Yet another useless test: the Yankee Test. Claims to be able to identify where you’re from based on relation to the Mason-Dixon line, which traditionally separates the Northern United States (the Yankees) from the Southern United States (.
My result?
58% (Dixie). Right on the Mason-Dixon Line
Some terms I had never heard of until I was an adult, like “frontage road” which I’ve only ever referred to since I’ve been out West. Considering that the Mason-Dixon line historically divided Pennsylvania from Maryland, and I’m from Maryland, I’d say it’s pretty accurate!
Maryland has traditionally been quite ambiguous regarding whether it’s a Southern or a Northern state. Culturally, it is Southern. Sympathetically, it’s Northern. In order to ensure that Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, would not be the Union capital surrounded by Confederate states, during the Civil War (a.k.a. “The War of Northern Aggression”) a brigade was sent from Boston to keep the peace and ensure that Maryland was Union… despite it actually being south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Nevertheless, several Confederate regiments were formed within the state, notably from Baltimore, and they fought on behalf of the Confederacy.
Isn’t it funny how, in this age of the Internet and television, we still preserve some unique geographically-based linguistic patterns?
Heh..
61%..
Of course.. lived 8 total years in VA and 2 in GA, not to mentin like 10 in MD, but my first many in CA and AZ..
Hmm..
Right on
48%, which is probably within 5 feet of where I actually live today (mid-state PA). Looks like I’m missing out on some fun words. (Y’all want some crawdads on yer po-boys?)
48%
So how many of you actually say, “You all?” I say, “You guys.” We have a couple neighbors from Texas who have only lived here a couple years. They were all hanging out on their porch one hot summer evening and so I wandered over and said, “How are you guys doing?” As it turned out they were discussing the word “guys” and how they hate that it’s used with women so regularly here in Utah.
And those bugs that roll up…I’m from Idaho so we call them potato bugs. Around here people call them rollie pollie’s. But as we discovred this year, they’re a grub and they’re bad news, so we like them best dead.–
Christy
Rollie Pollies
The trouble with calling rollie pollis potato bugs is that they aren’t potato bugs at all…
This is a potato bug: http://www.potatobugs.com/ A rollie pollie bug is actually a pill bug: http://www.purviance.com/photos/bugs/pillbug1.htm
As for “you guys”… I’m more bugged by “You guyses” as in, “Can we come over to you guyses house?” Can you just not say the word “your”? “Can we come over to your house?”
44% (Yankee)
I’m a Yankee, despite having lived beneath the Mason-Dixon line most of my life.
— Ben
hmmph
48% (Yankee). Barely in the Yankee category.
Who knew?