The semantics discussion in the scales/covers/handles/etc. thread (which I've enjoyed following) reminded me of this regional dialect quiz I came across a while back, and I thought some of y'all might enjoy it.
Here's the link to the quiz.
...
I'll also say that some of the multiple choice answers are quite funny, particularly if you get the question "What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?"
Thanks for the link, Barrett. I remember this quiz "going viral" about 4 years ago (did we say things went viral in 2013?), but I'm amazed that the scales/cover thread triggered the connection, and maybe even more amazed that you could find a link to it!
As so many have reported, the quiz has always been right on the money for me, even when I respond differently to questions for which I think there are two accurate responses; Grand Rapids MI, in or near which I've lived for 55 of my 65 years, always comes up as one of my cities (as does Detroit, but that's probably because of devil's night for Halloween Eve, and stories about the fires in Detroit on that night have always been big across all of Michigan). I'm surprised that the distinctive answer for Grand Rapids comes out to be "drinking fountain" or "pop".
Very cool quiz! It was surprisingly accurate, putting me in Texas (with a lot of red in Pennsylvania - where my family is from)
This could lead to a number of discussions, like: How would the words "caught" and "cot" possibly sound different?
...
This made me chuckle, Rachel. It was the question that was the most distinctive for my 3 listed cities because I answered different.
Gotta agree with dannyp here, r8shell. I was trying to figure out what pronunciation people used if "caught" and "cot" sound alike!
I've never noticed anything other than "caught" = KAWT and "cot" = KAHT.
When I first took this, I was expecting a large patch of red across the South. We're weird down here. I would be lost anywhere else, I guess. I'd really like to go to Maine, though, just to see how that would turn out!...
Apparently I should agree with your assessment of your uniqueness, Shawn!
My results show strong affinity for Michigan, and quite strong similarity to regions bordering the Great Lakes (and to Iowa??). My three bluest regions appeared to be around Boston, Philadelphia/NJ, and NOLA!!
...
When I was 11 we moved from Ohio to Central NY. We would spend a few weeks in Pittsburgh every summer and my NY friends would swear I'd come back home with an accent, after just two or three weeks away.
...
This is an issue that fascinates me, Gary. I wonder if picking up an accent is related to personality traits. One of my younger brothers, who has lived in El Paso TX, Riudoso and Albuquerque NM ever since he finished vet school about 40 years ago, quickly picked up a "Southwestern" accent soon after moving there. I lived in central Indiana for 10 years, and although it's still the Midwest, I thought they "talked funny" there; my accent was unaffected by my time living among the Hoosiers. My brother is a "people person" and has always cared what others thought of him; I'm much less outgoing, and have never really been very concerned about what other folks thought about me. Coincidence, or Grand Design???
- GT