One of the most amusing things about visiting my parents in Cleveland is reading the Plain Dealer. I used to particularly enjoy laughing at the people who write letters to the editor, but my new favorite thing is regionalism-spotting. I don’t know if the PD uses regionalisms as a conscious style decision or if their copy-editors just don’t notice them. Either way, it’s rather charming.

My list so far:

• the standard term for soft drinks is pop - not just in direct quotes, but any time soft drinks are referred to in the paper
• a headline in today’s food section encouraged readers to “Fix a vibrant winter salad”
• an article last week remarked that something “needed doing”

I wonder how many more I can spot the rest of the week.

Posted by Amanda in Language |