The epic linguistic map came up in conversation at work today, so today is one of those days to regularly to pause and spend some time admiring this map of North American English dialects by Rick Aschmann:
@alan it's impressive, but woefully incomplete IMHO - I can think of at least five different dialects just along the I-5 corridor alone, from Chicano English and the modified Valleyspeak (which I mentally call the "skater's dialect") of Humboldt County and the Emerald Triangle to the Portland dialect's fronted vowels and the flat, country radio-informed pseudo-twang of lumber town natives. It's silly to paint everything west of Denver as one huge blob of homogeneity with a few small enclaves!
@philsplace@alan Yes, the Midwest USA is a mythical place. Just like 'heartland' is. And thinking about it, the media uses the names like they are mythical lands where God, Apple Pie, and the American Dream live amongst white people that live miles apart or in tiny towns where Hallmark Christmas movies are made.
@alan there's like 5 in my state which sounds right
We have 3 area codes and I can usually guess the area code someone grew up in depending on how they say "I left my jar of mayonnaise on the roof and now I'll have to wash it"
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