a minor point

[titusnowl]

Reading an article on linguistics and the deterioration of regional dialects, I discovered the apparent 'fact' that the word "cupboard" is:
a) a Northeastern (specifically Western New England) dialect word, and
b) dying out in favour of "cabinet," which is identified as a primarily Southern dialect word in origin.

"Pail" (Northeastern) and "bucket" (Southern) are mentioned as a further example of the same thing.

I use all four words, with a preference for "cupboard" (I always SAY "cupboard," but I know what you mean if you say "cabinet") and "bucket" (actually, it seems to me that "pail" is a sort of subset of "bucket," although I couldn't really clearly define the difference; the small metal ones children play with in sandboxes or at beaches are always pails, and other examples of the genre vary by what they're being used for at the time). I had no idea that "cupboard" was a regionalism at all.

Weigh in on this for me?

Note: If you are like me and are aware of both words, but usually tend to use one or the other in your speech, please choose the one you use most often; only use the "both" option if you actually have no preference between them at all.

[Poll #1286741]

Comments

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

"I think Montreal has its own dialect, though" - Yeah, the big divisions I put up subdivide a lot, but I didn't want to run out of tickyboxes. :3c New York State contains three different dialects - New York City has its own, the eastern bank of the Hudson Valley is considered part of the New England dialect and is closer to Boston than to New York City linguistically, and the rest of upstate is actually considered part of the Midwest; Texas divides between the South and the Southwest, with a squidgey area in the middle where it can go either way depending on your immediate vicinity; so on and so forth.

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

...and yeah, I should've put California as its own thing; I think it's linguistically quite distinct from the rest of the American Southwest.

from lakidaa's flist

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

Stumbled across this. Innnnteresting!

Might you link to the article? :D ?

Re: from lakidaa's flist

[chikkiboo.livejournal.com]

I would, but it's in a book I picked up at a rummage sale. :C

[akatsukami.livejournal.com]

I should note that I'm from Connecticut's Tobacco Valley, where the accent is more Southern than Yankee (although I can do the hard New England accent). You could hear it in my speech when I spoke clearly.