h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Flock? Flick. I think someone needs a carbonated, caffeinated beverage at the moment.

Re: the entry.

It looks good to me, just one note. The second sentence in the first paragraph after "Regional Variations" is missing the word "have" I believe.

That map is cool - I hope nobody is expecting that level of detail in the animations though - I was really hoping to stick with just the states and regions .

Fascinating how so much confusion can reign over simple carbonated beverages. At least in british dialects the crazy words don't usually mean something else to anyone else.

How come Alaska is always made to look so titchy by the way? Is that some texan size issue compensation thing or something?

And I'm guessing the other noncontiguous state was added later by a guy from hawaii for similar reasons huh?

I think Alaska is reduced to balance out how overly HUGE Greenland is normally drawn.

"Oh, and is it just me or does everyone think their own accent is a non-accent?"

I know my standard accent is a non-accent. What really surprised me though was when several years ago while out drinking, someone asked me where I was from. I replied that I was from here (St Louis), and he said he was sure I was from much farther south. Discussing this with the friend I was drinking with he confirmed that when I'm drinking I have a quite noticable southern drawl.

I've since discovered that if I know when to listen for it I can hear it too. It also pops up when I'm overtired or sick, or when I'm in Arkansas.

I can't claim my drawl is specific to any area of the south, so it's not suitable to record for the project (although otherwise I would never have a problem with having a couple beers all in the name of promoting the Guide )

"I've been re-reading the entries this morning (and enjoying reading about dialects of other regions), and I just have to ask... do people really refer to soda as "pop" in other parts of the Midwest? I haven't heard soda referred to as "pop" except on old TV shows."

Some people here in the UK refer to carbonated drinks (we don't really use 'soda' except for some special type of fizzy water) as pop. I'm not sure if it's a regional thing or what.

Do you use the word 'fizzy' to refer to carbonated drinks over there?

This thread has been really interesting to follow.

I'd seen a map like that, but not down to the county level That's fascinating. Alaska can't make up its mind. Alaska can't be on the same scale as the rest of the US, by the way, because it's enormous and if it were drawn to scale, it would be about as large as most of the American west. I don't know if I've ever actually seen a map of the US without Alaska downsized.

What I find odd is how Miami, Milwaukee and St Louis use the term 'soda' for no apparent geographic reason. I think I have something about that in the intro entry. Maybe the influence of Milwaukee on Chicago is why you haven't heard 'pop' before, pc.

"I know my standard accent is a non-accent. What really surprised me though was when several years ago while out drinking, someone asked me where I was from. I replied that I was from here (St Louis), and he said he was sure I was from much farther south. Discussing this with the friend I was drinking with he confirmed that when I'm drinking I have a quite noticable southern drawl."

That's hilarious, broe. I'd really like to use that for a blockquote in the Midwestern Non-Accent entry if I could?

I read somewhere that Britons tend to use 'fizzy drink' to refer to carbonated beverages, and I used that in the intro entry so that more people than Americans would know what I was talking about. I've never heard anyone call it a 'fizzy' though in America.

It's interesting you say that some people in the UK refer to it as 'pop'. I thought that was basically an American invention. In my mind, it makes sense as a name though. It's almost onomatopoetic.

Sorry, we don't call it 'a fizzy'. It's a descriptive term, so 'fizzy water' as opposed to 'still water' (though it would be called 'carbonated' in s shop or restaurant, 'fizzy' is colloquial), or just 'fizzy drinks' in general.

I've just seen this "Philadelphia, New York, Southern, Texan, Midwestern1, Western, Pittsburgh, Boston and Chicago accents. To an ear generally attuned to hearing British, Australian or even Canadian English, they would probably all sound just about the same."

I'm not sure that's true. I think if the accent was clear enough, I could definitely recognise New York and Southern (though I might struggle to tell it apart from Texan), and maybe Boston.

It may also interest you to know that most Brits would not be able to tell a Canadian accent apart from an American one.

'Fizzy drink' is very old-fashioned now. I think even my Nan has stopped saying it now

Fair enough. Maybe I was overstating it there, but I do think that a British ear would recognize any American accent as, well, an "American" accent first and foremost. I'll tweak the sentence a bit. (when do you think 'rich will start to regret having volunteered to be my subbie? - if he already isn't regretting it)

And by the way, to be honest, I have a hard time detecting a Canadian accent. If I hear a Canadian speaking, I'll probably think they're either from Minnesota or the midwest. But then, I've never been to Canada.

Okay, what's the preferred term for all you hip young Britons these days?

Wow, maybe I'm hideously behind the times, I had no idea that was on it's way out!

Jordan, you're welcome to use it as a quote if you like.

I've heard 'pop' in use, but I didn't realise we were an island of 'soda' users. I can't see the map because it's blocked from my work computer. I'll try to remember to check it out from home.

And I'm sure I've used the word 'fizzy', recently in fact, telling Mr B that I didn't think Chunk was ready for 'fizzy drinks'. I'm sure it must be something I've affected after 8 years hanging round here. But, I've probably affected lots of phrases after that long. (And my spell checker points out to me every time I use an 's' instead of a 'z' in a word, or a double 'l' where a single would normally do.)

Here, Broelan, try this link. http://tastyresearch.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/popvssodamap.png

Elentari- referring to carbonated drinks of any kind as "fizzy" is something I picked up on h2g2.

Australians either refer to it as 'soft-drink' or whatever the trade name is, Coke, Pepsi, Fanta.
Do Americans call it soda because it's made with soda? It's not made with soda water here.

As for detecting accents, I'd probably be able to tell what part of the country you're from from your accent but probably wouldn't pin-point the place unless it was really distinctive, like bronx.
We get a lot (A LOT) of US TV, so it wouldn't be too difficult for us to at least get the general area right.

I would have a hard time picking a Canadian accent. Is there a give-away?

I think the 'ou' sound is one. They say 'aboat' instead of 'about' I think.

I guess I'd have to hear it to note the distinction.

Just reading about the New England accent and thought it's interesting that no-one in the show 'Boston Legal' seems to have a Boston accent.