New Yorker English is Different from Texan English

Interesting things happen sometimes when my boyfriend, who's from New York, and I (from Texas), talk. It goes so far beyond y'all.

(Just for the fun of it, I've put the definitions of a lot of the things I've talked about in this post at the bottom- words are marked with a *- tell me how many you knew before looking them up!)

For instance, it took me a long time to figure out what he meant when he said pocketbook*. Or what a jump drive* was.

We don't really have to worry about the soda/pop/coke divide- Aram doesn't even drink soda. And some of the other stuff I had already figured out- like what calling fives* means. Plus most of his Yiddish phrases I knew from going to a high school where a ton of people were Jewish, plus a previous boyfriend. So I know the obligatory, Oy vey*, chutzpah*, goy*, traif*, and shiksa*.

But every time I think I have it all figured out, some new word or language divide comes up. We went to a Mexican restaurant last night, where I ordered queso*. He had no idea what I was talking about. Plus I hadn't ever thought about it- Aram has no concept of some Spanish words I've known since I was very young- no clue what a sopaipilla* is.

Plus I randomly had to explain to him what beanie weenies* were. I think a childhood without beanie weenies is sad- thus, I'm going to make him some soon.

The weirdest one happened today out of nowhere. He was talking about how he wanted to get a pie* for dinner and I was so confused about what he meant.

I know it's happened other times too- I can't remember them all right now. But it leads to some amusing moments. I actually really enjoy it. A lot of it's based on where you're coming from too- for example, everyone in Texas, when they heard I was going up to Virginia for college, thought I was going 'north' for school. Some even made jokes about me becoming a Yank. Aram, however, thought he was going way south for school. I guess some of it's just perspective. Sorta like how, metro, subway, and train, mean almost the same things in my mind, mostly because Dallas doesn't really have any of them (okay, we have a DART rail train, doesn't really count). However for Aram, these all have distinct and different purposes.

What other regional traits have you encountered/experienced? I think they're so much fun.

Let me know! : )

-Rach



*Words used in this blog post*

Pocketbook- a woman's purse

Jump Drive- what I would call a flash drive or a USB drive

Calling Fives- the equivalent of "Seat Check" in Texas- a way of saying- I can get up from this chair and it better be empty when I can come back- I've got dibs on it first.

Oy Vey- an exclamation of dismay or exasperation, like, oh my gosh

Chutzpah- audacity, kinda like saying someone has balls.

Goy- non-Jew (goyim is plural)

Traif- non-kosher food, used famously by a character in Robin Hood Men in Tights to refer to a cooked ham

Shiksa- a non-Jewish woman- I've heard it used both in a derogatory manner and a friendly manner, so I think it depends on the context (I've been told that when an old Jewish mother says it, it's generally an insult)

Queso- a cheese sauce to dip tortila chips in that has jalepenos and peppers mixed in. I actually remembered this happening once on a mission trip to Colorado- at a Mexican restaurant a girl asked for queso and got a cup full of sliced cheese instead, since, well, that's what queso literally means.

Sopaipilla-A fried pastry that you can eat with honey- quite good.

Beanie Weenies-A recipe combining baked beans/pork'n'beans with hot dogs and ketchup. Kids love it. So do I. : )

Pie- In this case, Aram wanted a pizza- like, pizza pie. I really thought this was only used in movies with old Italians in them like, Lady and the Tramp.