# data[].attributes.headline
Charlize Theron and David Oyelowo Teach Afrikaans and Yoruba Slang | Vanity Fair

# data[].attributes.subject
Charlize Theron and David Oyelowo Teach Afrikaans and Yoruba Slang | Vanity Fair

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Charlize Theron and David Oyelowo Teach Afrikaans and Yoruba Slang | Vanity Fair

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sophie Turner, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender Teach You English, Scottish and Irish Slang

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling Teach You Posh British Slang | Vanity Fair

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The language 'law' you didn't know you followed

# data[].attributes.headline
20 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From One Another.

# data[].attributes.subject
20 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From One Another.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the things that make the United States special is its diverse and varied linguistic background. You might think people speak the same English you and I know, but no. The number of different accents spoken in the US and the degree of lexical variation is just fascinating. Language variation is probably one of the most exciting stuff that linguists concern themselves with. One of these is Joshua Katz, a Ph.D. student of statistics at North Carolina State University, who took on the job of mapping the linguistic variation of the US and published them in a book he titled Speaking American. Here are some of the coolest maps from his collection.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

The pronunciation of "caramel" starts disregarding vowels once you go west of the Ohio River.

10.

Residents of the far north have an oddly Canadian way of pronouncing "been."

11.

The South is the only place where you'll try to call your "law-yer" instead of your "loyer."

12.

The U.S is a nation divided over mayonnaise.

13.

Some of the deepest schisms in America are over the pronunciation of the second syllable of "pajamas."

14.

15.

Everyone knows that the Midwest calls it "pop," the Northeast and West Coast call it "soda," while the South is really into brand loyalty.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Read next

Categories Tags Posted on English Linguistics, Language differences language, map, united states

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
20 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From One Another.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the things that make the United States special is its diverse and varied linguistic background. You might think people speak the same English you and I know, but no. The number of different accents spoken in the US and the degree of lexical variation is just fascinating.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to the official Oxford Languages YouTube channel. Oxford Languages is committed to unlocking the power of language for learning and for life. Our wor...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Idioms can tell us a lot about how speakers of a certain language express themselves. One interesting idiom that has an amazing and interesting variety across languages is the one describing rainfall. English uses "it's raining cats and dogs" to describe heavy rainfall. But what do speakers of other languages say when it's raining cats and dogs? Let's find out. (If you don't see your language, please add it in a comment).

Spanish

It's raining dung head-first.
" Esta lloviendo caen soretes de punta."

French

Afrikaans

Maltese

German

It's raining/pouring shoemakers.
" Es regnet/gießt Schusterjungs."

Slovak

Tractors are falling.
"Padajú traktory."

Danish

Greek

Hebrew

A flood is coming down.
" yoréd mabúl"

Moroccan Arabic

Irish

Japanese

Turkish

Brazilian Portuguese

It's raining pocket knives.
It's raining frogs' beards.
Está chovendo canivetes or Está chovendo barba de sapo.

Polish
It's throwing frogs.
"Rzuca żabami."
Cantonese

Norwegian

Serbian

The rain falls and kills the mice.
Пада киша уби миша (Pada kiša, ubi miša)

Swedish

It's raining like rods / ladles / the rain stands like rods in the hillside.
" Det spöregnar / ösregnar / Regnet står som spön i backen."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How different languages say "It's raining cats and dogs".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Idioms can tell us a lot about how speakers of a certain language express themselves. One interesting idiom that has an amazing and interesting variety across languages is the one describing rainfall. English uses "it's raining cats and dogs" to describe heavy rainfall. But what do speakers of other languages say when it's raining cats and dogs?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
23 AMERICAN SLANG WORDS that You Need to Know (AMERICAN ENGLISH)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Clear English Academy with Keenyn Rhodes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
American Accent Training | American T | Flap T

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4 Secrets to Having an American English Accent: Advanced Pronunciation Lesson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why do French People Sound French? | Improve Your Accent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How French Influenced English: A Short History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Have you ever noticed that some words in English sound more formal, or fancier, than others? English has so many synonyms, each with their own shade of meaning. This video blog post talks about the role of the French language in English vocabulary, and gives a quick history lesson from the Vikings to William I.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Stephen Fry on the power of language | What Makes Us Human

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The English Language in 67 Accents & Random Voices

# data[].attributes.body
The origins of English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Where did English come from? - Claire Bowern

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
29 Texting Abbreviations and How to Use Them | Grammarly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Texting has now been around for over 25 years and it's estimated that 8 trillion text messages are sent globally every year. Like it or not, texting abbreviations (like the ubiquitous "LOL") are very commonly used in messages-and not knowing their meaning can at best cause confusion and at worst get you in trouble.

And by the way, the correct terminology is "texting abbreviations"-you may have also seen "text abbreviations," but this vaguer term is incorrect.

Here's a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great? Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites.

Why Abbreviate?

In the olden days before "unlimited talk and text" data plans, text messages were expensive to send and receive and because they were limited to 160 characters per message, every character was precious.

Texting using a standard telephone keypad was also a laborious process, requiring multiple key presses per character. So, mobile phone users adapted to clunky keypads and character limits by abbreviating common words and phrases.

As texting became popular, a new language of acronyms and texting abbreviations evolved and became embedded in texting and internet culture. Despite our smartphones having full keyboards, texting abbreviations are still convenient shortcuts and remain a staple in communications worldwide.

Read on for our essential list of common texting abbreviations so you don't make the mistake of sending an "LOL" when "my deepest condolences" is the appropriate response.

2nite: Tonight

The numeral "2" is often substituted for "to" or "too" when texting. For example, "2moro" ("tomorrow") and "G2G" ("got to go").

I'm free 2nite. Got dinner plans?

B4N: Bye for now

BC: Because

Tacos for lunch bc it's Tuesday!

BTW: By the way

BTW I ate your plums in the fridge. So sweet, so cold!

Your new blog post is going viral on Twitter btw.

"C" is often used as a stand-in for "see," such as "CYT" ("see you tomorrow") and "CU" ("see you").

Great chat! Gotta study for my final now. CYA

DM: Direct message

On social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, a "direct message" is a private message that only the recipient can access, rather than a post that's publicly visible.

Thanks for responding to my "roommate wanted" ad. DM me for more info and photos of the room.

The phrase "sliding into her/his/their DMs" (which has inspired many memes) typically refers to an admirer sending a bold or suave direct message to a stranger in order to spark a flirtation.

Btw I just read this guy's essay on the Oxford comma. Swoon! Am sliding into his DMs.

FTW: For the win

The exact origins of this phrase are debated-Hollywood Squares, rugby, and World of Warcraft have all been cited as popularizing it. It's typically used as a rallying cry or as an exclamation of celebration, sometimes ironically.

Almost finished with my final class project. One more late night ftw!

Big client meeting this afternoon and my lunch explodes all over my white blouse. Tacos FTW.

FWIW: For what it's worth

Hey FWIW just want to say you're an amazing writer.

Similar abbreviations include "DK" ("don't know") and "IDC" ("I don't care").

IDK what you mean, and IDC. Acronyms FTW.

Why does no one know what IDK means?

ILY: I love you

Thanks for bringing me pizza today! ILY

ILY bae! Sweet dreams.

IMO: in my opinion

"IMHO" ("in my humble opinion") is another common variation.

IMO that rug really tied the room together.

This phrase is typically used to differentiate between online (or media) personas, and how things are in reality.

Did you know Jon Snow and Ygritte are married IRL?

It looks big in photos, but irl the Mona Lisa is tiny.

JK: Just kidding

You might genuinely use this texting abbreviation while joking around, but it's also frequently used to indicate sarcasm.

Just finished my novel! JK. 60,000 more words to go...

LMK: Let me know

Hey, LMK if you want pizza or tacos for dinner tonight.

LOL: Laughing out loud

Occasionally mistaken for "Lots Of Love," LOL is one of the most widely known texting abbreviations and has been around for almost 30 years.

Originally it was used in texting and chatting to communicate that you found something so funny that you were literally moved to laughter. Over time LOL has evolved from its original meaning and is now typically used to signal that you're amused or even just tracking with what the other person is saying (like a virtual nod).

Me: Been waiting 30 minutes for my train, but I'm so into this novel I didn't notice it was late! Debbie: LOL

Wondered why my mac n' cheese was bland, then realized I forgot to add the cheese packet. LOL

NBD: No big deal

Can be used to genuinely say that something isn't that important, but can also be used to downplay a brag or sarcastically to show what a big deal something actually is.

I'd like the mango mochi ice cream, but nbd if they only have strawberry.

Chatted with Neil Gaiman for 10 minutes at a book signing and by some miracle did not make a fool of myself. NBD

NP: No problem

NP that you're running late, I just left the house too.

NSFW: Not safe for work

Here's the link to the music video, but wait till you get home to watch, it's NSFW.

NVM: Nevermind

Can you buy more ketchup? Oh nvm, just found the bottle in the door.

OMG: Oh my God

A popular and long-used abbreviation, the Oxford English Dictionary has traced usage of "OMG" back to the early 1900s, but this exclamation didn't come into common use on the internet until the 1990s.

OMG this bookstore is having a huge sale! Let's hope there's also a bookshelf sale...

OTOH: On the other hand

This phrase is used to compare the two sides of an argument.

It's midnight, I'm tired, and I should probably go to bed. OTOH I have unlimited popcorn and three more seasons of Game of Thrones to watch!

OMW: On my way

Feel free to grab a table, I'm OMW.

ROFL: Rolling on floor laughing

This acronym is typically used when responding to something especially funny-so funny that "LOL" and "LMAO" are not enough to convey how hilarious you think it is.

My friend just asked when the "Winds of Winter" release date is. ROFL

SO: Significant other

I'd love to get together for a game night! I'll check the calendar with my SO and get back to you.

TBH: To be honest

This phrase is used to indicate that you're expressing your true opinion.

I am not a fan of jello. It's way too wiggly, TBH

Can you send me the link to the event page? THX

THX for bringing donuts for our team!

TMI: Too much information

Usually used when someone reveals information that is shocking or unpleasant in some way.

I just learned how hotdogs are made. TMI

TTYL: Talk to you later

Similar variations include "TTYT" ("talk to you tomorrow") and "TTFN ("ta-ta for now").

YOLO: You only live once

Life is short, so why not live it up? Seize the day. Step outside of your comfort zone. Take risks. Do what's exciting, silly, fun, or even a little dangerous.

Splurged on tickets and am heading to Comic-Con! YOLO

Ordering the extra extra spicy wings against my better judgement. YOLO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
29 Texting Abbreviations: What They Are, Why They Exist, and How to Use Them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Texting has now been around for over 25 years and it's estimated that 8 trillion text messages are sent globally every year. Like it or not, texting abbreviations (like the ubiquitous "LOL") are very commonly used in messages-and not knowing their meaning can at best cause confusion and at worst get you in trouble.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
British English

The abbreviation RP ( Received Pronunciation) denotes what is traditionally considered the standard accent of people living in London and the southeast of England and of other people elsewhere who speak in this way. RP is the only British accent that has no specific geographical correlate: it is not possible, on hearing someone speak RP, to know which part of the United Kingdom he or she comes from. Though it is traditionally considered a "prestige" accent, RP is not intrinsically superior to other varieties of English; it is itself only one particular accent that has, through the accidents of history, achieved a higher status than others. Although acquiring its unique standing without the aid of any established authority, it was fostered by the public schools (Winchester, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, and so on) and the ancient universities (Oxford and Cambridge). Other varieties of English are well preserved in spite of the leveling influences of film, television, and radio. In several Northern accents, RP / a:/ (the first vowel sound in father) is still pronounced /æ/ (a sound like the a in fat) in words such as laugh, fast, and path; this pronunciation has been carried across the Atlantic into American English.

In the words run, rung, and tongue, the RP pronunciation of the vowel is like the u in but; in some Northern accents it is pronounced like the oo in book. In the words bind, find, and grind, the RP pronunciation of the vowel sound is /ai/, like that in "bide"; in some Northern accents, it is /i/, like the sound in feet. The vowel sound in the words go, home, and know in some Northern accents is /ɔ:/, approximately the sound in law in some American English accents. In parts of Northumberland, RP it is still pronounced "hit," as in Old English. In various Northern accents the definite article the is heard as t, th, or d. In those accents in which it becomes both t and th, t is used before consonants and th before vowels. Thus, one hears t'book but th'apple. When, however, the definite article is reduced to t and the following word begins with t or d, as in t'tail or t'dog, it is replaced by a slight pause as in the RP articulation of the first t in hat trick. The RP /t∫/, the sound of the ch in church, can become k, as in thack ("thatch, roof") and kirk ("church"). In some Northern dialects strong verbs retain the old past-tense singular forms band, brak, fand, spak for standard English forms bound, broke, found, and spoke. Strong verbs also retain the past participle inflection -en as in comen, shutten, sitten, and getten or gotten for standard English come, shut, sat, and got.

In some Midland accents the diphthongs in throat and stone have been kept apart, whereas in RP they have fallen together. In Cheshire, Derby, Stafford, and Warwick, RP singing is pronounced with a g sounded after the velar nasal sound (as in RP finger). In Norfolk one hears skellington and solintary for skeleton and solitary, showing an intrusive n just as does messenger in RP from French messager, passenger from French passager, and nightingale from Old English nihtegala. Other East Anglian words show consonantal metathesis (switch position), as in singify for signify, and substitution of one liquid or nasal for another, as in chimbly for chimney and synnable for syllable. Hantle for handful shows syncope (disappearance) of an unstressed vowel, partial assimilation of d to t before voiceless f, and subsequent loss of f in a triple consonant group.

In some South Western accents, initial f and s are often voiced, becoming v and z. Two words with initial v have found their way into RP: vat from fat and vixen from fixen (female fox). Another South Western feature is the development of a d between l or n and r, as in parlder for parlour and carnder for corner. The bilabial semivowel w has developed before o in wold for old, and in wom for home, illustrating a similar development in RP by which Old English ān has become one, and Old English hāl has come to be spelled whole, as compared with Northern hale. In some South Western accents yat comes from the old singular geat, whereas RP gate comes from the plural gatu. Likewise, clee comes from the old nominative clea, whereas RP claw comes from the oblique cases. The verbs keel and kemb have developed regularly from Old English cēlan "to make cool" and kemban "to use a comb," whereas the corresponding RP verbs cool and comb come from the adjective and the noun, respectively.

In Wales, people often speak a clear and measured form of English with rising intonations inherited from ancestral Celtic. They tend to aspirate both plosives (stops) and fricative consonants very forcibly; thus, two is pronounced with an audible puff of breath after the initial t, and while may be heard with a voiceless /w/.

Scots, or Lowland Scottish, was once a part of Northern English, but the two dialects began to diverge in the 14th century. Today speakers of Scots trill their r's, shorten vowels, and simplify diphthongs. A few Scots words, such as bairn, brae, canny, dour, and pawky, have made their way into RP. Scots is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language still spoken by about 60,000 people (almost all bilingual) mostly in the Highlands and the Western Isles. Thanks to such writers as Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, many Scottish Gaelic words have been preserved in English literature.

Northern Ireland has dialects related in part to Scots and in part to the southern Irish dialect of English. The influence of the Irish language on the speech of Dublin is most evident in the syntax of drama and in the survival of such picturesque expressions as We are after finishing, It's sorry you will be, and James do be cutting corn every day.

American and Canadian English

The dialect regions of the United States are most clearly marked along the Atlantic littoral, where the earlier settlements were made. Three dialects can be defined: Northern, Midland, and Southern. Each has its subdialects.

The Northern dialect is spoken in New England. Its six chief subdialects comprise northeastern New England ( Maine, New Hampshire, and eastern Vermont), southeastern New England (eastern Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, and Rhode Island), southwestern New England (western Massachusetts and western Connecticut), the inland north (western Vermont and upstate New York), the Hudson Valley, and metropolitan New York.

The Midland dialect is spoken in the coastal region from Point Pleasant, in New Jersey, to Dover, in Delaware. Its seven major subdialects comprise the Delaware Valley, the Susquehanna Valley, the Upper Ohio Valley, northern West Virginia, the Upper Potomac and Shenandoah, southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, western North Carolina and South Carolina, and eastern Tennessee.

The Southern dialect area covers the coastal region from Delaware to South Carolina. Its five chief subdialects comprise the Delmarva Peninsula, the Virginia Piedmont, northeastern North Carolina (Albemarle Sound and Neuse Valley), Cape Fear and Pee Dee valleys, and the South Carolina Low Country, around Charleston.

These boundaries, based on those of the Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Canada, are highly tentative. To some extent these regions preserve the traditional speech of southeastern and southern England, where most of the early colonists were born. The first settlers to arrive in Virginia (1607) and Massachusetts (1620) soon learned to adapt old words to new uses, but they were content to borrow names from the local Indian languages for unknown trees, such as hickory and persimmon and for unfamiliar animals, such as raccoon and woodchuck. Later they took words from foreign settlers: chowder and prairie from the French, scow and sleigh from the Dutch. They made new compounds, such as backwoods and bullfrog, and gave new meanings to such words as lumber (which in British English denotes disused furniture, or junk) and corn (which in British English signifies any grain, especially wheat) to mean "maize."

Before the Declaration of Independence (1776), two-thirds of the immigrants had come from England, but after that date they arrived in large numbers from Ireland. The Great Famine of 1845-49 drove 1.5 million Irish to seek homes in the New World, and the European revolutions of 1848 drove as many Germans to settle in Pennsylvania and the Midwest. After the close of the American Civil War, millions of Scandinavians, Slavs, and Italians crossed the ocean and eventually settled mostly in the North Central and Upper Midwest states. In some areas of South Carolina and Georgia, enslaved Africans working on rice and cotton plantations developed a contact language called Gullah, or Geechee, that made use of many structural and lexical features of their native languages. This variety of English is comparable to such contact languages as Sranan (Taki-taki) of Suriname and Melanesian Pidgins. The speech of the Atlantic Seaboard shows far greater differences in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary than that of any area in the North Central states, the Upper Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, or the Pacific Coast. Today, urbanization, quick transport, and television have tended to level out some dialectal differences in the United States. On the other hand, immigrant groups have introduced new varieties in which the influence of ethnic origins is evident, and some immigrant languages are widely spoken (notably Spanish, in the southeastern and southwestern states).

The boundary with Canada nowhere corresponds to any boundary between dialects, and the influence of United States English is strong, being felt least in the Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland and Labrador. Nevertheless, in spite of the effect of this proximity to the United States, British influences are still potent in some of the larger cities; Scottish influences are well sustained in Ontario. Canada remains bilingual. Less than one-fourth of its people, living mostly in the province of Quebec, have French as their mother tongue.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
English language - Dialects, Grammar, Vocabulary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
English language - Dialects, Grammar, Vocabulary: The abbreviation RP (Received Pronunciation) denotes what is traditionally considered the standard accent of people living in London and the southeast of England and of other people elsewhere who speak in this way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Where did the phrase 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson,...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 American Words That Completely Confuse Brits!