NY Times Dialect Quiz

It is crazy how accurate this pegged me:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013 ... z-map.html

Just answer 25 questions about how you pronounce certain words, and it'll show you which region of the US is most similar to your accent. It pegged me as having an accent most similar to those from Arlington, VA (very close to where I currently live) and from Virginia Beach, VA (where I lived as a tot, and subsequently where I learned how to talk!).

Yeah, that's not accurate at all for me. It said I live somewhere in California... uh... no. But there is a darker red color by where I do live, so maybe it's just because I don't know the term for whatever the strip of land is between the sidewalk and the street. We don't even have sidewalks in my neighborhood; that might be why. I did like the little map after each question though. ^^

It's interesting, considering how it's just based on the US states. I got Boston(MA), Miami(FL) and Honolulu!
Interesting, right? I wonder if there's a version for the English, it might be interesting to compare mine to that as well.

I got Honolulu, Louisville, and Richmond!

New York, Yonkers and Providence

But I feel like it doesn't really work because our dialect is so different. For instance, Irish people don't say "y'all" or anything - people from Dublin and the north say "youse" but genuinely, people from the rest of the country are still using "ye."

Also, drive-through liquor stores? Those are a thing?

Scary accurate...
Also, I've never heard of drive-through liquor stores either Stella.

Me neither

I got all three in southern CA, about 500 miles from where I live, so pretty close.

I got Miami and Honolulu. In Tipperary, we do a strange thing with our words. We add random consonants to words. For example 'Stick' becomes 'shtick'. And in moments of surprise, Jesus becomes bajaysus. Things are different in the backways boglands, where we're devoid of cinemas. (@StellaThomas)

I did this a few days ago when it popped up on facebook - got Sacramento, where I went to uni, and Reno. Relatively close, but uh, not as close as I would have expected. Then again, dad grew up in the midwest/east coast, and I've picked up some odd tendencies from him, and also from hanging around here/the internet in general.

So, I did it again, just to see (and I take issue with the water fountain/drinking fountain question. Srsly). Dang, so second round, got Sac, uni town, and Fremont. Much closer overall. It was funny to see where I have some really bizarre midwest influences with a couple words.

Boise, Reno, and Santa Rõsa -- all in one big cluster. Apparently I talk like a westerner even though I live in the Midwest. xD

One of my least similar cities is New York. Weird!

Interesting. I got Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin - both very close to where I live - and then Reno, Nevada.

My least similar cities were New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Jackson, Mississipi. I guess I've strayed somewhat from southern roots. (My grandparents on both sides both moved to the Midwest from the Deep South)

I got Yonkers, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale.

There was a lot of dicussion about some of the questions between my siblings and I because we don't use words like "Freeway" very much. xD

Detroit and Grand Rapids, MI, and Aurora, Illinois.

Not sure how Illinois got there, but I grew up near Detroit.

So, I did it again, just to see (and I take issue with the water fountain/drinking fountain question. Srsly).

Fun fact: In the study this quiz came from, both Wisconsin and Rhode Island said they were called "bubblers". Strange. Personally I mostly say "drinking fountain".

I echo the confusion about drive-through liquor stores being a thing.

I think I managed to confuse it, because I got Los Angeles, New York and Honolulu. I guess being Australian, that it wouldn't be accurate, but it's kind of weird that I managed to get so geographically distant places. I got dark blue for A LOT of the questions, too.

^ Mmm so did I. I would be interested in an Australian one.