Accents and peculiar word choices
By James M Jackson

Do you notice accents and peculiar word choices? Not yours, of course, because none of us have accents; it’s the other folks.

I’ll soon make my southern migration away from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with its Scandinavian oo’s, spoken through the nose, and sentences that end with eh?—as though we were a southern Canadian outpost.

On the way south, I’ll spend time in Madison, Wisconsin (You betcha) and the Greater Cincinnati area (where Please? means I didn’t quite hear you, could you repeat that?) We’ll end our journey in Savannah (home of y’all and the more inclusive all y’all).

When I write with a specific location in mind, I try to include a smidgeon of dialogue peculiar to the area.

What’s your favorite regional speech?