Dictionary of Nebraska English

[GSG]

Don't some Virginians pronounce Norfolk, Nor-***? I thought I had heard that somewhere.

I know people that say crick and warsh and use "dinner" for lunch. I don't say any of those.

I do use "salty" when referring to sports teams, but I've heard that from other people around the country, so I'm not sold on that being Nebraska-only.

 

[jsneb83]

pop is not only Nebraskan, more of a region thing and when we say "the river" we mean the Nemaha river! oh and "shar" for shower.

Pop is actually one that I take offense to. I get teased by my nieces all the time that grew up on the East coast because they think "soda" is more correct. In reality, this all started with the term "Soda Pop". So, we chose to shorten it to "pop" and they decided to use "soda". Why is one more correct than the other one?

One that absolutely drives me crazy because my wife is from that area so I hear it all the time is "Norfork" for referring to a certain town in the north east part of the state. People...it is spelled "NORFOLK". There is not a second "R" in the word.

I was raised by two English teachers and mispronunciations or misuse of words drive me crazy.

Problem is, for some reason I still suck at spelling and punctuation.

Maybe if you knew where the name came from it would make more sense. The colony had been settled on the north fork of the Elkhorn River. So the original name was North Fork, or something similar. It somehow got named Norfolk when it became a city.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Dinner, lunch and Supper need a little more explanation I think.

Dinner refers to a large meal and can be either at Noon or in the evening. Most of the time during the week, I have lunch at noon and dinner or supper in the evening. However, if my mother invites us over for "dinner" on Sunday, then it usually means a large meal that will be served at noon after church. Lunch is usually a lighter meal consisting of either a quick sandwich or salad and is always at noon on mid day.

 

[BigRedBuster]

pop is not only Nebraskan, more of a region thing and when we say "the river" we mean the Nemaha river! oh and "shar" for shower.

Pop is actually one that I take offense to. I get teased by my nieces all the time that grew up on the East coast because they think "soda" is more correct. In reality, this all started with the term "Soda Pop". So, we chose to shorten it to "pop" and they decided to use "soda". Why is one more correct than the other one?

One that absolutely drives me crazy because my wife is from that area so I hear it all the time is "Norfork" for referring to a certain town in the north east part of the state. People...it is spelled "NORFOLK". There is not a second "R" in the word.

I was raised by two English teachers and mispronunciations or misuse of words drive me crazy.

Problem is, for some reason I still suck at spelling and punctuation.

Maybe if you knew where the name came from it would make more sense. The colony had been settled on the north fork of the Elkhorn River. So the original name was North Fork, or something similar. It somehow got named Norfolk when it became a city.

I have had that explained to me and it still drives me crazy. Then friggen name the town "North Fork, Nebraska" instead of Norfolk.

 

[BigRedBuster]

And...for the record....every area of the country has little quirks in their speech like this. Some just seem to act like they don't.

 

[Hingle McCringleberry]

I went to college with a guy from Norfolk. According to their local lore, it was originally North Fork, and the post office shortened it to Norfork, and thru some sort of spelling mistake it became Norfolk, but the salty folks Nordt of The River continue to say Norfork.

Also adding "at"... People would not say "are we there yet", but "Where are we at", "Just crossed the nordt crick"

Nordt, instead of North, dont hear it often. Davenport isn't just a town i Iowa, it's also a couch.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Nordt, instead of North, dont hear it often. Davenport isn't just a town i Iowa, it's also a couch.

My siblings and I laugh all the time because our parents are the only ones that we know of that go shopping for a davenport for their living room.

 

[Hingle McCringleberry]

Nordt, instead of North, dont hear it often. Davenport isn't just a town i Iowa, it's also a couch.

My siblings and I laugh all the time because our parents are the only ones that we know of that go shopping for a davenport for their living room.

I think back east, a Davenport is some kind of small desk or table.

 

[Count 'Bility]

The pronunciation of Louisville has been drivin me nuts lately. i dont know why it just has. I've been hearing it as "LOO-I-VUL". And I've always known it as "LOO-EE-VILL". Right or wrong, it's one of them stupid little things that just ruins my day.

 

[NUance]

pop is not only Nebraskan, more of a region thing and when we say "the river" we mean the Nemaha river! oh and "shar" for shower.

One that absolutely drives me crazy because my wife is from that area so I hear it all the time is "Norfork" for referring to a certain town in the north east part of the state. People...it is spelled "NORFOLK". There is not a second "R" in the word.

I'm glad I grew up in omaha, so my pronunciation matches the rest of America. Some nebraskans don't realize they're the only ones on this universe that pronounces Norfolk as "norfork". It's kinda funny actually

Let's not forget Cairo and Hebron Nebraska. They're alone in their own universe of pronunciation. :lol:

 

[GSG]

The pronunciation of Louisville has been drivin me nuts lately. i dont know why it just has. I've been hearing it as "LOO-I-VUL". And I've always known it as "LOO-EE-VILL". Right or wrong, it's one of them stupid little things that just ruins my day.

Any more, it sounds like Lull-ville with a mouthful of mashed potatoes

 

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Where I'm from everyone that walks through the saloon doors is called Doc or meat nuts. My cousins from Dallas think its hilarious and don't understand how we tell one doc from another. It's a group of about 30-40 good Ol boys that some combination of about 5-10 are always drinking together every hour of every day! GOD I LOVE NEBRASKA!!!

 

[Count 'Bility]

The pronunciation of Louisville has been drivin me nuts lately. i dont know why it just has. I've been hearing it as "LOO-I-VUL". And I've always known it as "LOO-EE-VILL". Right or wrong, it's one of them stupid little things that just ruins my day.

Any more, it sounds like Lull-ville with a mouthful of mashed potatoes

Yeah, that too. That may be the way it's supposed to be pronounced, but listening to Kevin Kugler on the espn radio broadcast of their final four games trying to pronounce it that way instead of "LOO-EE-VILL" was just driving me insane.

 

[ADS]

Went to Vegas 2 years ago with some friends, got on the elevator at New York New York to get to our room. A nice couple from Florida happened to be on the elevator as well and sparked up a conversation with us based on the Nebraska shirts we were all wearing. The commented on how we say certain words weird, and how we have a midwestern accent.

 

[Mierin]

Nordt, instead of North, dont hear it often. Davenport isn't just a town i Iowa, it's also a couch.

My siblings and I laugh all the time because our parents are the only ones that we know of that go shopping for a davenport for their living room.

I think back east, a Davenport is some kind of small desk or table.

My granny called them davenports. I think I recall looking it up and it was a popular brand of couch in the Sears catalog (or something). So it's sort of like kleenex.

Edit: "Davenport is the name of a series of sofas made by the now-defunct Massachusetts furniture manufacturer A. H. Davenport Company. Due to the popularity of the furniture at the time, the name "Davenport" has become a genericized trademark, like Kleenex."