What’s Your Regional Dialect?
By: Ian Fortey
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
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Image: sutthinon sanyakup / Moment / Getty Images
About This Quiz
Everyone in America knows the difference between a Boston accent and a Texas accent, but there's a little more to regional dialects across American than simple accents. There are many accents and dialects characterized not just by how you say things but what you say as well. Turns of phrase, slang, and accent all work together to make the dialect you speak, and there are probably more of them in America than you realize. Depending on who you ask, upwards of two dozen dialects have been identified across the country.
No matter where you come from, your speech is going to be affected by the people speaking around you. The way your parents, friends and teachers talk to you is going to shape the way you say things. Will you drop your Rs and replace them with Hs like the folks in Eastern New England? Are you calling someone who's kind of a big deal a muckety-muck like they do in parts of the Pacific Northwest? Are you the type of person who calls New Orleans Nawlins? Why not take the quiz, and we'll see just what regional dialect you call your own?
START QUIZ
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Pixabay by DariuszSankowski
The word "been" gets used a lot. How do you pronounce it?
Been, you know, like a bean.
The way it's supposed to be pronounced
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ParkerDeen / E+ / Gett Images
If everyone brings a dish to a party, what kind of party are you having?
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PhotoMIX Ltd. via Pexels
If you want a carbonated beverage at a restaurant, what are you going to order?
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DenGuy / E+ / Getty Images
What's a buggy?
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Chitokan by Pixabay
We're making some tacos. What do you want on yours?
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Pixabay - Patrickblackjr
If you like Creole food, maybe you want to have a crawfish bake. You call them crawfish, right?
Hey, it's a little lobster!
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ABC
Which of these classic sitcoms is your favorite?
"The Beverly Hillbillies"
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gaspr13 / E+ / Getty Images
Jim Bowie had a famous knife. How do you say "Bowie knife"?
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by Frank Olsen, Norway / Moment / Getty Images
If you want to say something is "very good," what's a more colorful way to do that?
I like the word "very." Why use something else?
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JESHOOTS.com / Pexels
You need to turn on the TV. What are you going to ask for?
Who turned the TV off in the first place?
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Mait Juriado photo/Moment/GettyImages
When you're speaking with a group of people, how are you going to refer to them?
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Wiki Commons by C. F. Sauer Company
Your aunt is making her famous potato salad, but she ran out of mayonnaise. How do you say that word again?
Wait, people pronounce mayonnaise differently?
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10'000 Hours/DigitalVision/GettyImages
What do you want to have on the side of a meal?
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YinYang/E+/Getty Images
It's pecan pie time! How do you pronounce the name of that nut?
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AWEvans / E+ / Getty Images
Hey, what goes on a pancakes?
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John M Lund Photography Inc / DigitalVision / Getty Images
We've got a big sandwich piled high with meat and cheese. What is it called?
Well, what kind of meat are you talking about?
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kajakiki/E+/Getty Images
A hot dog isn't just a hot dog. What's the best way to top one?
Spicy mustard and sauerkraut
Tomato, pickles, onions, relish
Bacon, lettuce and tomato
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skeeze / Pixabay
If we're going for a jog, what's going on your feet?
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Joao Paulo Burini / Moment / Getty Images
You know those little bugs that roll into balls? What are those?
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Unsplash by Jonathan Borba
Is there any difference between how "merry" and "Mary" are pronounced?
There sure is! Not to mention, "marry."
"Mary" is different than "merry" and "marry."
"Mary" and "marry" are the same, but "merry" is different.
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Alexander Spatari / Moment / Getty Images
What's the best way to refer to something across the street from you on a diagonal?
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Valentin Antonucci via Pexels
The best way from one place to another is the direct route. But how do you say that word?
One way is a verb and one way is a noun. They have diifferent pronunciations.
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Nick Brundle Photography/Moment/Getty Images
What do you call October 30?
What is it, a Wednesday this year?
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mladenbalinovac / E+ / Getty Images
How much time do you spend shoveling snow every winter?
Not a whole heck of a lot
It can get rough some years
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Matt Porteous / DigitalVision / Getty Images
Where are you heading for a swim when the summer rolls in?
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FotografiaBasica / E+ / GettyImages
You can only have one sauce again for the rest of your life. What's it going to be?
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Fancycrave.com / Pexels
If you only get one topping on a pizza, what are you ordering?
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SplitShire / Pexels
How often are you seeing roadkill when you're out driving?
I guess out on the highway you see stuff sometimes.
I can't recall the last time I did.
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Pixabay via Pexels
Where are you going to go for some fresh air?
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089photoshootings
What goes on a cake?
Whatever you like, I guess
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