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Original poster

Can you tell where someone is from from how they write on MN?

305 replies

Theystoleourrecipe · 02/09/2023 08:41

I've noticed that when going through posts, I'll read something and think, 'oh this person is from x, just by the words and phrases they use. I'll sometimes be able to localise this to a more specific region. I never look at usernames when I'm reading unless something really stands out to me, so I generally don't have any prior knowledge of the poster influencing me. Of course I can't be 100% sure but I would put a bet on being right, most of the time.

Do you ever recognise a particular region through how a poster writes? Are you conscious of how you write, making sure not to use colloquialisms unique to your area or do you not think about it, or do it anyway?

OP posts:
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8
Ineedwinenow · 02/09/2023 09:47

I’m from Derbyshire and know straight away that there is another midlander here by eating a cob.. so hello all midlander’s, I’m currently eating a bacon cob as we speak Grin

ShoesoftheWorld · 02/09/2023 09:47

German also does the 'so' thing (and regional variants - I love Swabian 'sodele', which literally means something like 'little so'), but at the beginning of sentences.

HeyYouWithTheSadFace · 02/09/2023 09:48

When people say 'we had to go hospital' - instead of 'we had to go to the hospital.'

It appears to be a dialect thing but I'm not sure where from. Maybe Yorkshire?

And yes, on the baby name board, when people are saying how to pronounce names. Some of them blow my mind! 😂 But it's just down to regional accents.

AvocadotoastORahouse · 02/09/2023 09:48

@VisionsOfSplendour brought is ALSO grammatically correct! It may not be the phrase of choice where you are but doesn't mean it's "incorrect". Hmm

LizzieAnt · 02/09/2023 09:48

Theystoleourrecipe · 02/09/2023 09:45

I always say 'what age are you?' Rather than how old. Never realised it was an Irishism! 😎

I didn't either! A direct translation from Irish maybe.

AgnesX · 02/09/2023 09:48

@TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon Slainte .......

Everyone knows and can say that one😄

livinglifetothefull · 02/09/2023 09:48

I cant tell where anyone is from on MN as i say most of the above my self .
Im from suffolk uk much better to say it than leave mumnetters guessing .

HeyYouWithTheSadFace · 02/09/2023 09:49

LizzieAnt · 02/09/2023 09:48

I didn't either! A direct translation from Irish maybe.

Show quote history

This is common in Scotland as well

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 02/09/2023 09:50

If someone says Mam rather than Mum I tend to assume they're from the north east (I am too).

Original poster
Theystoleourrecipe · 02/09/2023 09:50

'So it is' was popular when I was growing up but seems to have died it.

That bike's broken, so it is.

OP posts:
DontTouchTheFigs · 02/09/2023 09:50

This is an AI generated post if people want one for comparison.

EmmaPaella · 02/09/2023 09:51

ShoesoftheWorld · 02/09/2023 09:47

German also does the 'so' thing (and regional variants - I love Swabian 'sodele', which literally means something like 'little so'), but at the beginning of sentences.

Ach so!

BitOutOfPractice · 02/09/2023 09:51

@Ineedwinenow I assume it’s crusty as you’re calling it a cob? If it were soft it’d be a bap of course.

I no longer live in the midlands <stifled sob> but really miss that fine midlands tradition of a cheese and onion cob of indeterminate age, tightly wrapped on cling film, on a pub bar to be purchased for about 50p as a bar snack. I could eat one now. Food of the gods.

AvocadotoastORahouse · 02/09/2023 09:51

switswoo81 · 02/09/2023 09:22

I would definitely assume a poster is not Irish (probably Englsh) when they use words like poorly and pudding. I would never use these words in conversation.
I never heard the word outwith that's a new one for me!

We use poorly all the time where I am in north Scotland. Just to confuse you Wink

Westfacing · 02/09/2023 09:51

CurlewKate · 02/09/2023 09:41

My Fil, who was from Tipperary used "grand" in so many ways. Including in accepting an apology "I'm so sorry I'm late!" "Ah, your're grand." I do miss him.

Aw, that's nice Smile

IHateWasps · 02/09/2023 09:51

This isn't on MN but if I'm walking around the city centre and I hear someone saying "ken" it really stands out to me because it isn't used in my part of Scotland so I know they aren't originally from my area.

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 02/09/2023 09:52

Ineedwinenow · 02/09/2023 09:47

I’m from Derbyshire and know straight away that there is another midlander here by eating a cob.. so hello all midlander’s, I’m currently eating a bacon cob as we speak Grin

❤️❤️❤️
My daughter is at university in Bath and one boy on her course eats cobs (as indeed do we, despite not having lived there for years 😂) I've told her to marry him immediately.

ShoesoftheWorld · 02/09/2023 09:53

ISTR that the 'needs washed' thing is also used in some regions of North America, possibly including Boston? Presumably taken along by emigrants back in the day.

AvocadotoastORahouse · 02/09/2023 09:53

May I just say I love @JenniferBarkley Grin not the first thread I've seen you rescue from ignorance!

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 02/09/2023 09:53

BitOutOfPractice · 02/09/2023 09:51

@Ineedwinenow I assume it’s crusty as you’re calling it a cob? If it were soft it’d be a bap of course.

I no longer live in the midlands <stifled sob> but really miss that fine midlands tradition of a cheese and onion cob of indeterminate age, tightly wrapped on cling film, on a pub bar to be purchased for about 50p as a bar snack. I could eat one now. Food of the gods.

One of my fondest memories of starting uni and room sharing was my (still best friend almost 40 years later) saying "shall we go and get a batch?" ❤️

ShoesoftheWorld · 02/09/2023 09:54

EmmaPaella · 02/09/2023 09:51

Ach so!

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Incredibly useful, expressive German exclamation - can do everything from 'now I get it' to 'chinny reckon' Grin

Ineedwinenow · 02/09/2023 09:56

BitOutOfPractice · 02/09/2023 09:51

@Ineedwinenow I assume it’s crusty as you’re calling it a cob? If it were soft it’d be a bap of course.

I no longer live in the midlands <stifled sob> but really miss that fine midlands tradition of a cheese and onion cob of indeterminate age, tightly wrapped on cling film, on a pub bar to be purchased for about 50p as a bar snack. I could eat one now. Food of the gods.

You’re a bit out of practice with your cobs 😜 if it’s round it’s a cob, it’s either a crusty cob or a soft cob! Definitely not a bap area here in mid Derbyshire Grin

feralunderclass · 02/09/2023 09:57

What does outwith mean?

JenniferBarkley · 02/09/2023 09:58

Anyone raising kids from a different region? I'm from Dublin but my kids are growing up in NI and those few miles can make quite the difference at times. Potty training a Northern Irish child involves saying the sentence "do you need a wee wee-wee" with a straight face. And when I brought (Wink) my two year old to a tile shop she was definitely puzzled at the lack of towels Grin

BitOutOfPractice · 02/09/2023 09:59

Ineedwinenow · 02/09/2023 09:56

You’re a bit out of practice with your cobs 😜 if it’s round it’s a cob, it’s either a crusty cob or a soft cob! Definitely not a bap area here in mid Derbyshire Grin

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Well I’m from the best other part of the midlands (Black Country) and we clearly take our bread more seriously there because there’s a clear distinction between a crusty cob and a soft bap. What you heathens in the east call it is a mystery to me 😂

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