I come from the midwest where we are notoriously free of accent or regional diction. There are however a few words that I know we use regionally that are not used in other places.
The first of these is the word "bubbler". Where I come from this term refers to a drinking fountain. More specifically, one of the wall mounted units, typically found in classrooms and schools the world over.
I first discovered the difference when I moved to Colorado. I was in a school and asked casually where the bubbler was. The student had no idea what I meant. I described what I was looking for and he rudely remarked that what I was looking for was a "drinking fountain." I was so embarassed.
The second word that I find is very regional is the difference between the uses of the word "soda" and "pop". Where I grew up the prefered term is "soda". However, when I first moved out to colorado I again experienced this embarassment when I asked for a soda and had to clarify that I wanted a coke. Again I was corrected and told that what I was asking was actually a pop.
I quickly learned upon arrival in colorado that while my speech is mostly free of regional diciton I do use these words that aren't normally universally accepted.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I liked your entry and can identify with specific regional dialects that can impact you on a very basic level, like calling a drinking fountain a bubbler. Honestly, i don't know if you did the right question, though! I suppose you could explore the different dynamics various regional accents bring into the classroom as a focus question for your synthesis paper.
Post a Comment