Johnny Reb or Yankee Doodle?

JW   Thu Oct 12, 2006 12:45 pm GMT
I user in another thread mentioned he took a quiz that classifies you as a reb or a yank based on your vocabulary. So I was inspired to go and take it. I'm sure that its extraordinarily inaccurate and unscientific, but why not have a little fun with it? And please be honest. You could easily fool this thing into giving you whatever result you want. But what would be the point of that? And if you want, post where you live and where you were raised. Without further ado, here's the quiz: http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

My results: "100% Dixie. Is General Lee your grandfather?!"

Born and raised and still live in northern Mississippi.

And if you liked that, there is an advanced reb or yank test found here: http://www.alphadictionary.com/artic..._advanced.html I took it and got "100% Dixie" again.
JW   Thu Oct 12, 2006 12:46 pm GMT
Whoops, the URL to the advanced quiz is as follows: http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest_advanced.html
Rene   Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:18 pm GMT
I was the one who mentioned it earlier. I had only taken the original and on that one I got 55% dixie and 45% Yankee and it was confounded. I just took the advanced test and I got "30% dixie, You're definately a yankee." Now I'm really confused. By the way, I've lived in California my whole life.
JW   Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:34 pm GMT
Ah, my apologies then, Rene. It appears I should have typed "a user in another thread mentioned SHE took a quiz...." At any rate, thank you for pointing the way to this little quiz. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Lazar   Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:12 pm GMT
My result on both quizzes was: "14% Dixie. Wow! You are a Duke of Yankeedom!" I was born and raised in central Massachusetts. ;-)
Q   Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:43 am GMT
Well here's how I came out. (I'm from Spokane, Washington so I'm really neither a Yankee or a Dixie.)

31% Dixie. You are definitely a Yankee.

2. How do you pronounce caramel?
2 syllables (car-ml)
Common along the Atlantic seaboard and southern US.
That's how it's said here too...

How do you pronounce "route"?
I thought almost everyone pronounces this either way--I don't think it's very region specific.

Do you pronounce "cot" and "caught" the same way?
Yes
Mostly in New England.
(Also here in the West...)

7. How do you address a group of people?
You guys
The heart of Yankeedom: New Yawk and New Joisey.
(Normally I don't make a distinction between singular and plural "you" but on the rare occasion I say you guys--I think it's a lot more widespread than just NY and NJ. Here in the West, it's almost exclusively used.

8. What kind of sale is it on the front lawn?
Yard sale
Throughout the US but slightly more in the southeast.
(I also say "garage sale" though.)

12. What is spread onto the tops of cakes?
Frosting
New England and western Great Lakes.
(Also here. Although I've read about "Icing" in books, and would of course understand it, nobody around here says it around here.)

16. What is that bubbly carbonated drink called?
Pop, or Soda
(Here both are equally common)
Q   Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:49 am GMT
As for the second test:
Is suitcase really a Southern term? I've never heard anyone around here call it a "bag" -- that's for groceries.

I also pronounce syrup as surrup (which is supposedly "only in the land of cotton") Do others really say it "si-rup" or "si-rip"? That sounds so odd...


What the folks in your neighborhood call a great example of something?

That would be a "humdinger". I can believe a "corker" is found in New England only--I wouldn't understand this term. "A doozie" sounds like something that came out of a 1950's movie. Do any of you guys still say a "doozie", or don't use the word "humdinger"?
JW   Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:11 am GMT
Q,
I enjoyed reading your comments. All were very interesting. But I have one thing to add regarding this sentence of yours: "I'm from Spokane, Washington so I'm really neither a Yankee or a Dixie." In my very humble opinion you most certainly are a yankee. I know it is traditionally limited to New Englanders. Most dictionaries even say so. But, trust me, down South we refer to all most all non-southerners as yankees. We may make an exception for some rancher in Oklahoma, but that's about it. I gaurantee that if you were to come down here and say "you guys" or "a Dixie," you would be branded a yank at once.
Joe   Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:32 pm GMT
Wouldn't it be more accurate to say "Johnny Reb or Billy Yank"?
Lazar   Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:19 pm GMT
<<Wouldn't it be more accurate to say "Johnny Reb or Billy Yank"?>>

Yeah, I actually think so as well.
Guest   Sat Oct 14, 2006 4:29 am GMT
>> But, trust me, down South we refer to all most all non-southerners as yankees. <<

Are Canadians Yankees too?
Guest   Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:37 pm GMT
<<Wouldn't it be more accurate to say "Johnny Reb or Billy Yank"?>>
Yeah, but I feared noone would know what "Billy Yank" meant. Hell, I myself barely know what it means.

<<Are Canadians Yankees too?>>
That is a very good question actually. I would have to say that if you came down here and started speaking, you would initially be branded a yankee. But after folks learned that you were from Cananda, I don't rightly know what they would do. I guess they would retract the yankee label but still feel at heart that you were goddamn yank.
Ol' Tex   Sat Oct 14, 2006 4:08 pm GMT
What about Texans? Are they Yanks too? I've met a great deal of Texans from the major cities and from western Texas where they had either a Northern or a Western accent. Would those Texans be branded yanks as well? Somehow I don't know if they would like that...
JW   Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:55 pm GMT
Down here we try not to think about Texas too much. But damn all if they don't make it hard.

And by the way, in my last post--the one right above Ol' Tex's--I forgot to insert my name. Sorry.
Ol' Tex   Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:27 am GMT
It sounds like Southerners don't like non-Southerners very much.