POP or SODA?! Regional accents in the U.S. (with

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Is it pop or soda? Tennis shoes or sneakers? Car-mel or car-a-mell? Let's explore the diversity of regional accents within the US with my special guests Geoff and Alex from @agdwchannel & Ben!
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0:00 Accent maps
2:16 Meet @agdwchannel
4:27 Pop or soda?
6:47 Caramel
7:35 Pajamas
11:05 You guys or y'all?
14:16 Crayon
15:11 Pecan
15:54 Tennis shoes or sneakers?
17:56 Syrup
18:48 Bless you?
19:37 Water fountain
20:37 Cot vs. caught
22:58 Often
23:28 Lawyer
23:55 Truck
24:55 Roundabout
25:46 Grocery
26:13 Shopping cart
26:54 Firefly
28:09 Drive-thru liquor store
30:33 Sunshine while raining
32:24 Thank you!
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ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 29, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other topics I come across in my everyday life in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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[@FelifromGermany]

How do you say these words?? 👉Try Lingopie for FREE (7-day trial) and get 70% off on the lifetime subscription! learn.lingopie.com/feligermany

[@uwekonnigsstaddt524]

Adapt. Improvise, in order to overcome. Those are wise words I learned in military boot camp. First year of service was deployed to Japan. Interesting culture, met Japanese that studied in universities in the USA. A whole new level. Was stationed in several States in the Union, learned the local expressions, a quick way to “smooth in” into the culture. Lots of fun. Especially, for someone that immigrated to the USA from South America 5 years earlier. Pidgin English in Hawaii, Southern California “dude” languages, Southern drawl from Tennessee, Alabama, Bostonian accent, big mix. Love interacting with people, from all over the USA, and the world. Down here in Florida, I use “flip flops” for my sandals, most of the time, while enjoying an ice cold Coke, in hot sunny weather, while watching….falling snow….on tv…..in Ohio😎 Thanks for your latest, Sparky! Be well. Post Tenebras Lux.

[@StalKalle]

Drive-thru Firearm store is indeed a thing. In Texas, of course. 🤣

[@mrkiplingreallywasanexceed8311]

Hello Feli, I don't know if you knew this already, but Cincinnati, your adopted city, is named after the Ancient Roman politician, Cincinnatus, who himself acquired that cognomen by dint of his curly hair, since that's what it means in Latin. Furthermore, when you factor in the original Latin pronunciation which uses neither the "soft c" (so like "s") - nor the Italianate "ch" - but the "hard c" in both cases - and is thus rendered as kin-kin-AH-toos. So from that, you can easily see where the English word "kink" or "kinky" comes from😏 Again, you probably knew that but as someone interested in linguistics, thought i d write in, just in case you didn't🙂

[@debbieshoemaker3979]

I don’t call it that anymore because no one ever understood me. But I used to call pop tonic. I grew up in Massachusetts but left in the 70’s when I went into the army. Since then I have lived in several parts of the country (Florida, California, Texas, Kentucky and Ohio) so my accent and what I call things has evolved. Tonic changed pretty quick because people thought I was talking about tonic water that is used for mixed drinks. I switched to pop, soda or saying what type I wanted to drink. Less confusion that way.

[@Ordo1980]

27:17 We call fireflies "Szent János bogár" in Hungarian --> Saint John bug

[@alastairthegreat2887]

The look on Feli's face when they said drive-thru gun store.

[@robertwilson2007]

You beat me to it !!!😂😂😂😂

[@andreimircea2254]

I would do that too. It’s insane to me the idea of something like this to exist.

[@robertwilson2007]

I am sure there is one somewhere. I remember in high school, kids at school would have guns in their gun racks in their trucks. I can remember seeing people driving with them around the bigger cities and small towns. That is back before you had lunatics shooting up schools, malls, concerts, parks and such. @@andreimircea2254

[@DakotaCelt1]

I'd have the same reaction. I was disturbed when i heard it.

[@brealistic3542]

I would like Burger and a Gun.😉

[@qgde3rty8uiojh90]

Feli's facial expression when she goes 'DAMN!' 🤭 on the wife beater explanation is hilarious. 🤣 Well done, girl. 👍

[@biglc034]

The explanation I always understood for wife-beater was from watching Cops on TV. Dude comes home after a long day at work, takes of their shirt, cracks a few beers, wife makes tuna casserole, and dude loses his shit and starts swinging then ends up in cuffs outside his trailer wearing his jeans/shorts/sweats and his tank top under shirt, aka wife-beater.

[@mattkuhn6634]

As a linguist I love this video in its entirety, but I particularly I love the moment at 21:20 where Geoff doesn't even perceive the difference between the sounds! That's such an elegant example of categorical perception! Basically the idea is that there are no hard boundaries between sounds - they're like colors, they're on a gradient, so you can't draw any clear demarking point. So, our brains/ears have evolved to perceive sounds that are similar as the same sound. The kicker is that not every language has the same inventory, and what we see here is exactly as you described it, evidence an active vowel merger in American English, where Alex still has the different vowels in cot and caught, and so perceives them as different sounds, whereas for Geoff the sounds have merged so they perceive them as the same thing. Also, where I'm from in Texas, we basically don't have them, which is why I think the "traffic circle" one shows up there because that's what they're called in driver's ed which is probably the last time many Texans saw one. In person most people I know in Central Texas actually call them roundabouts or don't know what to call them at all. I've definitely heard Beer Barn though - I remember there was one on Richmond in Houston when I was growing up. Probably still there! And my father was from New Orleans, so I grew up hearing "the devil's beating his wife" whenever it rained while the sun was shining. It's a folksy saying, and I was never sure whether it was just supposed to be contrasting the rain/storm (the devil, representing bad) with the sun (his wife, representing good), or whether the rain was supposed to be the tears of the devil's wife and the devil was the sun because it was hot? Beats me, I'm sure there may be some research into it but I'm not familiar with it.

[@EdwinHofstra]

The kicker for me is that I actually hear Geoff using different sounds for cot and caught, it's like cot and co-ot.

[@jixer1956]

@@EdwinHofstraSo basically he says "caught" with a New York accent because that's the only way I can say those words differently in an American way?

[@jerichogonzales1290]

Some of these differences hold a lexical distinction for me. Example: /'pıka:n/ is the nut but /'pikæ:n/ is its flavor, hence /'pikæ:n pai/ vs. /'but(^h)ər pıka:n/. Same thing for caramel vs carmel, only in this case the latter is the flavor while the formal is the substance. Additionally I've only ever called them athletic shoes

[@michaelshostak93]

Growing up in Nashua, NH. we used the word "tonic" as a generic term for soft drinks. If you wanted a particular type, you asked for a Coke, a Pepsi, a Ginger Ale, etc. "Caramel" (3 syllables) is a sweet, while "Caramel" (2 syllables) is a place. A Semi truck is called that because it pulls a semi-trailer. All rubber soled footwear are "Sneakers"; I first heard them referred to as "Tennis Shoes" in Marine Corps bootcamp. They can also be called Deck Shoes for those fortunate enough to afford a yacht. "You" is either singular or plural, depending. I occasionally use "You Guys", and very occasionally "Y'all" (pronounced "yawl"). I say "Gesundheit" when someone sneezes. A "water bubbler" I call a scuttlebut (a Navy and Marine term for a ship's drinking water, kept in a barrel called a scuttle (Fun Facts to know and tell!). "Lightning Bugs" and "Fireflies" are one and the same here (getting rare, I'm not sure why. BTW, "Firefly" was a fantastic TV series, but only lasted one season. Check it out!!) 'Bye now!"

[@stevetalkstoomuch]

We used "boat shoes" for Sperry Topsiders in CT.

[@jpflu3754]

@@stevetalkstoomuch I wore "boat shoes" in high school eastern Nebraska. No socks. Only pull out socks if it is around freezing or less outside. "Tonic" is something you got that didn't work, usually with some claimed medicinal value, sold by fraudsters from the back of their van. Could also have been added to alcoholic drinks to make them fizzy, but that was always "tonic water". This is all interesting. Ben does have a charm. Feli might want to cover accents before they all homogenize away due to relocation and mass marketing.

[@catw6998]

Re: firefly’s getter rarer. Do you think all those crazy bugs (stink bugs and lantern flies) that are coming in from China (mostly) are maybe eating the fireflies?

[@tinear4]

Plymouth county Mass here. Yes on drinking tonic, but tennis shoes have a flat sole while sneakers are usually ridged

[@DonnaDavisArt]

I'm coastal MA Cape Cod and we say boat shoes too for those or sneakers for others. Also we say bubbler and we also say Carriage for the cart at the grocery (S NOT SH) store. Actually we usually call the store the 'market' and depending on where in MA you may say the MAH-kit ;)@@stevetalkstoomuch

[@TheForeignersNetwork]

In Chicago we call them gym shoes because most school districts around here make you change into them for gym class, or physical education. For example, it's against district policy to wear sandals to gym class, so you have to change into your tennis shoes, hence "gym shoes"

[@Sir_Typesalot]

Coming from Feli‘s hometown, we were all trained in changing footwear several times in school. You would arrive in one pair of shoes, then change into „house shoes“ (slippers) when entering classrooms, then change again into „gym shoes“ for P.Ed. and… just in case it’s raining or wet, have a pair of rubber boots, in case the teachers want us to go outside to play in the mud. Yes, elementary school in Munich was fun.

[@natestefka2379]

Facts 💯

[@jamessumita9523]

I moved to Nashville area Tn when I retired n 2017 n my 1st time at a restaurant I wanted to use the restroom ….and I asked the waitress “where is the washroom”….she had a puzzled look and asked me what I wanted to wash…

[@catw6998]

Yes, I remember that too. I questioned someone, perhaps our gym teacher, they said it had to do with some of the dress shoes scuffing up the gym floor. So like someone here said already, gym class = gym shoes.

[@johndurham6172]

​@@catw6998 Coach yelling no street shoes on the gym floor.

[@tr5947]

"Youse" is common in the NYC boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

[@agdwchannel]

Thanks again for inviting us on 😊 We ended up learning so much!

[@johnvonsauers8867]

After three years in Germany in the US Army, I came home and my mother said, I sound like I was from Tennessee, because most of the guy I was with were from the South. Thank you Feli, love your reports

[@nikoca28]

In Hungary, we also use the term "The Devil is beating his wife" when the sun is shining and raining at the same time ( az ördög veri a feleségét) and we also have the same name for the tank top - wifebeater - (asszonyverő). Never would have thought about a connection like this. 😅

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

Actually, wife beater comes from the 1951 Marlon Brando film, "A Streetcar Named Desire." Brando's character in the film wears one and beats his wife. The film was famous in America and in Europe.

[@Rationalific]

Interesting!

[@richcarrCCC]

It's great to see you with Ben, especially for this type of video and cool having invited Alex and Jeff of AGDW to collaborate for this type of video as well.

[@agdwchannel]

We were happy to join 😊

[@MaryBeth205]

I absolutely LIVE for this type of content! So entertaining, so fun! I’m from North Carolina, and while I grew up saying things a certain way, somehow as I got older, there was a change. Thank you for your super fun and well produced content 🤟

[@theprinceofsnj]

Very interesting. I'm from New jersey. (South Jersey) We have both Roteries and Traffic Circles. Rotaries' are fairly new. They are smaller than Circles. ( we normally drop Traffic). Also I have one for you Route? I use both pronunciations 1) Root 2) Rout. Example Take root Y to rout z.

[@abqlewis]

In New Mexico (that's in the US), we used to call these drive-thru liquors or drive-up liquors. But all have been outlawed in the state since the 90's, so a lot of people don't even know the term. Most that I have seen are like the example in your video - a drive-thru window, but at a liquor store. I have seen some in Texas that were truly drive-THRU. Imagine a warehouse style building with a garage door at the front and back, and you drive through the building to buy your beer. You don't drive up and down the isles (at least not in the ones I’ve seen), but in a line that goes through the building . Most of the "barn" names you list seemed to be centered in Texas, and I think this is why. I think the reason for these barns is that there are a lot of “dry” counties in Texas, so the liquor stores in “wet” counties have to stock so much more to fulfill the demand. You can tell where some of the “dry” county borders are, because that’s where a bunch of liquor stores and beer barns are located.

[@carlomarionudi1906]

I really enjoyed this episode, Feli, as I do all of your vlogs. I've always have been interested in the different words people in the U.S. use to say the same thing. BTW, if you want to hear people from Philadelphia talk and use the word "yous" watch the first "Rocky" movie. And being born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area I can attest that most of us don't say "yinz." We say "yunze." This colloquial word extends into the little piece of West Virginia that sticks up between Pennsylvania and Ohio and a little ways south into the part of West Virginia around Morgantown along Interstate 79. Keep up the great work with your KZbin channel . I started watching you after I visited Mainz, Germany for two weeks in 2015 and had the best time. The people were so friendly and helpful to this non-German speaker. Take care.

[@gordonschultz4788]

I grew up just north of Scranton, and we said "yooz" which seems like a version of what is said in the Philly area.

[@stevenrpagano]

"Semi" refers to the vehicle being in two parts: a tractor with an attached trailer. Some folks refer to the tractor = "truck" = "semi". In actuality, trailers are made as generic as possible so that pretty much any tractor can be coupled to them.

[@n0diggityn0doubt81]

great video. loved the interaction between everyone and great editing.

[@dw7704]

Canadian here -Runners, although other terms are used, especially if they are specialty shoes, but runners is the overall name. Like all Top hats are hats, but not all hats are top hats. - Pop -mostly three syllable for caramel, but you hear syllables sometimes -pyjamas gets both pronunciations, but PJs and jammies get used a lot -You, you guys get used a lot, you do hear Y’all sometimes, but mostly if it’s transplanted Americans or people they know. -Crayon two syllables, mostly cray-on. -Pecan- both pee can or puh khan -Sir-up, mostly -When someone sneezes, you never know, lots of possibilities -water fountain, drinking fountain or just fountain, but you don’t see them much anymore overall -cot/caught, if there’s a difference, it’s subtle, but context helps - often: usually silent t or barely there -lawyer- loy-yer -Semi= sem-me, or sem-eye -mostly traffic circle -grocery, often two syllables with a soft c, sometimes three syllables, or 2 1/2 -cart or shopping cart -Firefly -no liquor store drive thus around here, so nothing. -raining while the sun is shining? No word for it.

[@antoniocasias5545]

I’ve never called them runners. Only running shoes. I called shopping cart buggies and grocery is a three syllable Word with a SH sound

[@antoniocasias5545]

I can’t separate cot and caught without sounding British

[@dw7704]

@@antoniocasias5545 hey it keeps things interesting

[@antoniocasias5545]

@@dw7704 wot

[@dw7704]

@@antoniocasias5545 the different pronunciations and different words, they keep things interesting

[@Die_Oile]

Oh Feli, there are regions in Germany where Glühwürmchen are more than common. For example in Odenwald, on warm early summer nights, they are abundant, and yes, I did that „catch them in a jar“ activity when I was younger. ;)

[@itsdoctorahmed]

your videos are sooooo interesting and entertaining, thank you

[@scottinphoenix739]

That was fun, thanks. I spent my childhood in Denver, we got a little bit of most of those there.

[@shellsbellswac1]

I love this video! I recently spent a week traveling with my parents and I am noticing things they say now that I remember them saying when I was a kid but I forgot about when I moved out. We are from Maryland and we say soda, carra-mel, I switch between y'all and you guys, sneakers, pa-jamm-ahs, cray-yon, seer-up. My parents refer to an ATM as a "Money Mover" and I forgot about that until this past week!

[@kdmmorrison]

I'm from the DC area and I pronounce your words the same way.

[@pwoody9416]

Loved this. My dad grew up in Ann Arbor, MI and moved to CA in the late 50s to do graduate work. He called tennis shoes ‘gym shoes’. I had a roommate in college who was originally from Indiana where drive through liquor stores were popular, but I never saw one in CA in my whole life. To me a ‘bubbler’ is British or Australian (lived in AZ for a year in grade school). Never saw lightening bugs (interchangeable with firefly) in CA, but saw them a lot in rural western PA where I moved to in the late 90s. They live where it is humid in the summer, and it is anything but humid in my part of CA growing up.

[@michaelhillman2959]

I am from Michigan. So of the ones I can recall off the top of my head: POP. Tennis Shoes. “ SIRUP”. Shopping Cart. You Guys. I watched the whole video and pretty much stay within the boundaries of my home state on which form of the word I use. On a slightly different take , most of Michigan is standard upper Midwest pronunciations. However when you get to the WESTERN half of the Upper Peninsula you start to run into what is called the Yooper accent. Yooper is a colloquial way to refer to the U. P. ( Upper Peninsula) Hard to describe the Yooper accent. You just know it when you hear it. I think it might come partially from the large amount of people that have Finnish and Cornish ancestry. Also it has a resemblance to a Canadian accent . Great video. I enjoyed it.

[@hitechtalent]

Your enunciation is SO great! If only my fellow Americans were so easy to understand!

[@thomaschristensen7451]

Up in the area around Boston they call soda "Tonic." The proper use of "y'all" refers to one or two people and three or more is "all y'all." For the pecan, the pronunciation for the nut is pick-AHN and the pot kept under the bed when you have an outhouse is a pee can. The bubbler was a 5 gallon jug upside down and bubbles when the water is released as you filled your cup, while a drinking or water fountain was the unit mounted on the wall that you leaned over and drank directly from it.

[@richardkirchknopf2215]

What you called a bubbler I would have called the water cooler. Don't see many of those anymore.

[@robertstepp1072]

Generally, you will not see fireflies or lightning bugs in urban areas. They are mostly in more rural areas whether they be suburbs around the city or out in the country. The farther you move into the country, the more lightning bugs you will find...

[@Libraryguy09]

Great fun! One of my favorite episodes!

[@timothyneumann6586]

The quavers or 8th notes, 16th notes, and 32nd notes have some kind of hemi, demi, or semi in some kind of order. A parallel kind of thing is also kind of like the syllables for the accentuation of the Classical Greek words, oxytone (last syllable for the acute accent), paroxytone (second to last syllable), and proparoxytone (third to last syllable). The circumflex accent is called penult (last syllable) and antepenult (second to last syllable).

[@OtterKring]

"The Devil beating his wife" is known as a German expression, too, in Lower Austria. "Do schlogt da Deifi sei Frau" would be the dialect expression.

[@WW-wf8tu]

Interesting. @33:59 if you pause this, these 2 are so in sync with one another, they close their eyes at the same time! lol Great content Feli. Great to see Ben again. Instead of blowing up this topic with all the different pronunciations for each, I will just address the 1 you put on the tag line. When I was a kid(many decades ago) being as far West as I am, (not Cali)we would say Pop. Coke, pepsi, sprite, etc. were definitely referenced specifically by name. But the beverages in general were pop. I had east coast relatives move out here for awhile and 1 of my cousins and I actually did get in a bit of a cultural debate/argument over this topic. She called them Sodas. Which at the time, I had never heard used before. Now, ironically, I don't call them pop, I call them sodas. I have since the kid days heard all the terms used here. Except the very last. And your 2 guests today, amplified what I was saying about how your videos educate so many, even Americans. From 1 region to another, if you never leave home, you may never know differently. My vocabulary also includes a lot of words from other nations depending on who I am speaking too and the topic at hand. So long, pardners.

[@TheSkinnyZ]

Where I live in Germany we definitely get fireflies. Like, not in mass, but I definitely see a handful every summer.

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

I remember sometimes hearing Gesundheit from cartoons. I knew overtime that it was a foreign word. Then in my first German class in Junior High, I started hearing Thea her say that when any member of the class sneezed - a fun clarification.

[@mattp422]

Very enjoyable video. One of your best. I was raised in Philly, and now live in NE PA and I say "caramel" but when I say it fast, the second "a" is elided so it comes out "carmel". Also, the "yo" is elided in "crayon" so, try as I may, it comes out "cran" (and I live 5 miles from Crayola’s headquarters!) I also say "seerup". For those who think "traffic circle" is a weird way to say "roundabout", I guess you’ve never been to New York City (Columbus Circle), Philly (Logan Circle) or Washington, D.C. (DuPont Circle) or anywhere in Jersey, where every intersection seems to be a circle. And it’s definitely "soda" in Philly, "I went to the Iggles game and ate a hoagie, cheesesteak wit’, two Tastycakes and a soda." (Philadelphians have hearty appetites). If someone sneezes we say, "yo, could ya turn your ugly face away from me when you do that!"

[@Herzschreiber]

When I was a child, we had lots of fireflies in Germany......... changes are everywhere, haven't seen them for ages!

[@cory9088]

I absolutely loved this video, it had me laughing the whole time. I live in ND and have heard most of the words you guys covered in the video. There are alot of Germans in the state and they all stay stuff differently. So in up north we call it a pop. I was told that it was a pop, because when you open a can, it makes a popping noise. I don't know if that is true or not that's just what I've been told. We also call a semi-truck, a tractor trailer, eighteen wheeler, or a big rig. Anyways I really enjoyed the video, keep up the good work.

[@timsheridan3987]

Being from western Pennsylvania was surprised you mentioned yinzers there is a whole dialect around the Pittsburgh area btw I have heard the parts of the state outside Pittsburgh and Philly called pennsyltucky for what that's worth

[@kilikoe]

That was fun!

[@garygillean365]

neat cap. wear it! This variation sound in speaking reminds me when you talk about German dialects.

[@benjaminjohnson6936]

Fascinating, also I had no idea bout AGDW, and am now subbed. Tchuss!

[@benjaminjohnson6936]

I am also buying the book. LOL, I'm an easy mark apparently.

[@Minkehr]

We need a second part

[@desperadox7565]

Love the videos with Ben.👍

[@arkieheaven1669]

I was born in California and lived till the end of high school. The maps were very accurate about the words that I used and the way I pronounced them. Then I moved to Arkansas and realize that I have changed over time. I now say and pronounce these words according to the maps for my current area. Very interesting video. Thanks

[@ryadinstormblessed8308]

1:17 "tennissues"? Yeah, I've got at least ten issues, and my sneakers ain't one! 😂

[@Litokaan]

Great episode! Like Jeff, I too am from the Bay Area and we pretty much matched on everything.

[@opiumfx]

So great the way you’ve got the entire country all figured out in just a short period of time.

[@alidaweber1023]

A bubbler could also refer to any device that pumps air through a liquid, such as an aquarium or pond aerator.

Also used for garden irrigation.

[@Moggetslittlesister]

My dad is from California and my mom is from New York, and I grew up on the west coast, so there were plenty of strange combinations of words in my household. My dad said tennis shoes and my mom said sneakers--I picked up saying sneakers because it sounded better and I didn't play tennis, but I won't lie, when you started showing pictures of shoes, my mind immediately jumped to "tennis shoes." Dad said car-ml (what I say too) and mom said car-a-mel. I got "pa-jah-mas" from my mom. Pecan is a little interesting because my Californa dad says "PEE-can," because that how his mother said it. She had a "rural" "farmer" accent that I'm not sure what the roots are, because she and her parents also grew up in California. She added r's to certain words like "warsh" as well. When us kids brought up how she said pecan, she said that the people who grow pecans get to have the last word on how it's pronounced! The only one that I was really called out on when growing up was "seer-up"--I was the only one of my friends to say it that way. Got it from my mom of course! Water fountain and drinking fountain are pretty interchangeable for me. My mom calls shopping carts "wagons." I'm not sure if that's a regional thing though lol. My dad always made fun of her for it.

[@SalK-LS]

I'm from Victoria, BC, Canada, and I would say "Running Shoes", "Carra-mel", usually "Pee-can" (altho I flip-flop on this one), "Sir-up", "Water Fountain" or "Drinking Fountain", usually "Ofen" (no pronounced T), "Big Rig", "Groh-shery", "Shopping Cart". I've never seen fireflies in real life!

[@antoniocasias5545]

I say often, and I’ve seen fireflies in real life. I’m also a buggy boy. Seer up

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

i don't pronounce the T either, but when spelling it phonetically i would write "offen" because "ofen" may be interpreted as having a long O.

[@KyleeAM]

As an American, calling a pecan a pee-can is a jailable offence.

[@wallykramer7566]

Feli: This was a tremendously interesting video! The different regions pronouncing English words differently is an everyday occurence and usually causes little more than a few seconds of clarification at the worst. But, go to England (or Ireland, etc.) and the differences occur frequently and often cost money. Like when phoning to reserve a Ferry spot costs like £200 more than expected. This was due to saying our vehicle was a "van" but the Brits call it a "people carrier". A people carrier is short (not tall), like an ordinary vehicle; vans are tall to carry workman supplies, etc.

[@robertstepp1072]

Mostly the big truck is called a tractor trailer or an 18-wheeler named after the number of wheels. Both become a semi when they attach a second trailer in the back. So you have the tractor in the front pulling along two boxed shape trailers...

[@ernestworrall367]

Something to think about the farm tractor came before the "semi tractor" and they hauled wagons "trailers" hence the phrase semi truck and trailer when combined. For me a truck has a bed to haul things and the original "semi tractor" did not have a sleeper

[@user-cy3ub1fq3o]

Dear Feli, you had me in stitches. I had a lot of fun listening to everyone (or y'all). God's Blessings, Irish

[@dng2000]

I'm born and raised in San Francisco and I am still living there. The following list is how I say each things that are covered in this video according to how I was taught in school and grew up speaking that way: Tennis Shoes Soda Caramel as "carra-mell" Pajamas as "pa-jommas" You guys or you all (y'all is also sometimes used) Crayons as "cray-ons" Pecan as "PEE-cawn" despite being born/raised/living in the red zone (e.g. Pecan Pralines as "PEE-cawn PRALL-leens") Syrup as "sir-rup" I had to run but will view the rest of this video later when I can. Cheers! :)

[@fieldelements]

That was a fun video, with AGDW.

[@ryanhuff2158]

you have great content. amasing.

[@laszlokristo5383]

Danke sehr, Feli, this has been truly interesting, as always. In fact, the expression "the devil's beating his wife" is found in Hungarian, too (it's pretty common, actually). Let me just note one thing, as a linguist: the term "accent" refers to the way you pronounce words (like in the "cot-cought" case). Choosing between different vocab items (like "soda" vs. "coke") is not a matter of accent. Thanks! :)

[@Kevin_Underhill]

I never really noticed until watching this video, but for the pajamas question I use both depending on the sentence and in particular the age of who owns the pajamas. If its an adult, the a as in father; for a child they are a as in jam.

[@natestefka2379]

I’m from Chicago, I grew up calling them the gym shoes.

[@natashaw401]

Made me happy seeing title type of video

[@joergschmidt584]

In the textile producing areas of Virginia and North Carolina. soft drinks were called dopes. Workers in the cotton mills would buy them from dope wagons, which also dispensed snacks and were wheeled through the plants so the workers did not have to leave their machines.

[@thomash.schwed3662]

As I mentioned in your preview post earlier, I'm originally from Columbus, where we drink pop. However, my dad was from upstate New York and, as a result, he made some important contributions to my personal dialect. For example, "youse" (with a silent "e") is indeed the plural of "you" in everyday small-group discussion. (When speaking publicly, however, I say "you".) Another example is the fact that I pronounce "route" as it's spelled (emphasizing the "out") instead of as "root". Ironically, however, I pronounce "roof" as spelled (emphasizing the "double 'O'") instead of as "ruff" (which is how I pronounce "rough"). And, again perhaps reflecting the Northeastern influence, I pronounce "cot" and "caught" the same way (with the "O" sound). I also pronounce "fought" and "fraught" that same way (with the "O" sound). At the same time, over the years, I've noticed an increasing Canadian influence in my personal dialect as well. There are at least three reasons for this. First, at one point some ancestors on Dad's side of the family were French Canadian. Apparently, they were in Canada long enough that at least traces of the accent have made it into my DNA. (It's noticable enough that, for decades, people have asked me if I'm from Canada.) Secondly, I've lived in Florida twice over the years. And, historically, Florida has had a sizable Canadian population whether year-round or snowbirds. Thirdly, several years ago, I came across some research which indicates that people born on the Eastside of Columbus from and after 1965 have developed what's called the Canadian Shift, which refers to a definite "shift" (thus the name) to a marked Canadian accent. The indication is that, if the trend continues, people in central Ohio will sound more as though they're from Canada than from the Middle West. (Specifically, I am from the Far East Side and was born in the late '70's.) Incidentally, but for the results of the War of 1812-14, Ohio would be one of the largest provinces in Canada today. The history, at least as taught here in the United States, is that the United States won that war. (There are reasons to doubt that claim which would be for another video.) If, though, that's the case, in certain respects Ohio lost that war. At the same time, however, the results of the War of 1812-14 ensured that Ohio was able to make important contributions to victory in the War of the Southern Rebellion (1861-65). Had the earlier conflict ended differently, that would have been a fourth reason for my accent. As to the "traffic circle/roundabout" debate, I come down four square on the "traffic circle" side. However, I use the term derogatorily as I've never liked those things. If transportation authorities seriously want to improve the flow of traffic through busy intersections, they should build interchanges with ramps (colloquially referred to a overpasses). As one final example, I pronounce "grocery" and "groceries" as they're spelled. On the other hand, as I get older I've developed a tendency to refer to the grocery store as a "supermarket", although when referring to the store by name I refer to "Kroger's" due to being from Ohio and the fact that the company actually owns the store where I do most of my shopping where I currently live, albeit the company itself uses a different name. While I'm on the topic, I refer to corner stores or convenient stores as "bodegas", although that again may reflect the New York influence.

[@robertstepp1072]

There is an entire song by the band. Yes, called Roundabout, it's fairly popular in the rock and roll group of people, maybe not the young kids, but anyone older than 30 years old knows this song and can sing it.

[@patbarr1351]

Speaking of progressive rock music, was Jon Anderson of Yes singing about a traffic circle? I know that Annie Haslam of the band Renaissance sang "...even the roundabout's still turning round" on "Trip to the Fair," meaning a carousel.

[@jpecci1262]

south coast Maine and north coast Massachusetts call soda tonic. We even have a TONIC aisle in the grocery store.

[@bobmclaughlin4896]

(Shoes depending on use: ---running shoes, high tops sneakers) (Wash: --- pronounce with an long 'A' or with an R)

[@christopherhernandez3909]

Also “bag” and “sack” are interchangeable but I never heard “sack” growing up shopping in Florida but in the midwest it’s pretty common.

[@mmosbauer]

Great video does show how even though in the US we are speaking English, it can be so different. I especially like that you brought on two Americans now living in Berlin (which is where i lived from 86-89)

[@robertstepp1072]

Hey, shopping cart is what you showed in the picture, a trolley or a buggy is any kind of push along basket that you can push things in and it has four wheels, so generally not a grocery cart, even a child's wagon, some people would call a. Trolley... Buggies are generally enclosed so if it rains the things inside do not get wet.

[@coffeegrinder6319]

I grew up in New Jersey where we had "Traffic Circles". These were very large at the intersection of sometimes 5 highways coming together, and sometimes it took 30 minutes or more to get thru. The small roundabouts at intersections to me are called roundabouts, but I never saw any till I moved away from New Jersey.

[@jwmcdan1131]

I grew up in Louisiana saying tenni shoes with a long e sound at the end. I didn't know it was tennis shoes until I was in my 20s living on the west coast.

[@davegutknecht4032]

From Milwaukee, WI originally. We drink water from a bubbler. Water fountains are landscape displays with moving water.

[@stevenreynolds8393]

I found this interesting and plan to order the book. I'm originally from Western Michigan but have lived in the Cincinnati area since the 1970's I still sometimes get accused of having a Michigan accent. There's a couple word usages I find unique to Cincinnati. First, the use of "please" instead of "what" or "pardon me". I believe this might have its roots from the German use of the word "bitte" brought over by early German settlers to Cincinnati. Second, is the use of the word "mango" for "green peppers". I know mango as a somewhat tropical sweet fruit with a big pit. Not sure how the Cincinnati mango came about. Of course, when I first moved to Cincinnati years ago, I was totally confused in a chili restaurant when I didn't know what a 3/4/5 way was. They were also confused at me,

[@lindawolffkashmir2768]

My Grandma always called green peppers “mangos”.

[@arthurolson8922]

In Massachusetts, sneakers had rubber soles and fabric tops. Also a milk shake with ice cream in it is called a frappe and in Rhode Island it is called a cabinet.

[@alexaales7937]

wait, having lived in NYC for 9 years as a german who loves carbonated water i was taught to order soda as in soda water which does not corroborate with your map, now i am confused. but i always got carbonated water, so i guess it was alright. fun fact, you guys also call carbonated water 'Seltzer' which is a town in Germany that produces - you guessed it - carbonated water :-). being an anglophile wanting to know more about how accents develop I have GOT to get this book! thanks so much, Feli, this was fun and also educating!

[@shananigan3000]

Cincinnatian here…we for sure have many beer drive thrus lol. Carthage, Oakley, Fairmount for instance have some. Cheers!

[@SeijinDinger]

we get the raining while sunny here and I have heard sunshower, granted we also call the rain here liquid sunshine

[@DOMAPOI]

The road engineers call it a "traffic circle" because it is usually put in in areas they want to slow the traffic down at. As there is usually "yield" signs at each entrance to the circle and usually a reduced speed while in the circle. At least that's they way they are here in the "wet" side of San Diego County.

[@GennG]

I live in Oregon and I use the term drinking fountain, which I think is the most common term here, but, we have over 50 bronze ones in downtown Portland known as Benson Bubblers.

[@codarrone1378]

Sneakers for me are a more general category where running shoe is a sneaker with rounded tread on the front and back for running and a tennis(or gym) shoe is a flat bottom sneaker for tennis (or basketball).

[@ShalerLibraryTelevision]

I love your videos! I was wondering if you did a video where you talk about the differences between Munich and Berlin. Just thinking about how in the US, people sometimes "east coast v west coast". LA vs NYC, that kind of thing..I wondered if there was that kind of friendly competition between Munich/Berlin or any other cities in Germany?

[@johnhalverson1133]

Faygo is popular here in Michigan and is called pop. Berry soda is redpop. Besides, pop is more fun to say soda.

[@catw6998]

I’ve seen a book similar to the one that was mentioned and also there was a quiz that based on how you say certain words, it would show the area where you grew up.,this link to that quiz may still be out there. I couldn’t catch a break. I was born and grew up in NY state. After my 1st year in college, family moved to the eastern end of Pa., after 3 years, I joined the Navy and since then been in several states. 6 or 7 years later, mostly settled for over 10 years in Maryland and now WV (over 10 years). I I got the pop, then soda then after quizzical looks from the northern friends and family, I just compromised and called it soda pop. Mostly say you guys, but on occasion, you all. Water fountain. When I hear people say bubblers, I think of those cumbersome jugs that you have to flip upside down to get on to those pedestals. They would make a gurgle or bubbly noise every so often.

[@1calvinfunny1]

Hi Feli, New Jersey here. For me, it's Sneakers, soda, pajamas or PJs, God bless you or Bless you, and once in a while Gesundheit, Cot, and Caught was interesting because Cot is a small portable bed but was not mentioned as such. That was fun to listen to...

[@Dibelchii300]

In Northern Arizona, we would call running/training shoes "tennis shoes" or even shortened to "tennies." Sneakers and kicks would be like flat bottom high tops or low tops.

[@jimgreen5788]

Feli, I'm in northern IL near WI, and I give them the name based on what their use is, such as hiking, basketball, track, gym, etc. The only brand name I use is Skechers. I live in the pop zone; however in recent decades I'm hearing more and more often the term soda being used here. . . . and then, there's the CA city of Carmel pronounced car-MEL. I noticed the Miami area is a sort of pink. Is that due to the strong Spanish influence? Buggy is the British term (I thought).

[@gordonschultz4788]

There's a nice suburb of Indianapolis called Carmel with no emphasis on either syllable..

[@jimgreen5788]

@@gordonschultz4788, hmm! That's a challenge if you don't speak French.

[@ktipuss]

Re "Bananas in Pyjamas" (as it is spelled in the series' country of origin), from its Wikipedia page: "Bananas in Pyjamas is an Australian children's television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since been syndicated in many countries and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the "Pyjamas" in the title was modified to reflect the American spelling pajamas. One other thing to note about their tune: "...are going down the stairs" would sound to Americans like "...are going down the stays" because Australian and British English are "non-Rhotic", i.e. the "R" is often silent.

[@alidaweber1023]

A tractor-trailer or semi can also be called a big rig. It can have even more than 18 wheels, if needed for oversized or special permit loads.

[@lornaduwn]

Where I grew up in south eastern Massachusetts, caramel with 2 syllables was a candy and with 3 syllables was a sauce.

[@T-41]

Fun! (As always) pop, gym shoes, beverage drive thru, you folks, gesundheit

[@stevenrpagano]

When I was in school, my friends from Long Island had a particular accent that pronounced "lawyer" as "lwoo-yeh" or the like -- it was one of those things where each picked on the other about their regional peculiarities. (At the same school, there was the soda/pop wars, with people constantly changing the signs that pointed you to the soda machines.)

[@rebanderson905]

When I was a kid (late 1960s) visiting my Mom's relatives in Massachusetts, they all called soda/pop 'tonic': once, my Mom's cousin's husband asked me if I wanted a "tonic" and I told him I was too young (I was 12) because I thought of the 'tonic water' my parents mixed with gin... but, by the time I went to college in Boston (mid 1970s), I never heard 'tonic' up there

[@frankhiehle187]

In North Carolina there was and still may be a chain of liquor stores called “Brew Thru”.

[@daveking3494]

Sweetend carbonated beverage, we always called a soft drink.

[@ninaradio]

The map says my area (Middle Tennessee) is a coke for everything zone, but I have lived here all my life and have mostly only ever heard older people say that. I think soft drink is way more common now. As for shoes, when I was a kid in the 80s, we used “tennis shoes” a lot, but that’s morphed into more of sneakers or, if you are specifically wanting to wear them for sports or working out, either “athletic shoes” or “(running/basketball/gym) shoes,” referring to the specific use you have in mind.

[@HomeWorkouts_LS]

@17:12 That might be an old map. Im from TX and I grew up saying tennis shoes, but like over 5 years ago I realized everyone has switched to “sneakers”. But I grew up playing tennis haha

[@christinashelby6083]

Yes! Never actually lived near one, but as a kid visiting the Outer Banks in NC, I thought the brew thrus were hilarious.

[@toddm149]

Thanks for this content I found it interesting. Living between Indy and Chicago, I grew up saying tennis shoes and still do sometimes, and sometimes say sneaker or court shoes. My ex was from Wisconsin and converted me from saying drinking fountain to bubbler. Definitely Lightning bugs and yes we collected as kids and put in jars. Growing up all soda pop was a coke, as I got older i've mostly said Soda, sometimes Pop unless I was actually getting a coke.

[@paulpetersen3764]

When I was growing up in the Boston area, fizzy drinks were called Tonic.

[@Windward535]

In Hawaii there are flip flops, regular closed toe shoes aka shoes and hiking shoes, and tabi for steam crossing/fishing, and surfing grooves

[@evelynn-tw2mx]

As someone who grew up roughly near the cities, in Minnesota, I called it "Rainshine"