Are we speaking the same language?

Customer in the South but not from the South: "I'd like a Coke, please."
Southern server: "What kind?"
Customer: "Regular. Not diet."
Server: "No, I mean what kind, like Sprite, Dr Pepper, Coke, root beer ..."
Customer: "I said a Coke."

Edited to add: Oops. I see Batman beat me to this one.

 

Many years ago in a part of the South with a distinct French influence in the language, I got to know a woman who attended Notre Dame and had lived most of her life in the D.C. suburbs. We were in the car and stopped somewhere -- a store, a donut shop, somewhere -- and as I stepped out of the car I asked, "Are you going to get down?"

She laughed (as only she could) and asked if I were wondering whether she was going to dance. You know, get down.

Annoyed, I said, "No, are you coming inside??"

She still looked at me as if I had three eyes. We talked about it a bit, and I had to consider something I'd never thought about before. Then it struck me that one of the definitions of the French word descendre is:

descendre de = to step off [step]; = to get off [train, bike, horse]; = to get out of [car]

There are not a few other examples of French to Cajun French to English with that kind of result.

 

Yooper = a hybrid of Michituckian and Southern Canuckistanese.

 

what about the option for second-person plural pronoun = yooz

 

http://www.usaring.com/yooper/glossary.htm

Buddies and I were at a strip club in Milwaukee. I lost a bet, or something like that...and had to speak in a Southern accent for the whole night.
Somehow, I became "Dale" from "near Birmingham" and I was a "tire tester" for NASCAR and was working at the track that week.
She asked me what I called pop and I pulled out the "Coke" word and she was convinced.
Got a free lapper I believe for that.
My buddies were amazed I pulled it off.

 

One I remember from the first few months out of boot camp: A group of us were at a party, and one guy, who was from California, had a truck. We were out of beer. I said to him, "Run up to the store and get more beer." He replied, "OK ... but I could drive." I don't know if it was because of the regional difference in what "run up to the store" meant or this guy was just not real sharp. Either way, I still remember that as funny.

 

I'd just like to point our that the proper pronunciation of pecan is puh-KAHN. A pee-can is something you need to take on a long road trip.

 

And po-boys in Louisiana. But to me, a po-boy has specific ingredients that differentiate it from a regular sub/hoagie/hero.

 

Yeah, like gravy. And mayonnaise, which is pronounced MY-nez in South Looziana.

 

The traffic circle/roundabout one is one that's totally shifted in just the last 20 years, particularly in areas (like mine) where they virtually don't exist. Nobody in America called them "roundabouts" (other than Brit transplants) until recent years. Back east where they're more common, "traffic circle" is more entrenched usage.

Ground zero for "crawdad" is the Ozarks, so the Beverly Hillbillies got that right.

 

The shopping cart/buggy one always gets people laughing at my redneck ass.

 

I always thought one of the more unusual regional idioms was the "Oh for ..." expression I learned in Norf Dakooda.

"Oh for stupid."

"Oh for cool."

"Oh for gross."

And "Oh for April" when watching the 1980-81 Twins or "Oh for four" when watching the Vikings.