To fulfill a “topics course” for the college of arts and sciences, I opted to take a dialects class.  The course description failed to inform me, however, that the class was actually entitled, Indiana Dialects.  Oops.  It was still interesting, although it kind of scarred me in two ways: 1) In a classroom full of hoosiers, I was always looked at as an “other” and was made to pronounce words in my ”native” tongue, so me and this other girl from Chicago were kind of outsiders. 2) I feel the need to point out Indiana dialects whenever I hear an example of one.  People are not amused by this.  I think people assume I’m acting superior, but I really just find it fascinating.

I’m mostly used to Hoosierspeak.
Like how “jenn” sounds like “gin,”  a “sweeper” is a vaccuum, something is “catty-corner” as opposed to ”kitty-corner.”
However, I can never get used to [need + past participle] like “the car needs washed.”  That is so fucking weird.

I am also trying to understand why Damon refuses to prounounce the L in “cold” [coh-d] and yet it shows up uninvited in a phrase like, “do you have a bra[L] on,” to which I respond, “A brawl?”   He thinks I am mocking him, but how could I, as it’s so cute.