Dialect Surveys

A professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee conducted a dialect survey and mapped his results by geography here. This type of thing is fascinating to me.

Some of the highlights:
Pronunciation of "Insurance" - inSURance like most people, or INsurance like some people south of I-80 in Illinois say.
Sneakers vs. Tennis Shoes vs. Gym Shoes - sneakers out East, tennis shoes elsewhere, gym shoes in Illinois/Indiana/Ohio - which is what I call them.
Some odd knife-throwing game - that the majority of people call "mumbly peg"? WTF?


via 37 signals Fly on the Wall