University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 31, 2008

Hey y’all or youse: What's your regional dialect?

What are those things on your feet? Those lace-up shoes used for athletic endeavors or running errands on the weekend. Sneakers? Tennis shoes? Gym shoes? Do you have a flat “A” or drop the letter “R” from words?

Regional accents and dialects are prevalent in the United States. Where people live or learned to talk greatly impacts their manner of speaking. The American Dialect Society’s Web site at has a wealth of information, including a dialect map, colloquialisms quiz and sound files to help decipher the many speaking mannerisms of Americans.

Further explorations of American dialects can be found online from the PBS Web site “Do you speak American?”. This site, based on the television series of the same name, has in-depth linguistic information about American varieties of English, including New York City, Midwest, Pittsburghese, Chicano English and Cajun; sound files of various speakers from around the United States; and a look at attitudes about speech in the different sections of the country.

The TELSUR project from the University of Pennsylvania describes its efforts to track linguistic changes in North America. It includes detailed regional maps and a description of the dialects within each region.

Visit Wikipedia’s page of regional vocabularies for a list of regionally used words. Use this site to find out if you should ask for a frying pan or skillet in the Midwest. Wikipedia also has a useful page for distinguishing regional accents. This Wikipedia entry tackles accents by region and urban areas—even Buffalo.

And, for those who are not sure about their dialect or accent, try the “Are you a yankee or rebel” quiz.

The University Libraries has a wealth of information about regional dialects and accents. Visit the Resources by Subject section to get a listing of linguistics resources; also try searching the BISON catalog for more resources on regional speech information.

Whether you drink from a water fountain or a drinking fountain, shop in a convenience store or bodega, or like your eggs dropped or fried, there are numerous resources to examine how other people throughout the country speak. Let’s not even get started on that carbonated, caffeinated beverage in your glass!

—Linda Hasman, Health Sciences Library