What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

By: Teresa McGlothlin
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
Image: Thomas Barwick / DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

If you call it a Coke no matter what's in the glass, you speak one version of southern American English. But do you know which one? Throughout this quiz, we are going to present you with word choices that will tell us which type of American English you speak. Hopefully, you'll get a few giggles, too. You won't believe some of the words other parts of the country use for things! 

In New England, they call a water fountain a bubbler. In North Dakota, a casserole is called a hot dish. Even the words you use every day can give away the area that influenced your language development the most. Whether from nature or nurture, your way of speaking can be traced back to specific parts of the country. After we analyze it, we'll tell you which type of English it makes you speak. 

Read our questions carefully, and make your choices from the words beneath them. One dishonest answer could throw off your results, so do your best to choose the words you use. There's no need to fret about being a vocabulary genius. Your light-hearted picks will point us in the right direction. The next time someone asks where your accent is from, you'll be able to tell them! 


Question 1 What do you call the area where you sit outside your home?
Balcony
Deck
Porch
Patio

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Question 2 Sound it out! How do you pronounce Kentucky's biggest city?
Lou-iss-ville
Lou-ee-ville
Lou-vul
Lou-ee-vul

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Question 3 If you wanted to address a group of friends all at once, what would you say?
"Listen, mates!"
"Youn's listen now."
"Ya'll listening?"
"Attention, you guys!"

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Question 4 Rubbish, garbage or trash? What do you take out to the curb once or twice a week?
Rubbish
Garbage
Trash
Waste

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Question 5 You're dying of thirst. Where do you get water to quench it?
Spigot
Sink
Faucet
Fountain

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Question 6 ​Do you carry your groceries home in a poke, a sack or a bag?
I use a sack.
It's a bag.
I call it a poke.
It's a duffle here.

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Question 7 You can call a dog a dog, but pet nicknames are cuter. Which one do you use more?
Pooch
Pup
Mutt
Furbaby

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Question 8 Which of these is your new favorite southeastern American phrase?
Madder than a wet hen
Doesn't amount to a hill of beans
Pretty as a peach
Finer than a frog hair split four ways

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Question 9 What name do you give to the miniature lobsters they love in Louisiana?
Crawdads
Crawfish
Crayfish
Crawdaddy

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Question 10 You're heading to the gym. Do you take your sneakers, tennis shoes or running shoes?
Sneakers
Kicks
Tennis shoes
Running shoes

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Question 11 When you make pasta, what do you call the red sauce that goes on top?
Marinara
Pasta sauce
Tomato gravy
Tomato sauce

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Question 12 You are extra hungry, so you call in an order. Do you ask for a sub, grinder, hoagie or torpedo?
Grinder
Sub
Hoagie
Torpedo

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Question 13 Interstate, highway or freeway? Which road do you take on a trip?
Highway
Interstate
Freeway
Four-lane

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Question 14 Are they the police? Are they the law? What do you call people with the badges and sirens?
The popo
Smokies
The law
Officers

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Question 15 You have reached the end of a loaf of bread. What do you call it?
Nose
Heel
Butt
End

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Question 16 This television show is horrible! What are you going to use​ to change it?
Clicker
Remote control
Controller
Remote

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Question 17 Pancakes make mornings better. Do you call them pancakes?
They are flapjacks to me.
What else could they be?
I call them flippers.
They are flopjacks to me.

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Question 18 There's a new game update coming out and you need cash. What kind of sale would you hold to earn extra cash?
Stoop sale
Garage sale
Yard sale
Tag sale

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Question 19 What do you call the long, comfortable piece of furniture in the living room?
Couch
Sofa
Settee
Davenport

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Question 20 You're trying to figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a piece of candy on a stick. What do you call that candy?
Lolipop
Sucker
Dum-dum
Lollies

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Question 21 If you saw a lady carrying a fashionable bag, what would you call it?
Clutch
Purse
Handbag
Pocketbook

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Question 22 When you're cruising the aisles of the grocery store, what are you pushing?
Cart
Buggy
Wagon
Carriage

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Question 23 What sort of drink is made by combining milk, ice cream and ice?
Cabinet
Milkshake
Frappe
Blizzard

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Question 24 It sits between two lanes of highway traffic. What do you call it?
Greenspace
Median
Median strip
Neutral ground

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Question 25 Fire up the mower! Are you mowing the lawn or the yard?
I'm mowing the lawn.
I'm mowing the yard.
I'm cutting the grass.
I'm trimming the jungle.

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Question 26 Where would you warm up some soup for dinner?
Burner
Hob
Stovetop
Heat ring

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Question 27 Look between the sidewalk and the road. What is that patch of grass called?
Verge
Berm
Terrace
Buffer

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Question 28 You can drive around and around and around on them. What do you call them?
Rotaries
Roundabouts
Traffic circles
Roundies

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Question 29 You need something to wash down a burger. What do you order?
Soda
Pop
Coke
A can

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Question 30 What do you call the crunchy cabbage sometimes found as a side dish?
Coleslaw
Shredded cabbage
Slaw
Cold slaw

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You Got: