Being that I have lived in four different geographic regions in my life (midwest, southwest, south, and northwest) I'm pretty fascinated by cultural differences. I feel like a strange hybrid, myself, with no particular regional accent or ties (my family is from everywhere!), but I think it endlessly interesting to pick out the differences in how people speak, act, and especially the colloquialisms they use.
Family reunions are entertaining for just this reason: I find it funny the way my Chicago cousin pronounces the word milk ("melk"); the way my New York cousin pronounces the words "Mary, merry and marry" three distinct ways; the way my Wisconsin family croons, "yah -- oh-kaaay!"; or the way my South Carolinian family sounds with their slow drawl.
Tanner is from the deep south, so when we first started dating, a lot of our phone conversations sounded a lot like this:
Me: "Ok, pronounce the word 'w-h-i-t-e."
Him: "Whaa-yt."
Me: "And what do you call it when it rains and the sun's shining?"
Him: "The Devil beating his wife."
Me: "How do you say s-a-l-m-o-n?"
Him: "Sal-man."
Me: "And p-e-n?"
Him: "Pin."
Me: "But then, how do you pronounce 'p-i-n'?"
Him: "Pin."
Me: "That's the same word, Tanner."
Him: "No, 'pin' and 'pin.' Totally different."
I thought it cute how he said funny things like "that dog just ain' gonna hunt", or "down the road a piece", or often, just "y'all" or "ma'am." Now that we're in the northwest, these differences are much more apparent. He's the easily recognized southerner in a region outside his own.
As we live here longer and longer, we're noticing little things that are quite different from the southern culture we both grew up with. Northern people are brusquer, timelier, need things done quick, fast, and in a hurry. There's no slow and friendly, "how's your family?" talk at the counter, but just an expectation to complete the encounter in a speedy fashion. "Southern Hospitality" is not a myth but a way of life in the south, and I'm finding that I took it for granted, and now I miss it.
I also find it interesting that I had a vision of a diverse and unique people in Portland, but it's immediate apparent to me that there's much less diversity in nationality and ethnicity -- at least in Oregon -- and that the uniqueness stems, instead, from people expressing themselves differently in their dress, appearance, and behavior. It's rather fascinating, and certainly leads to great people-watching. I'm not opposed to either way of life, but it certainly does take some getting used to if you've only known one way. I feel like I'm going through a bit of culture shock.
Back to the topic of colloquialisms, an interesting regional name that gets everyone heated up is the correct label for a carbonated beverage. Depending on where you live, it might be a "pop", "soda", or "coke." I have never been able to figure out where the dividing lines are between these regional subtleties: when I lived in Oklahoma I grew up calling it "pop", but once I moved to North Carolina I got odd looks when I called it such -- a pop was a punch in the face, not a soft drink. By the time I got used to calling it "soda", I moved to Oregon and it was back to "pop" again. Tanner, on the other hand, has been calling it "coke" his entire life.
In the end, I guess it's a good thing I don't drink the stuff.
I did stumble across a cool map the other day that puts to rest my confusion about regional boundaries. After research gleaned from across the US, a map of states and counties was compiled to show where each name was said the most frequently. If you click on the map you can click on each state and see it broken down by county. Interesting!
What "culture shock" moments have you had in your life?
