Are these sneakers, tennis shoes or gym shoes? It all depends where you were raised.  If you were raised in the northeast they are "sneakers", if you were raised in the mid-west they are "tennis shoes", others call them gym shoes.

 A statistician at North Carolina State University analyzed survey data on the different words and pronunciations different parts of this country use to describe the same exact thing.  Here are the seven biggest ones we disagree on . . .

Caramel.  The East and the South usually go with "car-a-mel" . . . the Midwest and West go with "car-mil."

You Guys vs. Ya'll.  The South uses "ya'll" . . . except for south Florida, which goes with "you guys."  Pretty much the rest of the country goes with "you guys" . . . except central Kentucky, where the most popular version is "you all."

Pecan.  This might be the biggest divide of all.  The Northeast pronounces it "PEE-can" . . . Louisiana and its surrounding areas go with "pick-AHN" . . . northern Wisconsin and Michigan say "PEE-kahn" . . . and the rest say "pee-KAHN."

Soda vs. Pop vs. Coke.  The Midwest and Great Plains say "pop" . . . the West Coast, Northeast, south Florida, and St. Louis area say "soda" . . . and the South says "Coke," even if they're talking about Sprite.

Traffic circle?  When you get to a place where roads meet in a circle, what do you call it?  The East Coast and Texas go with "traffic circle" . . . although the New England states say "rotary."  Most of the rest of the country says "roundabout."

Fountains.  The South and most of the Midwest say "water fountain" . . . the West, plus Michigan say "drinking fountain" . . . and eastern Wisconsin and all of Rhode Island go with "bubbler."

Rain with the sun out.  When the sun is shining and it rains, New Jersey, eastern New York, northeast Minnesota and south Florida call it a "sun shower."

Mississippi and Alabama say "the devil is beating his wife."  Most of the rest of the country doesn't have a common term for it.

Are there other words that you hear that are pronounced totally different from what you've learned?

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