118 replies to this topic

[OldManRay]

wagtail said:

Dag is also slang for 'dorkish' behaviour. As in , "you're such a dag!"

Interesting.  The other meaning I was going to give was for someone who was good for a laugh ("Trev's a bit of a dag, eh?"), rather than dorky.

wagtail said:

['sux' is funnier though]

Instead of "six"?  

wagtail said:

Apparently I have a north-eastern accent as well, which is ridiculous because there is no way I sound anything like Ray....NO WAY!

But...

wagtail said:

South Australians have the most distinctive accents amongst Australians, and we get teased for it by the convict states.  We say our L sounds a bit differently, as well as out vowel sounds.  Most obviously is something like the name Grant..we say it more like Gr-ah-nt, and on the east coast people say it in a way that makes them sound like Americans to us.  Other words we get most teased about  are: castle, photograph, dance etc

In other words, you speak English like Kiwis do! (Fush and chups excepted, perhaps.)

[trix]

Rebekah, are there any famous Australians that have an SA accent? I have a hard enough time telling what country people are from, I suppose its a bit ambitious to start trying to identify regional accents, but I'm curious none the less.

[trix]

Thinking back on the quiz, there weren't any real questions about the 'R' sound, which is what I think distinguishes the the North American accent from many others. And is why I spent nearly a year thinking there was a rugby player called Ritchie McCaw after I moved here.

[In the Corner]

Corpus said:

That's not ugly!  What's wrong with a Texas accent?  I like your accent.  You have one.  It's obvious.  It's Texas.

yeeeeee-haw!  *smooch*

[Driver Nate]

Mary said:

That "bubbler" stuff seems to be pretty localized, which is kind of funny...I do wonder how that got started.

My Rhode Island co-worker said it came from the bubbling noise the tank makes when you're pouring a cup of water.

Mary said:

There was a thing on WI Public Television last year about a professor from Madison doing a linguistics study of the state, and I'll never forget this part--he said he was making a special effort to go "up north" to record samples of speech patterns.  And the host asked him, "Oh, where are you headed?" and the professor responded, "Eau Claire."  

Dude--Eau Claire is three hours south of here.  He wasn't even hitting the tip of the iceberg!  ;)

PBS airs a special from time to time called North Carolina Voices that examines the many dialects in the state and not just the usual ones like the coastal and mountain dialects, they cover the Lumbee and Cherokee indians as well.

[OldManRay]

trix said:

Thinking back on the quiz, there weren't any real questions about the 'R' sound, which is what I think distinguishes the the North American accent from many others. And is why I spent nearly a year thinking there was a rugby player called Ritchie McCaw after I moved here.

I was thinking that too.  We tend not to say r's very strongly - my last name if pretty common, but it ends with r and I still have to spell it for people most of the time.  The only time I was ever mistaken for an American by an American was when a guy guessed I was from Boston, which I assumed was because they don't have strong r's either (although now it seems we have more in common with the NE US accent than I realised).

[wagtail]

OldManRay said:

Interesting.  The other meaning I was going to give was for someone who was good for a laugh ("Trev's a bit of a dag, eh?"), rather than dorky.

Oh yeah, it means that too, it's all about the inflection, I guess.  Although, I'd probably say "Trev's a bit of a funny bugger, eh?", means the same thing though.  

OldManRay said:

Instead of "six"?

um..yeah. sux. *laughs*

OldManRay said:

In other words, you speak English like Kiwis do! (Fush and chups excepted, perhaps.)

NOOOoooooooooooooooooooo!!!

trix said:

Rebekah, are there any famous Australians that have an SA accent? I have a hard enough time telling what country people are from, I suppose its a bit ambitious to start trying to identify regional accents, but I'm curious none the less.

No, famous South Aussies that I can think of.  I often think Geoffrey Rush sounds like a South Australian, but he's from Melbourne.  The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, is South Australian, but he is famous for having  a very strange accent and I blame him for some of the negative comments we get.  I once asked my Mum how Alex ended up with an accent like that, she insists the guy's an alien [truth is he comes from the 'South Australian aristocracy' that is more British than Aussie].  Our State Premier, Mike Rann also has a weird pompous accent like Alex, but he came here via NZ and the UK, so he's a weird mix.  I'll try and think of a South Aussie that sounds like the rest of us, but for someone outside Australia I think it would be a pretty subtle and hard to notice, difference.  Ray, did you ever notice the difference in your travels here?

[bizaleth]

Driver Nate said:

My Rhode Island co-worker said it came from the bubbling noise the tank makes when you're pouring a cup of water.

When we talk about a Bubbler we are talking about a drinking fountain not a water cooler.

A-ha -- according to the Wikipediait IS a specific brand of drinking fountain made by Kohler

And the historyof the Bubbler

Definition from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

[Sam]

Calling a drinking/water fountain a "bubbler" is the dumbest thing about the state of Wisconsin.  There is no debate about this.

Close second?  I was in college for about 3 months hearing all of the Wisconsin kids calling ATM's "time machines".  It seemed so unbelievably lame.  Like they thought ATM technology was something from the future.  But then I learned that they actually meant "Tyme Machine" because that was the brand of ATM commonly used.  Whatever.  If someone didn't know that, its one of the most retarted sounding things ever.  

Except for bubbler.

And don't even get me started on "Duck Duck Goose".  Ugh.

Whatever.  Northern Minnesota accent is pretty funny (and waaaaaaay different from the Twin Cities).  Fargo wasn't that far off where those folks are considered.

[wagtail]

Sam said:

And don't even get me started on "Duck Duck Goose".  Ugh.

Sorry, but "Duck Duck Goose"....ya gotta explain that...I know, you said not to get you started but...wtf?

[Tuatara Taupo]

Ah, the Fargo accent is really precious. You betcha!

[trix]

wagtail said:

Sorry, but "Duck Duck Goose"....ya gotta explain that...I know, you said not to get you started but...wtf?

OK, maybe this is not what Sam was referring to but there is a game for small children called duck-duck-goose where everyone sits in a circle, and one person walks around the outside of the circle tapping people on the head saying duck, duck, duck . . .  when they say goose, the person sitting must leap up and chase the first person around the circle back to the space they vacated--if they win they get to sit back down again, otherwise they become the person walking around the circle.  It is a simple, silly game, but you only play it when you're 3 or 4 years old . . .

[NearWildHeather]

wagtail said:

Sorry, but "Duck Duck Goose"....ya gotta explain that...I know, you said not to get you started but...wtf?

Er, I presume ol' Sam is in bed, but as far as I know, Duck Duck Goose is a game played by small children. One kid walks around a circle of seated children, touching each on the head and uttering, 'Duck.' Eventually, the child says 'Goose' instead of 'Duck', and the child whose head is touched at that time must get up and chase the toucher down before they make it round the circle and back to the then-empty seat. If they don't they are then the toucher. I presume Sam is referring to the way Wisconsinians pronounce the words 'duck' and 'goose'...?

You (American) guys are not gonna believe this, but a driver just came in and brought me food, and I laughed about having to explain Duck Duck Goose to someone, and...he just stared at me blankly and asked what I was talking about! He's not a foreigner! WTFF?!?!??

Reminds me of the 'gift horse' thing years ago...is Murmurs boring enough yet? Y'all? :rolleyes:


EDIT: Oh, fuck. Someone else already 'splained. D'oh.

[bizaleth]

Sam said:

Calling a drinking/water fountain a "bubbler" is the dumbest thing about the state of Wisconsin.  There is no debate about this.

There are only pockets of people who call it a bubbler. The rest of us know better.

Quote

Close second?  I was in college for about 3 months hearing all of the Wisconsin kids calling ATM's "time machines".  It seemed so unbelievably lame.  Like they thought ATM technology was something from the future.  But then I learned that they actually meant "Tyme Machine" because that was the brand of ATM commonly used.  Whatever.  If someone didn't know that, its one of the most retarted sounding things ever.  

I thought that was strange, too, but I got used to it. Even though I don't think I ever called it a Tyme Machine.

Quote

And don't even get me started on "Duck Duck Goose".  Ugh.

Duck Duck Gray Duck is retarded. Re-tar-ded. Freaks.

Quote

Northern Minnesota accent is pretty funny (and waaaaaaay different from the Twin Cities).  Fargo wasn't that far off where those folks are considered.

I try to tell people it would be difficult to find a Fargo-like accent in the Twin Cities, but no one seems to believe me.

[Sam]

bizaleth said:

I thought that was strange, too, but I got used to it. Even though I don't think I ever called it a Tyme Machine.

Hey, we have found another thing we both agree on.  On principle, I flatly refuse to ever use that phrase.  Too dumb.

So, what is that now?  Two things we agree on in the last six years?!?!?!  Pretty freaking fantastic.

FYI, "Duck Duck Goose" as a bastardization of the classic children's game we grew up playing named "Duck Duck Grey-Duck".  Little kids sitting in a cirlce, one kid is "it" and goes around saying "duck duck duck" and tapping everyone on the head, but when they designate someone as the "Grey Duck", the Grey Duck has to jump up and tag the person before they run around the circle and steal their spot.  

I believe that certain places have had to dumb it down from the sophisticated Minnesota version to simply "Duck Duck Goose".  The lesson?  Once again, Minnesotans are gifted.

[bizaleth]

Sam said:

Hey, we have found another thing we both agree on.  On principle, I flatly refuse to ever use that phrase.  Too dumb.

So, what is that now?  Two things we agree on in the last six years?!?!?!  Pretty freaking fantastic.

You know what. I may have used it around non-Wisconsinites just to see their reaction. I used to talk about fried curds, too, just to see the looks on people's faces.

No comment on Duck Duck Gray Duck? Sam, what kid of Minnesotan are you? Ah, I see you added it later.

Duck Duck Gray Duck = Idiotic. Seriously. Gray Duck? What the fuck? But there are pockets of Duck Duck Gray Duck players in Wisconsin -- and not even in border towns. I had a coworker from Amherst (not far from Stevens Point) who played Duck Duck Gray Duck as a kid. Weird.

[Sam]

bizaleth said:

You know what. I may have used it around non-Wisconsinites just to see their reaction. I used to talk about fried curds, too, just to see the looks on people's faces.

No comment on Duck Duck Gray Duck? Sam, what kid of Minnesotan are you?

See my edit.

[bizaleth]

Saw it and commented on it. Weirdo.

[Wingnut]

I never heard of Duck Duck Gray Duck. Out here it is Duck Duck Goose. How widespread is this particular particular insanity? I hope it can be contained, I don't want my children to grow up in a Duck Duck Gray Duck world.

[bizaleth]

It is pretty much contained to Minnesota with a few pockets here and there.

See Gray Duck Central.