jim wrote:I think it's what you get used to, to me Chicago is firmly midwestern. I would say the northern edge seems about the same or maybe even less than the southern edge St. Louis has. Northern is Green Bay, Sheboygan, Minneapolis. But when you are away for a long time, you go to St. Louis and pickup a noticeable accent on the people that I probably wouldn't have heard 20 years ago. I stopped warshing my car years ago.
There was a linguist (can't remember who it was) that divided a southern US and northern US accent at Highway 40. So saying St. Louis is mid-southern, mid-northern, mid-western is probably not too far off.
So, you're with me on saying it's a Mid-Southern. You took it a step further. It's a Mid-Snorthern town. Ok, I'll stop now.
jim wrote:I think it's what you get used to, to me Chicago is firmly midwestern. I would say the northern edge seems about the same or maybe even less than the southern edge St. Louis has. Northern is Green Bay, Sheboygan, Minneapolis. But when you are away for a long time, you go to St. Louis and pickup a noticeable accent on the people that I probably wouldn't have heard 20 years ago. I stopped warshing my car years ago.
Ah, but Iowans say "warsh" and "crick" and stuff like that, as well. And Iowa is decidedly NOT Southern.
Also, back to your point, jim..... take Chicago and compare it to other traditional northern cities. Cities that are unquestionably northern. Minneapolis, for instance. I'd say that Chicago is a lot more similar to something like Minneapolis than St. Louis is to something like Atlanta.
I think Atlanta residents would probably scoff at the notion that STL is southern. Whereas someone from the Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) probably thinks of Chicago as it's bretheren.
Simbagal23 wrote:When I moved from Iowa to the STL area, I really thought STL seemed "southern" to me. Now, after living in the ATL area for a couple of years, y'all don't know southern!
And if I hear one more comment about the "war of northern aggression", I will :blowup:
Simba, We should plan a GRB get together here in Atlanta
Will you be going to Turner Field when Cards visit the town? Me and my wife will be there for sure!
jim wrote:I think it's what you get used to, to me Chicago is firmly midwestern. I would say the northern edge seems about the same or maybe even less than the southern edge St. Louis has. Northern is Green Bay, Sheboygan, Minneapolis. But when you are away for a long time, you go to St. Louis and pickup a noticeable accent on the people that I probably wouldn't have heard 20 years ago. I stopped warshing my car years ago.
Ah, but Iowans say "warsh" and "crick" and stuff like that, as well. And Iowa is decidedly NOT Southern.
I still say "crick". When Chicagoans here me say "crick", they think I'm from Wisconsin.
If I go up on the northern fringes of Chicago - Round Lake, Volo - up by the Wisconsin border, it feels a little Northern.
A better description for me of St. Louis is the heartland. It's smack dab in the middle of just about everything. It's not western but all of your radio stations start with a "K". It's not southern but it was part of the Confederacy, is hotter than a firecracker in the summer, and the river meanders along just like Mark Twain wrote about. it's not northern but it can get colder than a witches tit in the winter.
Last edited by jim on April 23 07, 9:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
RC21 wrote:Also, back to your point, jim..... take Chicago and compare it to other traditional northern cities. Cities that are unquestionably northern. Minneapolis, for instance. I'd say that Chicago is a lot more similar to something like Minneapolis than St. Louis is to something like Atlanta.
I think Atlanta residents would probably scoff at the notion that STL is southern. Whereas someone from the Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) probably thinks of Chicago as it's bretheren.
Ok, good point there. Chicago is definitely closer to Minneapolis than St. Louis is to Atlanta.
- confederacy during Civil War
- presence of hoosiers
- frequency of seeing confederate flag decals on backs of pickup trucks (south county only)
- remaining signs of segregation
- occasional southern accents, mainly in outlying areas.
Everything else about St. Louis is quintessentially midwestern. So I'd put it at 5% southern, 95% midwestern.
You took it a step further. It's a Mid-Snorthern town. Ok, I'll stop now.
