Regional vernacular...

[dpaanlka]

I live in Chicago was on the phone with a friend who recently moved to Colorado, and he was telling me that none of his new friends out there say "for sure" as a standalone sentence in response to anything, and even find his use of it humorous. In my area we say that so often it seems indispensable to speech.

Do you say "for sure"? Is that really a regional thing? Or maybe an urban thing?

 

[greganpace]

I think I always say definitely or perfect. I go to school at BYU in Utah, which has more out-of-state students than in-state, so I have actually noticed how there really are phrases and words that are regional. I think for sure is a midwest thing.

 

[PhoenixMac]

Definitely a regional thing traveling a lot lets me see the differences in phrases between east coast and west coast

 

[mscriv]

Vocabulary and slang is definitely a regional thing. With today's media and internet exposure some phrases or words can become more popular on a mainstream level, but there will always be regional, national, cultural, and geographical differences.

Think about:

You's guys vs. Ya'll
Pop vs. Coke vs. Soda
WTF! vs. Oh my head!
When talking about pizza, gimme a slice vs. gimme a piece
Car accident vs. wreck
I've heard in some parts of England that call barfing "parking the tiger"
Ace vs. Cool

I'm sure if everyone chipped in we could fill this thread with different slang terms or phrases for a variety of things.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Differences in slang, argot and vocabulary are more than regional differences; any group which differs from another group (by virtue of location, or profession, or social class, or whatever other signifiers are involved - gender, era when the language is spoken, a desirable "in" group - etc) develops a different version of the same language. Sometimes, this is because of distance - in time or place; sometimes, a specific environment, or need, gives rise to changes in the language which the language had not been able to express but yet needed to be able to accommodate.

The manner in which languages change is extremely interesting. However, re slang, I also find it fascinating to note which slang successfully transcends its origins to travel and be accepted & used more widely and which is accepted for a while and then falls into disuse (for example, a lot of World War II slang).