Clik here to view.
“I’m sorry I laughed at you for calling the ginger ale, ‘Coke.’” “That’s alright, Mabel. I’ll forgive you if you pardon me for laughing when you called the spigot a ‘spicket.’”
Like most people who read and write SF and fantasy, I have a tendency towards nerdiness. I watched Star Trek loyally (until I ditched my TV at age 24). I read graphic novels. I watched foreign films as a teen and young adult and snubbed “Forrest Gump” and “Titanic.” And my idea of a fun day out could easily involve a museum, planetarium, or library.
Yes, I sat at the table with the nerds, geeks, and dweebs in high school. At least the social consequences of nerdiness drop drastically at some point during college.
One of the things I studied in college and graduate school happens to be sociolinguistics, and the topic still fills me with geeky glee, so when Discover Magazine directed readers to Joshua Katz’s work at NC State University, I had to give it a look-see.
Katz transfers his data regarding regional speech differences across the U.S. into a fabulous slide show. You can find out all about regional dialects, with the information easily accessible though a series of maps.
As a writer, I can see this site as a resource for creating believable dialogue. As a nerd, I’m just happy to have concrete proof at last for my 5th-grade teacher that I’m not crazy for saying “spicket” instead of “spigot.”
Anyone else out there get their kicks from geeky stuff? Please share in the comments.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
