Conference thebay::joyoflex

    A regionalism that I like is the southwestern Pennsylvania
    plural form of "you" -- it is pronounced "YOONZ" with the "oo"
    as in "good."  I think it is only spoken, not written, so there
    is no spelling for it.  Maybe "you'nes" from "you ones"?
    
    It helps the listeners to know that they are all included, as
    opposed to "you" which might have only been directed to one person.
    
    Dan

Cincinnatians often say "Please?" to mean "What?" (i.e., "I didn't
hear you. What did you say? Could you repeat?")

When my wife attended Ohio State, several people said "Oh, you
must be from Cincinnati" [which she was] when she said "Please?"

"Jeezum Crow!" exclaimed the native Vermonter.

Larry

    I get lambasted a lot for "Hey, guys, how about . . . " when
    addressing a group that includes only women.
    
    See, "guys" is gender-neutral in Montana, and . . . 
    
    --bonnie

    re .1
    
    In Chicago, it's "yous".
    
    Spd

    Here in Mass. we have 'I could care less'
    
    	which means, of course, that the person does not care at all.
    
    A mother might say to a naughty child 'PUT THAT UP'
    
    	which means she wants them to put something down that they're
    	playing with and shouldn't be.

	re .4
    
>   I get lambasted a lot for "Hey, guys, how about . . . " when
>   addressing a group that includes only women.
    
    Well, I was on a course in Newbury, England yesterday, and our (very
    English) lady facilitator welcomed the (mixed) company with "Welcome back,
    you guys, now today ..." One of the ladies remarked "what about us!!!"
    in a slightly hurt tone of voice, and the facilitator had to explain
    that she intended them to be included in the greeting too.
    
    My guess is that an EnglishMAN wouldn't (dare!) use that phrase
    in that situation, and the facilitator (probably) wouldn't use it
    with an all-women audience - I must ask her...
    
    But ... why should "guys" be gender-neutral? Why not "gals"? Or
    am I being disingenuous again ... :-)
    
    -- brian

    re: .7
    
    By gender-neutral I meant that "guys" was the term of choice for a
    group of acquaintances whose gender was not, at the moment,
    relevant. Examples would include classmates (where you have
    presumably developed a certain amount of camaraderie based on the
    common task of learning the subject), coworkers, and the like.
    
    Does that answer your question?  I'm not quite sure what you
    wanted to know.
    
    --bonnie

    re .7
    
    "Guys and Gals" sounds like something the singer in a cocktail lounge
    would say.  What's wrong with "guys" being gender neutral.  Here
    in Chicago, "yous guys" refers to both men and women (boys and girls,
    moms and dads...).  It's about time we had some gender neutral slang
    around here!
    
    Spd

    Well I've lived on the east coast all my life and use 'guys'
    the same way bonnie does, for groups of people regardless of
    gender. I always refer to my children (3 m 2 f) as guys.
    
    Bonnie J

    I've always used "guys" as gender-neutral, used not only with
    mixed groups, but with women-only groups as well.
    
    Why "guys" as a gender-neutral term and not "gals". Well, "guy"
    isn't as obviously gender-specific as "gal" is. "Gal" is a
    corruption of "girl", but "guy"?
    
    re: "I could care less"
    
    Actually, the original version of that is "I *couldn't* care less."
    I assume the contraction was dropped to make it sound sarcastic.
    
    --- jerry

    Re .7: "Facilitator"? I haven't come across this perversion of the
    English language before - there must be another word, but it escapes
    me at this time in the morning ...

    The thought that crossed my mind on first reading bonnie's
    remarks in .4 was that "guy" might originally have been male
    gender, and over the years the use of the word might have been
    extended. But, if so, what process of linguistic evolution has
    caused the male gender word to be selected? I couldn't think of an
    example of the reverse process - a female gender word becoming
    acceptable as applying to men, too. Hence the comment about
    "gals".
    
    I take the point about using the word according to the situation, though.
    You wouldn't refer to a lady in the singular as "a nice guy" - or
    call her that to her face - or would you? (Please tell me - I visit
    the USA occasionally, and would like to get the conventions right
    - or at least be warned, as a non - native - to steer clear of
    using the word!) 

    There is/was a related process taking place in the language - that
    of removing sexist words, most of which seem to be male. For
    example, the use of "chairman" seems to have evolved through
    "Madam Chairman" (ugh!) to "chairperson" in deference to this
    trend. The trouble is that "chairperson" now seems to be used for
    a lady, "chairman" for a man - which seems to defeat the object of
    the exercise. 

    Facilitator? It's in the shorter OED Richard. (But I have to admit
    you had me worried there for a moment...)

    -- brian

    There was a time I would have referred to a female chum as a nice
    guy.  
    
    But not since I found out it offends a lot of people.
    
    I'm not sure of the derivation of "guy."  (The Webster's New
    Collegiate on my shelf contradicts the unabridged Webster's New
    International in our department.) 
    
    I suspect there may be a dual derivation of a similar word,
    though. There's a "guy" that refers to a wire or brace that holds
    things in place (for instance, a guy wire) or keeps them in line.
    This "guy" derives from a Dutch word. 
    
    The connotations of "a guy" or "the guys" when I was growing up
    were very much "one of the guys," one of a group of people who
    share goals and a common outlook on life.  I have sometimes found
    it offensive in its assumption that there are no boat rockers in
    OUR group, thank you. 
    
    The other "guy" derives from British slang for "fellow" that is
    derived from Guy Fawkes, but the area I grew up in was decidedly
    NOT British in ancestry.  It's predominantly Dutch, Scandanavian,
    and German. 
    
    I was under the impression that "facilitate" and the related
    "facilitator" were coined in the the sixteenth or seventeenth
    century.  I think it referred to a church office created as part
    of some kind of reform -- "You're fed up with the bureaucracy and
    all the graft and bribes you have to pay to get things done?  All
    right, we'll create this office to make things easier for you, and
    then you'll only have to pay one bribe." 
        
    I'll look it up when I get home and see if I can find something
    about it.
    
    --bonnie

    I have a few phrases that apparently are not the norm in Massachusetts
    (given the looks that my wife gives me when I use them):
    
    "Is the pie all"? - means "is the pie all gone?"
    
    "Is that all the bigger it is?" - meaning "I am surprised that it is
                                      so small"

    "These ones" - used when I should probably just say "these" 

    I grew up in Southern Central Pennsylvania (Lancaster county) and probably
    picked these phrases up there.

    The most confusing Massachussetts regionalism I have heard is 
    "So don't I" meaning the apparent opposite "So do I", as in:
       A: I have a cold
       B: So don't I

"You want a coke?  What kind?"  (Note lower case "c")  This asks if
you want a 7up or Dr Pepper, etc...

Also, pop isn't your dad, and soda is water with bubbles in it.
Not out east here.  Milk shakes have ice cream in them and frappes
haven't been heard of!

Not much is wicked either...

Charlie

    When I was a small child we lived in east central Penn and my mother
    collected a few expressions similar to those mentioned in .15.
    Two that I remember are "my off is all" - meaning my vacation is
    over, and 'raise the window down' -shut the window.
    
    Bonnie

Americans use the word "really" in a funny way.   I haven't managed to pin down 
what they mean by it.

Someone will tell someone a joke or a story and someone else will reply:

"Really."

But this is *not* sarcastic, it seems to me.   Nor is it a question.   Nor is
it amazed and wondering.   It's more deadpan.   Do you know what I mean?

What are they trying to say?   Is it just "Yes" ?


Confused
of Great Britain

    Re: .18:
    
    In mainstream American English, "really" is synomymous  with "Is
    that so?"  This is a rhetorical question, meant just to acknowledge
    that the speaker's statement registered neutrally, or with mild
    surprise, on the listener. If spoken with exclamation ("Really!")
    it expresses disapproval. If spoken as a question ("Really?") it
    expresses incredulity. 
    

    I've taken the deadpan "Really" to mean little more than "Ain't it the
truth!" or "You're right about that".  I think this is a fairly recent slang
development (maybe 10 - 20 years?) and I associate it most closely with
gum-chewing young teen-age girls.   In a pack.  At a shopping mall.

re: .18

I think "really" in that case only means "I've heard you."  It's like
when you're talking to a Japanese -- every few words or so they say
something like "huy" which is a word that means "yes" in Japanese.  But
in that situation it doesn't mean "yes" they just do it to signify 
they're listening.  It's caused a LOT of problems between Japanese and 
westerners.
					>>>==>PStJTT

    Re: .20  deadpan "Really."
    
    > ...  I think this is a fairly recent slang development (maybe 10 - 20 
    years?) and I associate it most closely with gum-chewing young teen-age 
    girls.   In a pack.  At a shopping mall.
    
    I have a 30-year-old son who uses the expression in normal conversation
    on a regular basis.  It used to unnerve me at first because it gave me
    the impression that he was listening to my comments with a bid of
    boredom.  But as other notes have indicated, it apparently is just the
    in-word for indicating that, "Yes, I'm listening and don't disagree
    with you."  Other such interjections could be: "Oh sure."  "That's
    right."  "OK."  "Yup." "Yah."  "No kidding." etc. ...all with the same
    deadpan, lifeless expression.

    Well, I do try to put some expression in it!
    
    But all it means is "Yes, I'm listening, go on."  
    
    --bonnie

    
    
    RE: Really
    
     The word really, along with many other words, depends on the
    infliction used when saying it. 
    
    I could say 'really' with the accent on the R and it would come
    out like a question. r'eally?
    EX: "Really, are you sure?"
    
     Or, I could say 'really' with no accent on the word and
    it would come out like a statement, meaning you agree.
    EX "You really mean that"

    Or, I could say 'really' with the accent on the whole word and in
    a down voice and it would come out like a disappointment.
    EX. "You really don't mean that"
    

    
    I've also heard "really" drawn out to mean "Totally, unbelievably,"
    as in, "I'm reeaaallly annoyed!"
    
    My friend from Minneapolis is always looking for a "bubbler" (water
    fountain), and another friend from Jersey frequently asks me to
    "shut the light" (turn the light off).
    
    Perry
    

    
    	A family I knew who came from the North Dakota region used to
    	"outen the lights".
    
    	Joe Oppelt

 re .24
>         The word really, along with many other words, depends on the
>    infliction used when saying it. 

    That's true, some people have such a strong accent that their
    voice inflexions are a real pain !
    
    	roger

    Really means something totally different when preceded by the word,
    like.
    
    Spd

    I remember a couple of interesting expressions used by my Grandparents
    in south western England
    
    Put wood in 'ole!         (Shut the door!)
    
    Wash your dial.           (Wash your face.)
    
    stuart

    Put t'wood in 'ole (note the t'wood) is also used in Lancashire/Yorkshire.

    Re: Lancaster County, PA - 
    
    There are whole books of Pennsylvania D[e]utchisms, which are English
    sentences based on German construction.
    
    My favorite is "throw the cow over the fence some hay".
    
    Bruce (my wife's family is from Red Lion, which is actually York
    County, but who's counting)

	Re: .31 by REGENT::EPSTEIN 

	Red Lion is *actually* the name of every sixth pub 
	in southern England.  But, as you say, who's counting?
	
	Jim

    Re:.4
    
    > I get lambasted a lot for "Hey, guys, how about . . . " when
    > addressing a group that includes only women.
    
    After living in Texas for quite some time now, I have changed from
    "you guys" ( from California ) to "y'all".  I get pounded for
    this, especially when talking to some of my friends in California
    ( one at a time).  I'll make a remark like "Where have y'all
    been?" ( myself and one other present ) and this poor soul looks
    around for the rest of "y'all", right before making my life
    miserable with snide commentary. 
    
    duane

    re: .32
    
    Yes, but how many towns do you have in the UK named after pubs?
    Red Lion, PA is indeed named for the Red Lion pub built there in
    the late 18th century...
    
    Bruce
    
    P.S. Hi, Jim!

    > Yes, but how many towns do you have in the UK named after pubs?
    
    Quite a few!  London, after the "London Apprentice",  York, after
    the "Duke of York",  and Dorchester, after the Dorchester Hotel.
    
    :-) :-) :-)
    
    Jeff.

    In Seattle we hear a lot of the Canadian "ey" which rhymes with
    hay and is used as a sort of verbal punctuation, as in: "Throw the
    cheese, ey?" and "I'm going to play hockey, ey."  I don't know if
    this is strictly a B.C. invention or not. 
    
    Westerners also have different names for killer highways. We have
    "freeways," but fortunately no "rotaries," or toll booths.
    

    It seems to be universal across Canada.  I spoke to an officer
    of Scotiabank in Halifax, and every sentence ended in ", eh?"
    
    						Ann B.

    Re: .36, .37
    
    I have to concur with .37.  I have heard the Canadian 'eh' (or 'ey' if
    you prefer) used in Nova Scotia, among the English speaking residents
    of Quebec, in and around Toronto, Ontario, and also in Alberta (Calgary
    and Banff).  The same pretty much holds true with the Canadian 
    pronunciation of 'out' and 'about' (something close to 'oot' and
    'a-boot').

    Possessives: "His'n", "her'n", "their'n", and the beloved "your'n". 
    Usage: "Ain't that his hawg?" "That ain't his'n, it's your'n."
    
    "Hey" as an all-purpose greeting.  If your friends are 11 years old or
    younger, you're likely to get a response of "Hay's for horses."
    
    "Dast" as in "You daren't dast!"
    
    Although the pronunciation is different, a lot of Missouri regionalisms
    are shared with the Southun states.  Walt Kelly's "Pogo" is a treasure
    trove of 'em.
    
    I always get a strong Missouri trawl (twang-drawl) after talking with
    my parents (it's like a regionalism booster shot), so I'll probably
    have more later...
    
    Down the "guy" rathole, I rather like the recent emergence of "dude" as
    a postfixed gender-neutral honorific.  Perhaps someday we can write
    formal letters which begin "Yo, Editor-Type-Dude," or "Management
    Dudes:".
    
    Ray Dude

    Here in Colorado is the only place I've heard "sure" used
    to intensify a negative.  The phrase "we sure don't" is used
    in replies such as "we sure don't have that book".  I guess
    it evolved from the overly positive replies like "we sure do".

    > 'ey'
    
    > 'eh' (or 'ey' if you prefer)
    
    If 'eh' were unwritten, this would be true.  However, 'eh' is part
    of written Canadian as well as spoken Canadian.  Also it does not
    seem to be a regionalism (just as the American spelling of 'color'
    is not considered a regionalism).

>    If 'eh' were unwritten, this would be true.  However, 'eh' is part
>    of written Canadian as well as spoken Canadian.  Also it does not
>    seem to be a regionalism (just as the American spelling of 'color'
>    is not considered a regionalism).

While the use of 'eh' is widespread in Canada, I have rarely it in written
works, except quoted speech or humour.  While not a true regionalism, the
use of 'eh' is more prolific in certain areas than others, and more prolific
amongst certain groups of speakers.  As the use of 'eh' became 'noticeable'
and documented, it became more widespread ... self-fulfilling eh ?

Its use was brought to national popularity by the TV characters Bob & Doug
McKenzie (who were actually played by a pair of Americans) in satirical
programs about Canada.

Stuart (in Kanata)

 .52

>                                        While not a true regionalism, the
>use of 'eh' is more prolific in certain areas than others, and more prolific
>amongst certain groups of speakers.  

Hi Stuart!

"Prolific" does not mean "widespread" or "frequent", it means producing 
offspring or results. I think you need a different word here.

Stephen

re .-1

>
>"Prolific" does not mean "widespread" or "frequent", it means producing 
>offspring or results. I think you need a different word here.
>

Maybe I do, maybe I don't ... 

While on the one hand I did mean widespread, I also meant that the use of
this all-things-to-all-people 'word' increased in certain areas and amongst 
certain groups of the population more rapidly than others.  I think prolific
is a reasonable description.

If not, who cares, I still managed to convey what I intended, didn't I!

Stuart  (who cannot believe he really wrote that last line!)