"Yew tawk fuuuunny..."

I grew up in the South. The deeeeeeeeep South. Now, however, I live in Utah, and people are always surprised when I tell them where I'm from. "You don't have an accent!" they say.

I have a few reasons/excuses. First, when I was younger, I had a lisp. My first few years of elementary school, I went to speech therapy classes to correct it. I think that's a part of the reason.

The other reason is that I was raised by a mother who was the oldest daughter in a military family. As such, her family moved around quite a bit, and she never really developed any sort of accent. (My dad, however, has a strong accent. One of the only people who has a stronger accent that I know, in fact, is his mother, an amazing little Southern fireball of a woman. The long I vowel sound isn't even a part of her repertoire. "Hah!" or "He-low-oo" are her greetings of choice.)

Actually, here's a funny story. One time, years before I was born, my mom was helping out with one of my cousins from my dad's side of the family. He was about two or three years old, and as she was helping get him situated in the back seat of a car they were driving, he looked up at her with a confused look on his face and said, "Yew tawk fuuuuuhnny."

Heh. From the mouths of babes... Er, chillun.

Anyway, it's kind of funny, because I have no trace of accent (though I'll slip into a slight one if I get really excited or am talking to one of the more-prone-to-drawl members of my family), but I definitely subscribe to the Southern dialect.

A friend of mine (from the South, of course) filled out this little survey, and I thought it was fun. So, for your reading enjoyment...

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Creek

2. What is the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Shopping cart. (I know many who call it a buggy, but I never picked up on that one.)

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
Lunch box.

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
A skillet or a fryin' pan.

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Couch

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Gutter

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
Porch

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Coke. Doesn't matter the flavor. "Do you want a Coke?" "Sure." "What kind?" "Sprite."

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancakes

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
A hoagie or a sub.

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Swimming suit

12. Shoes worn for sports.
Tennishoes. (One word.)

13. Putting a room in order.

Straightening up

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
A lightning bug

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Roly poly

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
See-saw

17. How do you eat your pizza?
From point to crust.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
G'rage sale. Even if there's no garage involved.

19. What's the evening meal?
It depends. If the main meal of the day was at noon, then the evening meal is supper. If the main meal of the day is at night, then the evening meal is dinner. The main meal of the day is dinner, though.

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Basement

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Water fountain

22. What do you call the thing with wheels that you put a baby/small child into to take them for walk?
Stroller, though I've always liked the term "pram." Very British. But it's not one that I've adopted.