How to talk right in Chicago

August 20, 2003 | from an e-mail

[aruanan]

Then ya got yer diagonals: Lincoln, Milwaukee Ave., Elston. . . .

And that street that cuts from somewhere around Western southwest to past Cicero, maybe to Harlem or beyond. I wonder if these diagonals represent some of the oldest extant roadways in Chicago.

[carlo3b]

I think that is the Southwest Highway.. I have always wondered why those roads were so different, from an otherwise perfect grid.

[Chi-townChief]

Columbus / Southwest Highway runs all the way out to Lockport as Illinois 7. These streets are all angled to follow the river as is the Stevenson I-55.

[carlo3b]

Thanks..

[aruanan]

Columbus / Southwest Highway runs all the way out to Lockport as Illinois 7. These streets are all angled to follow the river as is the Stevenson I-55.

That makes sense. So they were probably some of the oldest streets in the city.

[B Knotts]

Da ting is...

There are actually several markedly different accents in "Chicagoland."

My step-father was from Bridgeport, and I had a step-mother from the back of the yards area. They ("Dey") had a similar accent, and said "youse" ("You all") a lot. But most of my family was from an Irish neighborhood on the far west side, with an entirely different accent (we would never say "youse", which is also different from the north side way of speaking. Go far enough north, and you get into Wisconsinese.

[DrNo]

Bein' from an Iralian/Irish neighborhood on the far West side, I agree.

[ThreePuttinDude]

I hate to let this thread die....8^(

I've read some nostalgic posts that brought back
fond memories.