The disucussion started by dgeigh in Q&A, and our subsequent posts on how we say where we're from made me wonder.

How do you state where you're from?

Me, for example, if I'm talking to somebody from outside of Canada, I'll say I'm from Montreal, Canada. When talking with a Canadian, I'll just say I'm from Montreal. I don't need to state my province, they'll know I'm from Quebec because Montreal is a big city.

Just like people from Moose Jaw don't have to say they're from Saskatchewan or people from Toronto say they're from Ontario.

BUT, somebody from Mont St Michel would have to add Quebec because it's a teeny town nobody but its 250 inhabitants know.

Now, I'd assume that people everywhere do it this way...but from being here at AWAD for many years, I've learned that assuming something like that can be totally wrong.

So, how do you say where you're from? To somebody in your country, and to somebody from out of your country?

To someone from the UK:
…from Eglwsywrw, Pembrokeshire… yeah, Wales <g>

To someone from the Civilised World™:
…from a little village called Eglwsywrw, on the west coast of the UK

To someone from the USA:
…from Wales: well, yah go to Nu Yoik an make a right. It’s where the sun rises.

:)

To someone from the USA:
…from Wales: well, yah go to Nu Yoik an make a right. It’s where the sun rises.

The sun rises in the south?

ya gotsa ta face North to be properly orientatatated ;)

You din't never say that. Or either that or this Nu Yoik you speak of is some little town in northern Quebec, one. Sounds like a First Nations name, but really more like one in southern Arizona, if you ask me. In which case the sun would be rising in the northwest.

> So, how do you say where you're from?

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. And orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet. That's my home :-)

i have it easy, New York.. City... well i live in Queens.

and right now, almost smack dab between the airports.. South of LaG, and North of JFK.

amazingly enough, most people have heard of the place..

I say, "Vermont".

if I need to go beyond that I say, "in the United States".

> if I need to go beyond that I say, "in the United States".

Yeah, but where is Vermont? - North east coast, right?

I have it easy: I figure that somewhere around 99% of the civilized world have heard of Kentucky Fried Chicken, so I just say Kentucky to foreigners.
To folks within a radius of, say, 600 miles or so I say Louisville and they seem to know where I mean.
To non-___ender Louisvillians I say either that I live in the __ end of town, or that I live next to ___ park.
To ___enders here in town, I just say the name of my street.

How many syllables, Jackie?

Four! Loo-ih-VIL-yuns. The second one is really quick, but there. That's about the only time we give the old king his (semi-)correct pronunciation.

Ms. J, how would a civilized (read Louisvillian) person say hook?

but I digress.

See?! Ms J is entirely average in her sylabbification ~ OK, so sometimes there's one more or less than Outlanders might expect but!

how would a civilized (read Louisvillian) person say hook? First--with the same vowel sound as in put*; just one sylABle: huk. We're not far enough south to say hu-uk. That reminds me: I want to find the Food Channel online today and find the Alabama lady's recipe for marinated salmon w/ pineapple salsa; I'd like to fix that tonight. I love to listen to her talk!
*Not as in roof, but as in roof.

Woops--make that the Food Network, and Maple-Glazed Salmon with Pineapple Salsa.

>Yeah, but where is Vermont? - North east coast, right?

good point. amended to say, "the north east of the United States",

but not on the coast...

huk.. not far enough south to say hu-uk.

thanks for that. I feared that maybe you followed this dialectal approach:
hy-uo-ook-kuh

Yet, for some reason, everyone on the *planet knows where Chicago is...

Bien, it's cause you're there, of course.

where Chicago is

For a long, long time the universal reaction to hearing one was from Chicago was to mime holding a tommy gun and saying, "Al Capone." Then it was to say, "Michael Jordan." What is it now?

What is it now?

"musick"

> "musick"

swiftly followed by "can I have a bed for the night I fly in dude, and which bar shall we meet in?" ;)

To anyone just about: from Virginia( possibly adding USA, depending upon audience)

To Virginians: from DeWitt (sometimes adding: southwest of Richmond)

To DeWittians: from Rocky Run

Interesting question.

To Canadians I say "Vancouver", In the States I add "B C" (or British Columbia) as there is a Vancouver, Washington too.
Elsewhere I say "Vancouver, on the west coast of Canada."

To DeWittians: from Rocky Run

Funny, we allus tell people you're from Dim-witty.

I knew you would bring that out, Faldage. But, no, I generally tell people I'm from DeWitt. I pronounce it: Duh WITT; locals pronounce it: DEE witt

...a bed for the night I fly in...

Nightly rentals of futons with wings?

I say "I'm from Irchester ... " Slight pause while listening to incredulous reply. Then "Yes, I know it sounds like something out of the Archers!"

Northamptonshire is a black hole to most people. You go straight from Buckinghamshire to Leicestershire.

To the ignorati - almost anyone who doesn't come from Britain - I simply say "I live 60 miles north of London." They lose interest at that point ...

How many syllables in Irchester? And Leicestershire, for that matter?

How many syllables

Wait, wait, don't tell me.

Three each, yeah?

Leicestershire as said here in NZ would have 3 syllables and, or course, no "r"s.

My friend formerly of Birmingham (UK) would have said the locals would say it something like Lst-sh, I think. Apparently Brumsians are a-vowel-ic.

I have a friend born in Leicester, and he says the name of the town exactly the way we do - Lest(schwa). I've never asked him to pronounce the county's name.

Okay. Please walk me through Worchestershire again.

> walk me through Worchestershire again

It's a big place - how long have we got?

woos-tah-sh'r