Submitted by Susan Miller on Wed, 10/10/2007 - 19:36.
I was fascinated to learn about a website called Really Bad Cleveland Accent. Check out what a Cleveland accent sounds like. We all know the sound of the nasally, NYC accent and there are the valley girl “ya know” and New England's “wicked”. These are contributions to our ever growing American slang and they come with their own accents, too. But here in Cleveland we are subtle and sly. We write and say “then” when we mean “than”. Like this from today's PeeDee, "It's safer to let the fire burn itself out then to get in there and fight it, officials said." No not "burn itself out then (sic) to get in there and fight it". I think we know the difference between then and than. Right?
(sic • \’sik\ adverb [Latin] (circa 1859): intentionally so written — used after a printed word or passage to indicate that it is exactly as printed or to indicate that it exactly reproduces an original (Ex. Tom said he seed [sic] it all).)
I was amused when I moved here and heard people say "needs washed" instead of “needs to be washed”. But I am curious about the then than affliction. Is it because of the accent or is it a typo that appears more in Cleveland than (then) elsewhere? Watch for it in blog print and listen for it in the street. Maybe one of you who are native to Cleveland can help me understand this. I'm from the south where I know what is meant by such erudite terms as ya'll (you all) and git (get).
And I keep looking for the new blog Cleveland -. Has anyone seen it yet? Lorain with their sprawl inducing interchange for the CCF and Jacobs sounds like they may be launching that site soon. Ya know, if we can’t get our interchange we’re pulling out of this regionalism rhetoric. Great idea Lorain! Really positive! Maybe we could give them some of our interchanges – like maybe the Harvard 271 interchange. Ah… if only deer could vote on highway interchange proposals. Do they have deer on the NOACA board?
Christine keeps saying she is ready to move back here. Tentative. She's definitely a Clevelander. Good and bad. This whole region has to face the fact that we have the good and bad--everywhere--suburbs and city. The shootings at Success Tech could have happened in Bay Village. Kids today don't understand reality. We are all living the same non-reality. We can make it a better reality for all of us. We need to see the US and the GOOD. Someone/group worked hard on this promotional piece for Cleveland. They want a good reality. Thank you. I would like the video to flash to homeowners working on their houses and passengers taking RTA, but overall a hopeful reality is presented here. We may talk funny here, but we can be good neighbors.
Just shared an interesting lunch with an out-of-town visitor, I meet at Civilization on Lincoln Park in Tremont. He flew in from Texas on his own, just to explore our ethnic landscape, our churches and our neighborhoods. He is staying at one of the best hotels downtown, but is seeing the city by public transportation. We both got wet while hoofing it to Sokolowski's.
Tom had many interesting stories to share about his travels throughout the United States. Here's one idea that came up in conversation: the CVB (Positively Cleveland) should make it possible for visitors to liason with the churches in our town, so that when Tom and others like him knock on the doors of St. Theodosius, St. Cantius and St. Stanislaus, there will be someone there to open the door. Tom also noted that while downtown, while he tried to grab a bite at Flannery's Pub on Prospect--no one seated him and no one provided any greeting what-so-ever. He waited and was told by another couple there that they had been waiting for close to forty minutes for their order to arrive, so he left.
Not good--Cleveland. Not good at all. Meanwhile, Sokolowski's delivers without a problem :) Tom showed me the brochure he picked up on Tremont from his hotel (the Renaissance). I wrote most of the text, so I recognized it as very out-of-date. The staff also steered him clear of Slavic Village (where he had hoped to visit St. Stans). I told him to go anyways. He was also going to visit Sterle's Country Inn. What a trooper! Of course, no hotel features my neighborhood as a local attraction, but I don't blame the CVB. I blame our CDC. Get it together. Make us a destination.
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Positively Cleveland
Nice. For a competitive person, with competitive sisters in Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Really, really nice.
then or than/Cleveland -
I was fascinated to learn about a website called Really Bad Cleveland Accent. Check out what a Cleveland accent sounds like. We all know the sound of the nasally, NYC accent and there are the valley girl “ya know” andNew England 's “wicked”. These are contributions to our ever growing American slang and they come with their own accents, too. But here in Cleveland
(sic • \’sik\ adverb [Latin] (circa 1859): intentionally so written — used after a printed word or passage to indicate that it is exactly as printed or to indicate that it exactly reproduces an original (Ex. Tom said he seed [sic] it all).)
I was amused when I moved here and heard people say "needs washed" instead of “needs to be washed”. But I am curious about the then than affliction. Is it because of the accent or is it a typo that appears more inCleveland Cleveland
And I keep looking for the new blogCleveland Lorain Lorain
Christine
Christine keeps saying she is ready to move back here. Tentative. She's definitely a Clevelander. Good and bad. This whole region has to face the fact that we have the good and bad--everywhere--suburbs and city. The shootings at Success Tech could have happened in Bay Village. Kids today don't understand reality. We are all living the same non-reality. We can make it a better reality for all of us. We need to see the US and the GOOD. Someone/group worked hard on this promotional piece for Cleveland. They want a good reality. Thank you. I would like the video to flash to homeowners working on their houses and passengers taking RTA, but overall a hopeful reality is presented here. We may talk funny here, but we can be good neighbors.
Tom Trower
Just shared an interesting lunch with an out-of-town visitor, I meet at Civilization on Lincoln Park in Tremont. He flew in from Texas on his own, just to explore our ethnic landscape, our churches and our neighborhoods. He is staying at one of the best hotels downtown, but is seeing the city by public transportation. We both got wet while hoofing it to Sokolowski's.
Tom had many interesting stories to share about his travels throughout the United States. Here's one idea that came up in conversation: the CVB (Positively Cleveland) should make it possible for visitors to liason with the churches in our town, so that when Tom and others like him knock on the doors of St. Theodosius, St. Cantius and St. Stanislaus, there will be someone there to open the door. Tom also noted that while downtown, while he tried to grab a bite at Flannery's Pub on Prospect--no one seated him and no one provided any greeting what-so-ever. He waited and was told by another couple there that they had been waiting for close to forty minutes for their order to arrive, so he left.
Not good--Cleveland. Not good at all. Meanwhile, Sokolowski's delivers without a problem :) Tom showed me the brochure he picked up on Tremont from his hotel (the Renaissance). I wrote most of the text, so I recognized it as very out-of-date. The staff also steered him clear of Slavic Village (where he had hoped to visit St. Stans). I told him to go anyways. He was also going to visit Sterle's Country Inn. What a trooper! Of course, no hotel features my neighborhood as a local attraction, but I don't blame the CVB. I blame our CDC. Get it together. Make us a destination.