# Interesting verbal tics - "How y'all be speakin'"



## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

I was born and raised in St. Louis. Moved to Tulsa, OK in 2005, and then meandered on to west Texas last year. I've just been pondering the different local speech mannerisms. Its just funny how they're so different from place to place.

*"fixin'" (south)* vs. *"fin'ta" (midwest)* 
If "fixin'" -- ie, "I'm fixin' ta make dinner" -- is the southern way of saying "I'm getting ready to..." then "fin'ta" is the ghetto version of hick talk. "I'm fin'ta go to the sto'."

*Cart* vs. *Buggy*
The thing you get your groceries and push them around the store in. In St. Louis we called it a cart. It wasn't until I got to Tulsa that I heard it called a buggy.

*Gas station* vs. *filling station* vs. *service station*.
I worked at a gas station, but I noticed that a lot of people up there in St. Louis also called it a filling station. And here in TX, I notice folks calling it either a gas station or a service station. (Oh, and another southern/western phenomenon. 86 octane gas. I never knew you could buy below 87 before I came to Lubbock, and I find myself using the 88 rather than put 86 in my St. Louis car. LOL! But that's another story.)

*Sack* vs. *Bag*
More grocery store lingo. It was always a bag in St. Louis. They became "sacks" in Tulsa. First time a cashier asked me if I wanted a "sack," I thought she was offering to sell me a bag of weed.

*Access road* vs. *frontage road* vs. *service road*.
That's the road that runs parallel to the highway where you can exit and hit businesses and whatnot. I always called it the service road, only hearing it called access road once in a while. It wasn't until I came to LBK that I heard the term "frontage" road.

*"right?"*
I've never heard "right" be a sentence in itself until I came to Lubbock. If you say something that someone agrees with, they'll just say "right?" And its not like "Right!" like an affirmative. Its like a question and also a statement. "I know, right?" I also noticed a lot more people do the "mmm-hmm" thing down here which I haven't heard much since I was in middle school.

*Spanish thrown in with English*
I've seen groups of Spanish-speaking people all my life, though getting progressively more frequent the further south I go. But what I've noticed down here is that people who speak English primarily will throw in Spanish words in their everyday speakage. (Forgive if I misspell; I don't speak more than a few words of Spanish.) Chones, chongo, conchinadas, callrone, chonchi, puntitas, que pasa, lots more that I can't remember. This verbal tic I really like, to be honest, because I love other languages and it gives me the opportunity to pick up words as I go. But it kinda scares me, too, because I suspect that some of the folks aren't using the words right, and I don't want to learn improper Spanish, LOL!

~~~~

So those of you who've travelled or moved and heard how different groups of people speak, what have you noticed?


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

Here close to the border they say eh? at the end of sentences (well some people do) instead of right? like I'm used to. I picked up "tell me about it" somehow. So my man will tell me something or complain and I'll be like tell me about it and he says I just did! I've never heard of bouncing until I moved up here either. I guess it means people are leaving. lol. Let's bounce!


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

Yeah, I'm fin'ta bounce. LOL! This guy I know down here says "okay, well I think I'm 'bout to peace out" when he's getting ready to leave.


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## Black Label Romo (Oct 15, 2009)

lol...funny thread...i'm guilty of alot of the texas slang...but either way i'm finna bounce outta this thread...later....lmao


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

Minnesotans say lots of things differently. I guess that is why you can books on how to talk Minnesotan.

Now if a guy bought a book doesn't mean he will use the words rights..eh?


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

LOL all I hear is dumb slang and lots of valley girl talk witch I am guilty of too lol. Like instead of saying I'm leaving I always say I'm outtie. Dude, sweet, bummer, bunk all in my vocab lol.


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

ahahaha me too!!! i think i make up my own dialect. i used to say pop til i moved to cali. its soda down there. lots more is different from montana but i don't member lots except all the spanish, n most all the slang terms, most of which i can't say here... i'm guilty of sayin- right?! short for- i know right?! n outty, dude, word, good sh**, mmk and i think thats about it... i'm sure i'll think of more later. oh- and for the record- HOWDY is country slang.


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## Mcleod15 (Jul 17, 2009)

Born and raised in the south, lived in the country on a farm since the day I popped out, so I speak with a southern drawl, Nothing against anyone from the north but I can't stand the way ya'll talk at all.

And I like my Tea SWEET and COLD


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## ThaLadyPit (Oct 12, 2008)

When I was stationed in Del Rio, TX (8 miles from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico) the town where Laughlin AFB is, I had the experience of working downtown at several different locations with the Hispanic community. Everyone I encountered ended a sentence or a question with "right now" i.e., "I'm going to the bathroom, and then I'll order my food, right now" lol! I am part Mexican (my dad was african american, Mexican, and Kickapoo Indian)... so i speak some Spanish, but English is my primary language. When they mix Eng and Span together, in West TX it's known as Tex-Mex.. but in other parts of America, it's called Spanglish!! Make some friends with the Hispanics in your community, or just listen to them when they talk, and you'll pick up more words along the way! My father could speak it, but never did at home b/c my mother doesn't know a lick of Spanish... so I took Spanish in hs, and learned more along the way since I've been an adult. Now, I have to use it every day in my job as we have a lot of Hispanic customers that come in here, and either can't speak Eng very well, or don't speak it at all! There's a website that I use from time to time when I get stuck on something... Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL That will help you a bunch!!


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

Sweet cold tea is good.lol.

I need an interpreter sometimes to talk to my grandpa from Texas. He says weird things like ware and it's supposed to be wire.


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## ThaLadyPit (Oct 12, 2008)

Growing up in SouthEast TX on the border of Louisiana.. I heard stuff from my step-father like "How much you like?" meaning, "How much do you have left, or how much are you short! Gosh... the difference in language is so weird sometimes, isn't it!? And, like all through Louisiana and East Texas... streams, rivers, creeks, etc are called bayous (pronounced buy-oh)!! Wow! Anyways, as I think of more, I'll share them!


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## dixieland (Aug 14, 2009)

Growing up in Orlando,we didn't have any certain way to say things cause there were so many different people from different areas.
But since I've been around my husbands family from NC for the past 12 years I talk like them now.I have aquired a southern drawl and say things like reckon and over yonder.
Here's an example : 'I reckon that girl just ain't got no sense.'
Or sometimes I'll use it being a smart***.Like if someone says something so painfully simple or obvious I'll go ' you reckon?!'

Here we call it a frontage road.And I've heard both cart and buggy here.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

Mayne when I get ready to roll up out the office ima roll to tha crib then hit up tha gym and get my push on YA DIG?!


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## rosesandthorns (Nov 1, 2008)

I grew up in West Texas. When I was married to a guy from Maryland he claimed he didn't have an accent. He thought mine was cute but always teased me. When I would be trying to figure something out I say "well" but he always told me whales live in the ocean. And I say "purt near" which means almost finished or close. My sister lives in Missouri and instead of ya'll they say you'ns.


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## 9361 (Jun 25, 2009)

haha I love threads like this... First of all Lindsay I LMAO when you said you thought the lady at the grocery store was trying to sell you a "sack" hahaha

I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma and now I live in the "big city" lol 

Anyhow I must be pretty culturally diverse because I say a lot of things from around the country. haha I'm told I don't have an okie accent but I do use a lot of slang... I say "ya'll a lot" 

I say
sack/bag interchangeably.. 
"you guys" referring to any group of people no matter gender
"Later! or Laterz!" when I'm saying bye... or sometimes just "bye"
DUDE! and SWEET! I say A TON and this was before that movie can't think of the name lol
I do say "Right" as Lindsay was talking about
I say "Fixin" a lot... haha
It's a "gas station" 
and when I go to the grocery store I use a "cart" but my grandma always said buggy, so thats old people talk to me. lol
I drink a lot of "pop"
the words I use most often are "yeah" and "like" I say like a lot! I never realized it til this ex boyfriend pointed it out to me... "I"ll be like... you know... like when you go to the store and you like have to get some stuff and like the cashier......" hahahaha I don't know.. 
And I cuss like a sailor... I really need to clean up my language! haha


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Hmm... I never say 'I'm going to the gas station' just say 'I'm going to get gas.' Otherwise I refer all stations to the 'quick-e-mart'...

My Vocab slang consists of
Totally
I know right
dude-my husband hates it when i call him 'dude' xP lol
coolness
ya'll
like

I do try to maneuver away from slang & try to use new words that I read up or hear in movies. But I always resort back to my slang

BTW I love me some Sweet Tea & my slang does tend to differ depending on which side of the fam I'm around. My mom's side is from Kentucky & my dad's is from Georgia. So when I'm around them I tend to naturally pick up my southern draw. My stepdad's family is from New England & noticed their lack of pronouncing R's can rub off. They call spatulas-spatulars but will refer to a car as a cah. I don't get it - but they do. 

My Husband's side is from Wisconsin & he'll get a bit the Wisconsin accent where the have a bit of a Canadian accent & elongate the aah sound - it's kind of cute when he's tired & does it.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

I hate the term "gas". When I worked at the gas station I always asked people if they had petro. This confused alot of people but I didn't care I'm a bit off. 

My boss once told me it did sound like I was from Minnesota as I speak "weird".


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## dixieland (Aug 14, 2009)

this is what my husbands cousin said when I first met her (she lives over in the foothills) 'Hi it's nice to meet you.I'm Tina and that thar's my youngins over yonder.'
I thought it was so cute!


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## Mrskocurek (Apr 8, 2010)

I was born and raised in east tennessee but when i got married i moved to houston texas. I have heard the access road called a feeder road . I hear the right thing all the time . I call all soda a coke and i say and i use rekon yall youins washing machine is a warsher etc but i say uh huh and my husbandhates it.


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

MY MIKADO said:


> I hate the term "gas". When I worked at the gas station I always asked people if they had petro. This confused alot of people but I didn't care I'm a bit off.
> 
> My boss once told me it did sound like I was from Minnesota as I speak "weird".


Why would you ask people if they had petro instead of petroleum? Obviously, doncha know eh?


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## Nizmosmommy (Jun 1, 2009)

I pretty much talk like a thug 
but I think compared to you all I talk like Trash.
I say dude, snatch, imporann lol
The eff bomb is like my biggest used word. lol
sh!t balls, wahhh lol throw down instead of fight. 
Maybe it isn't where I'm from. 
maybe it's just how obnoxious I am


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

I've heard "throw down" also used to describe cooking up a big meal for everybody. I like it better as an arse-whoopin' term.

Mrs, I hear the coke thing all the time. When one of the girls at work asks me to pick them up a coke, I always have to ask specifically what brand they want. They could be wanting a Dr. Pepper. My husband used to call it "sody."


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## Lost_Kaus89 (Aug 4, 2009)

This thread is pretty cool LOL it's funny seeing how people talk in different states being from so cal I just hear alot of valley girl talk and course u hear the bro dude gnarly type stuff hey do u guys use the world homie as much as we do lol I swear I was in line at the grocery store and this elderly white guy was like thanks homie to the clerk I almost wet my pants the clerks face was priceless he was like uhh ok LOL I think the bay area has some pretty cool slang my cousin is from up there and he says the word hella after every sentance.


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

I noticed when i want to complete a project in a set amount of time I'll say, 'let's get this squared away.' I noticed it's now rubbed off on my hubby too


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## kimber (Dec 27, 2009)

I would feel weird if I said, "I'm drinkin' a soda." eww. I say cart and I'm old. (I do remember buggy being used tho...I think that depends on where you live too.)
In Pennsylvania, they have the weirdest accent... to me, it sounds between north and south. i don't know. the names "Dawn" and "Don" are pronounced exactly the same.. Now that was confusing... Real heavy w.pa accents are really weird, like, "feesh" instead of "fish".... "deeshsoap" instead of dishsoap. 

When I was young, my word was "Man". Mannnnnnnnnn. "Wow, was that cool, man"... "Where ya goin' man." "Hey mom, what we having to eat, man".... "gimme a puff of your joint, man.." (yes, I said "puff")..

Dinner or Supper? I like to say dinner.


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## Moose7 (Apr 3, 2010)

Well I am a jersey girl...hmm haha i dont have to say more then that do I?! I moved to florida about 3 years ago and i got picked on for the basics like saying dog or coffee but what I still to this day dont understand is the Reeses thing, everyone down here says it so werid! Its supposed to be said so it sounds like the word pieces, here they say it with e sound at the end, does anyone know what i am talking about!!


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Moose7 said:


> Well I am a jersey girl...hmm haha i dont have to say more then that do I?! I moved to florida about 3 years ago and i got picked on for the basics like saying dog or coffee but what I still to this day dont understand is the Reeses thing, everyone down here says it so werid! Its supposed to be said so it sounds like the word pieces, here they say it with e sound at the end, does anyone know what i am talking about!!


Yes! Some ppl do say reesees - that's so funny! I've always said reeses myself, but that's a good one I couldn't think of. From florida also


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## aprilortego (Aug 23, 2010)

Well I have always lived in Louisiana and we use alot of Southern (Cajun) salng. For example we refer to people as ******* or daigo. ******* is any person who has a French blood line and Daigo is used for the Italians lol. I am a Day **** as my Papa (grandfather) calls me lol. My favorite is when Cajun French pople get together and every other sentence Ma Sha or Ma Waa comes at the beganinning or end. Example " Ma Sha, thats a cute little baby, right there or She went to the mall there, ma waa." It is pronounced Maa Shaa or Maa Waaaan. I do not use unless I am making fun of the person using it. LMFAO


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

Thought ya'll might enjoy this.
f you are from the northern states and planning on moving or visiting the south there are a few things you should know that will help you adapt to the differences in lifestyles: The north has semi-dried to-ma-toes The south has mater samiches The north has coffee houses The south has waffle houses The north has double last names The south has double first names The north has ambulance The south has amalance The north has the mafia The south has the klan The north has Indy car races The south has Stock car races The north has cream of wheat The south has grits The north has green salads The south has collard greens The north has lobsters The south has crawdads If you run your car into a ditch dont worry, four men in a four wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly . Dont try to help them just stay out of their way. This is what they live for! Dont be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store. Dont buy food at this store. Remember yall is singular and yall is plural You may hear a southerner say ought to a dog or child. This is short for no. Or you'll ought not do that. Dont be worried at not understanding what people are saying they cant understand you either. The first southern _expression to creep into a transplanted northeners vocabulary is the adjective big ole. As in big ole truck. Most northerners begin their southern influenced dialet way. All of them are in denial about it. Be advised that "He neede killin is a valid defense here. If you hear a southerner exclaim "Hey you'll watch this" These are likely to be the last words he will ever say. If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow your prescence is required at the local grocery store. When you come upon a person driving 15 mph down the middle of the road, remember that most folks learn to drive on a John Deere and that is the proper speed and position for that vehicle Do not be surprised to learn that 10 year olds own their own shot guns. They are proficient marksmen and their mamas taught them how to aim. If you do settle in the south and bear children dont think we will accept them as southerners. After all if the cat had kittens in the oven we wouldnt callem biscuits!!


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## aprilortego (Aug 23, 2010)

coppermare said:


> Thought ya'll might enjoy this.
> f you are from the northern states and planning on moving or visiting the south there are a few things you should know that will help you adapt to the differences in lifestyles: The north has semi-dried to-ma-toes The south has mater samiches The north has coffee houses The south has waffle houses The north has double last names The south has double first names The north has ambulance The south has amalance The north has the mafia The south has the klan The north has Indy car races The south has Stock car races The north has cream of wheat The south has grits The north has green salads The south has collard greens The north has lobsters The south has crawdads If you run your car into a ditch dont worry, four men in a four wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly . Dont try to help them just stay out of their way. This is what they live for! Dont be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store. Dont buy food at this store. Remember yall is singular and yall is plural You may hear a southerner say ought to a dog or child. This is short for no. Or you'll ought not do that. Dont be worried at not understanding what people are saying they cant understand you either. The first southern _expression to creep into a transplanted northeners vocabulary is the adjective big ole. As in big ole truck. Most northerners begin their southern influenced dialet way. All of them are in denial about it. Be advised that "He neede killin is a valid defense here. If you hear a southerner exclaim "Hey you'll watch this" These are likely to be the last words he will ever say. If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow your prescence is required at the local grocery store. When you come upon a person driving 15 mph down the middle of the road, remember that most folks learn to drive on a John Deere and that is the proper speed and position for that vehicle Do not be surprised to learn that 10 year olds own their own shot guns. They are proficient marksmen and their mamas taught them how to aim. If you do settle in the south and bear children dont think we will accept them as southerners. After all if the cat had kittens in the oven we wouldnt callem biscuits!!


:ROFL:

Coppermare, may I ask you where you are from because you sure do sound like you were born in Louizianna hahahah


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

April, I'm Alabama born and bred.
I grew up in the city and in the country so my mother made me take piano lessons, wear dresses and learn proper english. I stayed in the sticks every summer (except when she started sending me to camp) with my grandmother on her farm. And my cousins there, well let's just say it takes some time to understand their language. LOL So in other words I can be just as ******* country as you want and/or I know how to be a proper lady. I can type proper english and slang..just depends on serious I am being or what I want to get acrosss I have a southern accent and a lot of southern slang. I lost a lot of it the ten years in Florida and added other to it. Like someone else said, Florida is a melting pot. It's about as far north as you can go south. My accent for words such as school, pool, and on changed. I live with a man from Penn. and boy oh boy do we have clashes as far as food and such. LOL


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## william williamson (Feb 26, 2006)

yup,S.Fl is the 6th burrough of New York.and now NC and Tenn. are experiencing half backs.folks who moved all the way south and now are movin 1/2 way back.
U too have a mixad bag of slang.
funny someone mentioned the Eh,I've for some reason or another begun saying it at the end of sentences,and for the life of me don't remember hearing it or picking it up.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

Eh? is canadian. they can not talk with out saying it at the end of every sentance. It took me awhile to quit saying when I moved further (120 miles) south.


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## william williamson (Feb 26, 2006)

MY MIKADO said:


> Eh? is canadian. they can not talk with out saying it at the end of every sentance. It took me awhile to quit saying when I moved further (120 miles) south.


I had several canuk friends when I lived in costa Rica.that may have been it.I spent alot of time speaking spanish,and then hung out with them so all kinds of stuff may have slipped in.


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## bluefamily (Aug 8, 2007)

*dialect*

y'all d know there are entire liguistic degrees you can earn in this type of dialect study....this thread is GREAT!!!ROFL:rofl:


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## coppermare (Jun 25, 2010)

Mike (Penn) calls pouting- gretsin..guess thats how it's spelled.
black top or pavement he calls something weird, I'll have to ask.
They only eat english peas, or snow peas whatever they call them. He had no idea there are different kinds of peas like field peas, blackeyes, purple hull, crowders, lady fingers ect.
He will not eat much gravy and no tomatoe gravy. No collards, or turnips, no fried chicken livers, no grits, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......LOL


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## Carriana (May 13, 2008)

Well I am from Western Washington (born and raised!) and I have heard that this area is the least accented in the US...in fact I was just having this conversation at work a couple of weeks ago. 

We do business with a lot of canadian companies and our canadian employees always give me crap for saying "restroom" instead of "washroom". I also call it a bathroom but mostly I say "I need to use the restroom". One guy was like "you don't rest in there do ya?" Well, actually....since I am a female I do rest my rear on the seat so yeah....lol!

I say soda, instead of pop, and "coke" means specifically Coca-Cola, not soda in general. 

I call it a cart, not a buggy. 

I don't say I am "fixin' to" anything. I say I am "going to" do something. Or "gonna" as it were. 

I can't think of any other silly quirks about this area. It drives me up the wall though when someone pronounces Washington "Warshington" - there's no R!!!


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## duckyp0o77 (Dec 5, 2008)

well, i can be a chameleon sometimes, but often sound like i aint got no proper upbrinin' lol i am from nashville so just use yer imagination lol


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