“What neighborhood do you live in?” “How’s your mom?” “Where do you go to church?” These are just some of the ways people all across the country say hello to strangers.
“The Geography of Small Talk” was put together by The Atlantic based on research from their correspondent Deborah Fallows to look at the questions people use to start a conversation with strangers.
We’ve looked before at the some of the ways that American dialects change around the country, but this video is an interesting example of the ways that not just the words, but the meanings of regionalisms can transform from utterly bland to sometimes rather invasive when taken out of their geographical context.
http://io9.com/this-quiz-pinpoints-your-american-dialect-down-to-the-t-1441692591/all
So what are the typical greetings where you are? Tell us how you say hello — or just share some regionalisms specific to your area — in the comments below.
