Los Angeles is a melting pot with people from all over the world. According to statistics, there are more than 200 different languages spoken – and, of course, dialects from different corners of the U.S.
Mary for example, a Southern belle, hailing from West Virginia, lived for a while in Alabama and moved, after a brief stay in Miami, to Los Angeles: “Honey, I’m fixin’ to get me some paih…”
People from the Midwest, like Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, speak a slang known as Midwestern twang:“I am from Chicaahhgo.” Imagine a cat whose eyes form little slits while she meows intensely. Don’t forget to speak through the nose. There is a saying that the numerous Eastern European immigrants have coined this dialect.
The dialect from New York is often considered pretty tough here in California: “Yo man, I’m a New Yooohhhker. Whatt the f*** yo looockin’ at?” And the Californians emphasize the vowels: “Oh my gawd, kewl, like the most amazing thing I’ve eever seeen.”
Anyway, our Southern Belle Mary loves living in L.A. There are only two things she does not appreciate: the constant traffic jam and the driving manners of the Angelenos.
More than once on the freeway, she encountered someone who drove up so closely to her that there was just about enough room for a match –something that would have never happened to her in the South, so she says.
You see, in L.A. you often live in the fast lane – and although the mostly sunny weather makes for a relaxed undertone, you will most probably not find bigger egos anywhere else.
Honestly, would you expect anything different from Hollywood?
Dana Heidner is a muli-cultural German living in L.A. with a passion for art, wellness and pop culture as well as a love for good food, fast cars, fashion and... shoes.
