your P Can as a Slop Jar.
But we have lots of pea-kahn trees and pick up thereunder pea-kahns. Good, too.
The way you really tell who’s a yankee or not is how they pronounce the syrup you use to make a PEEK’n pie.
Do they pronounce it “Care-o” or “Kay-ro” syrup?
I don’t pronounce it either way here it is PEE CON
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.