I agree about "the" S.L.O. boundary. I thought "hella" was universal. Maybe I'm in a bubble. > From: Noelle <noelle> > Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2023 06:38:31 -0700 (PDT) > > electoral-vote.com > > J.E. in where-I-live (sometimes pronounced Sanna Zay), CA, writes: R.L. > came up with their own list of Ca speech characteristics. > However, R.L.'s brush was too broad for my taste. > > You need to get past at least San Luis Obispo before people start > "the"-ing highways. Show some NorCal pride, R.L.! > > Conversely, "hella" is a Bay Area phrase, which explains why an > Alamedan would know of it. In my trips to the water-stealing half of > the state, I always code-switch away from this term, lest I be outed > as a Northerner. Seeing (undoubtedly) (Z)'s response causes me to > rethink this. My own local bias is clearly showing here. > > Only Bay Areans hold "Frisco" disdainfully. But the larger issue is > the rise of "San Fran." I feel powerless to stop it. > > Lots of locals call it "Cali," although I refuse. I want R.L. to be > right here, but alas. > > And finally, yes, we do conflate everything east of the Rockies. I > still don't believe Virginia is a Southern state, although Gov. > Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) is really testing me. > > The one thing missing from both lists is our dialect, which removes > the letter "T" when it is after an "N."