Where'd the 10% Yankee come from?

[duriyah]

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English
35% Dixie
10% Yankee
5% Midwestern
5% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

When I was growing up in South Carolina, when it rained while the sun was shining, the kids always said "The Devil's beating his wife!" I always thought that was a cool saying.

Comments

[zeeohee]

James thinks that's the weirdest thing. I never grew up saying that, but I do now, for a joke, so I went ahead and checked it in that quiz. I have 10% Yankee, too, which is actually less than I thought I'd have, considering all the teasing I got in middle school for "talkin' like a Yankee."

[zeeohee]

"That" being "the devil's beating his wife." :)

[duriyah]

I never said it (devil's beating his wife) as a kid but I heard it on the playground. Now I say it often. If usually freaks people out :) Here in Ohio they don't call it anything. Some places call it a sunshower, which I think is nice.

Why did you get teased about talking like a Yankee? Did you talk fast? I have zero Southern accent because my parents wanted thought that a midwestern accent--what they called CBS English--would make me sound educated.

[zeeohee]

I don't think I talk fast, but I do think my stepdad, who has a major twang, talks excruciatingly slowly, so maybe I do? I don't have an accent, either, though I do say y'all, just because it's a handy word.

James says I get more of an accent when I talk to my mom on the phone, but people I meet are usually quite surprised to learn I'm from the South.

[_boy_]

What does a Yankee sound like?

[duriyah]

Nasal and fast.

[ovum_anguinum]

Nasal and fast.

??

Like Dave Chapelle imitating gangsters in movies from the '40s?
Kinda like The Penguin in old Batman.

"Nyeah, ya shee?"

[duriyah]

Yeah. Like that.