The ultimate dialect test

[katfco]

I know we've talked about this stuff before, but this dialect test is really interesting. It's also highly accurate. It put me within 28 miles of where I mostly grew up. I'm not sure it could have gotten me much closer, since it's the nearest city to me.

spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/DialectQuizFull/

The full test does have 140 questions, so be prepared. The short test is also good, but not quite as specific, naturally.

[Deleted]

The server is overloaded! Is everyone doing the test?!

[TrudyCampbell]

I tried and the server is down

[kkfeb04]

I wish it would come back.

[katfco]

That happened to me this morning after DH sent me the link.

[Deleted]

The short quiz guess a bunch of different CA cities for me... Which is correct. None are actually close to me but I don't know how specific their list is. I will take the long one after bed time

[katfco]

Sept 13, 2013 18:29:45 GMT -5 @therealmc said:

I took the long one and it put me in NY but I think there are some dead giveaway questions....what do you call underground trains? What is The City referring to?

There are some that are definitely region-specific, but that's partly how they narrow it down. For example, water fountains are only called a "bubbler" in New England. And I've never heard of saying "scat cat" after someone sneezes.

[monkeybabe]

It put me in Reno, NV, or, equally, Roseville, CA, which, language wise, is pretty much dead on. Sacramento, CA, is also in the top 5 and that's the closest city to where I'm from. The other 2 in the top 5 are Oregon, which makes sense. The least similar are East coast and one southern location.

ETA: Roseville is basically Sac, so it's very close.

[monkeybabe]

That test made me google "whipping shitties" btw. Wtaf?

[katfco]

Sept 13, 2013 18:57:13 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

That test made me google "whipping shitties" btw. Wtaf?

I know, there are so many phrases in there that make me seriously side-eye America. We have an odd language.

[DesertMoon]

I did the short one and it was very correct! I grew up near Warren and Detroit

1 Warren MI 63.7
2 Flint MI 61.9
3 Detroit MI 61.4
4 Lansing MI 58.7
5 Grand Rapids MI 58.3

[rjamz]

Thoughts:

1. Who uses "anymore" like that?? That's just improper English (sorry to anyone who uses it)
2. Where do they have drive thru liquor stores? That seems both unsafe but also awesome.
3. This explains why I keep seeing people here write "on accident." It's been driving me insane

It put me in the area I grew up/live

[vthokie]

Pretty close for me. Newark, NJ, then Elizabeth, NJ, then Philly. I grew up 40ish minutes from Philly.

[DesertMoon]

I LOL'd at raining when the sun is shining being called the devil beat his wife

[vthokie]

People down here use things like anymore. It made me cringe every time I saw that phrase come up. And I HATE ON accident. There are a lot of phrases in the south that irk me.

[katfco]

Sept 13, 2013 19:08:03 GMT -5 rjamz said:

Thoughts:

1. Who uses "anymore" like that?? That's just improper English (sorry to anyone who uses it)
2. Where do they have drive thru liquor stores? That seems both unsafe but also awesome.
3. This explains why I keep seeing people here write "on accident." It's been driving me insane

It put me in the area I grew up/live

Drive-thru liquor stores here in Columbus. They look like (and could be) old car washes that were just converted.

Here, a lot of people use the word "whenever" in place of "when," and it drives me batty. For example,  a friend of mine said, "Whenever I was in college," as if she was "In college" several times and something happened each time. I thought it was just her, but then I notice a lot of people around here say it. 

DH is from Iowa, and his family uses the phrase "get it gone," to describe using something up.

[breezy8407]

Sept 13, 2013 19:03:06 GMT -5 katfco said:

Sept 13, 2013 18:57:13 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

That test made me google "whipping shitties" btw. Wtaf?

I know, there are so many phrases in there that make me seriously side-eye America. We have an odd language.

Guilty. We used to "whip shitties" in high school all the time. 

Now I want to take the quiz!

[monkeybabe]

Who says "doing cookies", btw? Patsy says cookies, and BD (from NY) and I (CA) say donuts (because duh, hole in the middle) and thought he was a moron, but apparently it's a thing.

[creamsiclechica]

I didn't take the test yet, but Kentucky definitely has drive through liquor stores, haha.

[lauranicole91]

Has anyone gotten the quiz to work on their phone? It won't let me hit begin. I'll probably get on the laptop when the child goes to bed.

[tuck]

I did the short test the other night and got a hotspot right around my town in Mississippi, a bigger spot right where my mom and grandma are from in Illinois, and a suspicious spot in Minneapolis. My sister moved there a few years ago, and a ton of my friends I used to skype with are in Minnesota.

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2013 18:38:08 GMT -5 katfco said:

Sept 13, 2013 18:29:45 GMT -5 @therealmc said:

I took the long one and it put me in NY but I think there are some dead giveaway questions....what do you call underground trains? What is The City referring to?

There are some that are definitely region-specific, but that's partly how they narrow it down. For example, water fountains are only called a "bubbler" in New England. And I've never heard of saying "scat cat" after someone sneezes.

We say scat rabbit. Lol

[monkeybabe]

My map:

Judging by the colors, I'd say it was spot on.

[lolaburns]

South Louisiana has drive through daquiri places. I miss that.
Boo! The server is broken every time I try.

[tuck]

The short test was much, much more accurate for me than the long test.

[jaime183]

i'm working on it but it's taking forever for each question to load! I'm really curious since I was born and raised in PA then spent 5 years in CO then 5 here in OR

[greenkitty98]

Sept 13, 2013 18:38:08 GMT -5 katfco said:

Sept 13, 2013 18:29:45 GMT -5 @therealmc said:

I took the long one and it put me in NY but I think there are some dead giveaway questions....what do you call underground trains? What is The City referring to?

There are some that are definitely region-specific, but that's partly how they narrow it down. For example, water fountains are only called a "bubbler" in New England. And I've never heard of saying "scat cat" after someone sneezes.

And WI.

[lolaburns]

The short test worked!

It came up red in South Louisiana and the NYC area was orange. Haha! very cool!

[AndyCohen]

Wow, they nailed it!

1 Buffalo NY 60.3
2 Rochester NY 59.9
3 Syracuse NY 59.8
4 Yonkers NY 58.7
5 Naperville IL 58.3

[katfco]

Sept 14, 2013 5:08:20 GMT -5 @therealmc said:

Sept 13, 2013 18:38:08 GMT -5 katfco said:

There are some that are definitely region-specific, but that's partly how they narrow it down. For example, water fountains are only called a "bubbler" in New England. And I've never heard of saying "scat cat" after someone sneezes.

I get what they are trying to do but I still feel that some questions are FAR too specific.  I mean, who but anyone from the New England region is going to the call the subway the T, or is anyone else in the country beside North Westerners going to call it the BART.  Same with The City...if you identify the city as Boston, or New York or Chicago, many many of the other questions are completely irrelevant since it is pretty obvious where you grew up.

True, although I grew up calling it the T, but now that I don't live there anymore, I say subway. I also say y'all on occasion, so enough of those can skew results. But yeah, some of them are dead giveaways.