Going to a school with people from different states is a great thing. Besides the normal debate of Yankees vs. Red Sox, you can obtain a new perspective on things, but more importantly, a new vocabulary. You have no idea how many conversations occur at school just about how to pronounce a certain word based on where you're from or why you're using a certain word that someone from another state does not use. Those conversations formed a lot of friendships for me, so I listed below a few of my personal favorites. Most are New York area vs. Massachusetts, as those are the most popular states students at Fairfield are from.
1. Bubbler vs. water fountain
2. Reese's (rhymes with pieces) vs. Reese's (re-seize)
3. Waiting on line vs. waiting in line (this one causes the most problems!)
4. Traffic circle vs. roundabout vs. rotary vs. we don't have those where I'm from
5. Chocolate sprinkles vs. jimmies
6. Clicker vs. remote control
7. Trash can vs. trash barrel
9. Packie vs. liquor store
10. Hoagie vs. hero vs. sub
11. Cellar vs. basement
12. Frappe vs. milkshake
13. Use of wicked to mean really/very
14. Pronunciation of aunt
15. Typical pronunciation differences that come with a New York accent, like coffee, dog and water.
There are obviously many more differences between the Northeast as a whole and different parts of the country. There are the classic differences, like y'all, and more subtle differences we may not realize right away, like tennis shoes vs. sneakers. And there are even more subtle pronunciation differences between the New York area and New England. Try saying this phrase: "Merry Christmas! My friend Mary just got married." Did you pronounce merry, Mary, and marry all the same or are they all pronounced differently? It's so much fun to have these slang debates in the dining hall or lounges because it truly can make friendships.
First, you start by yelling at each other that you can't believe someone actually pronounces Reese's as "re-seize." And then you end by learning more about the person's life back at home and get to find out a little more about them as a person. It's also a great icebreaker topic when you're meeting people for the first time! During orientation, I was asked about three times to pronounce the words dog, talk, walk and coffee, just so everyone else could laugh at my accent. But I loved it! So yes, you will definitely see me waiting on line to get my caw-fee ice cream with chocolate sprinkles on "Lawn Guyland."
