Regional identity

[Velvet_Highground]

We absolutely use barely that way at least in my corner of the world I’m a bit surprised. It’s not exactly the way I speak though. I normally say just got out of the shower, barely is used instead of just or just recently “barely furnished room” would fit my speech patterns does “barely enough for dinner”. Homegirl is used as well though it’s not universal, I use “my homegirl” or “homegirl did xyz”.

Homegirl isn’t universal but it’s been gaining ground quickly it’s more common on the east side & in Detroit though I would say it’s gained a lot of traction in the 35 and younger crowd. The qualifier being it’s not used commonly outside of metropolitan areas in my experience.

Though it’s been a few years since I’ve left the Great Lakes area let alone traveled the wider Midwest & the rest of the country. Something to think about when I head out to California, Nevada & Arizona this summer.

[dave8721]

I don't think I've heard anyone use barely that way.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

This might explain accent, but not dialect... I think it's very oudated.

I use "barely" to mean "just recently," as in "Hold on, I barely got out of the shower." Someone told me that's a very LA thing to say, specifically East LA. I also say "Where's your homegirl?" without giving it a second thought. I think people in LA don't realize how much Mexican-American dialect has become very mainstream throughout SoCal.

Being that I've only ever lived in southern California, do people in the Midwest or New England use "barely" that way?

For the record, the dictionary definition of "barely" is "in a meager manner; scarcely; plainly," as in "a barely furnished room" or "barely enough money for dinner."

Yes, that is common elsewhere, but I've most often heard it in relation to something just finishing before having another obligation. For example, "I barely got home before my job called me back to the office." "Barely" also means just in time. "I barely made it to work/school/the airport in time." I think this is related to the way that you're using it in your shower example. "I barely

[Acajack]

"Cause we were barely 17 and we were barely dressed."

[Docere]

Thought this reddit post was interesting. No Ohio pride in Cleveland, but Michigan pride in Detroit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cleveland/c...s_sister_city/

[Crawford]

Michigan pride is a big thing. It's almost like Texas pride.

In the Northeast, identification is typically city-centered and state boundaries are largely irrelevant. In Michigan the state is the primary cultural reference.

[Steely Dan]

It is interesting how some states develop an all encompassing state-wide pride thing, while others have virtually none of it.

Wisconsin has loads of "cheesehead" state pride.

Illinois has none.

[DevonNom]

Is the extent of state pride in the U.S. related to cultural references or more influenced by regional identity and history?

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Docere

Thought this reddit post was interesting. No Ohio pride in Cleveland, but Michigan pride in Detroit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cleveland/c...s_sister_city/

ohio is more city and regional wide -- regional for the 5 ohios.

there is of course state pride too, mostly around the flagship state u osu sports, but even that can be spotty.

for example, the rural areas are full on osu, but not so for urban -- ie., cinci cares not a whit about osu and in the clev notre dame is as big a deal as osu sports.

the five ohios --

[ColDayMan]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

ohio is more city and regional wide -- regional for the 5 ohios.

there is of course state pride too, mostly around the flagship state u osu sports, but even that can be spotty.

for example, the rural areas are full on osu, but not so for urban -- ie., cinci cares not a whit about osu and in the clev notre dame is as big a deal as osu sports.

the five ohios --

This 100%. Cleveland has pride in "its Ohio" but that is not the same as, say, someone in Toledo or Cincinnati.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: We (Ohioans) are all living in a condo that we don't talk to each other but pay rent. Cincinnati likes the kitchen, Columbus likes the bedroom, Cleveland likes the living room, and Steubenville likes the basement.

Michigan, I think, is an outlier in the region regarding being centric around one state. I don't see this same strong pride in regional states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, or even New York (Buffalo's "NY" is vastly different than Manhattan's). Strong state pride seems more "Southern" if anything like Texas or Alabama. But then again, there is New Jersey...

[pdxtex]

Michigan has a thing for slogans. Say Yes to Michigan! Now its Pure Michigan which ppl on social media actually use. I should make one for Oregon. Oregon! Come for the trees, then go home!

[Steely Dan]

CHICAGO: come for the gang warfare, then never go home!

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

Michigan, I think, is an outlier in the region regarding being centric around one state. I don't see this same strong pride in regional states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, or even New York

As I mentioned earlier, like Michigan, Wisconsin is thick with their whole cheesehead, "drink wisconsinably", lovable alcoholic idiots, state pride schtick.

It's also kinda funny because they try to insult people from Chicagoland by calling us "FIBs" (Fucking Illinois Bastards), but what they don't grasp is that people in Chicagoland don't have any "Illinois" identity or pride.

We're just like "oh, you wanna make fun of Illinois now too? We're fucking Chicagoans; we invented that shit!!"

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Docere

Thought this reddit post was interesting. No Ohio pride in Cleveland, but Michigan pride in Detroit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cleveland/c...s_sister_city/

Metro Detroiters conflate "Michigan" with Metro Detroit. I don't know if I'd call this state pride as much as an obfuscation of identity. To outsiders it sounds like they are embracing the entire state, but in reality they're mostly talking about Metro Detroit.

As for the topic of the thread, I agree that Cleveland is more like Detroit than it is like Pittsburgh.

[pdxtex]

I grew up in Michigan too. I don't remember there being this overt state pride. It seemed like if anything it football based. U of M, State, and everyone against Ohio State. Maybe now with Detroits cultural resurgence and diy culture becoming a big thing, places like Grand Rapids now have a bit of bragging rights. Southerners don't care tho. I remember one spring break in Pensacola and some girls said you boys go to the University of Michigan? We all barked, no Michigan State. The lead Heather said oh it doesn't matter, all YANKEE schools are the same. That was in the 90s! Haha.

[ColDayMan]

I'll just say anecdotally (I work in Detroit...well, Troy...from time to time) that I've seen a lot more "Michigan _____" in Michigan than other states. "Michigan's best pot!" "Michigan pies!" "Michigan golfing!" Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. I'm going to assume people in Michigan know Michigan pies or whatever.

It's like when I was working in Charlotte, NC and saw half the commercials on local stations were about...tourism in Charlotte. "In Charlotte, we have craft beer!" Literally a commercial. It was odd.

[edale]

People I meet in California who are originally from Michigan definitely seem to exhibit more state pride than I've ever encountered from Ohioans. My old cubicle neighbor had a big map of Michigan hung up in her cube, and would always tell people she was just from Michigan, not Detroit, or the Detroit area where she was from. I've noticed other people from the Detroit area similarly say they're just from Michigan. I assumed this is because Detroit has a pretty unfavorable national brand, whereas most people have pretty positive associations with Michigan, but maybe it is also derived from some sort of state pride. The whole pure Michigan ad campaign was really genius, and did a great job at promoting the natural beauty of the state, so it makes sense that locals/expats would also have a pretty high degree of state pride.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by edale

and would always tell people she was just from Michigan, not Detroit, or the Detroit area where she was from. I've noticed other people from the Detroit area similarly say they're from Michigan.

That's all of the former metro-detroiters now living in Chicagothat I've ever crossed paths with.

There are legions of them here, and to a person they all say "Michigan" when you ask them where there from.

You might get a "metro Detroit" or "near Detroit" if you ask a follow-up, but no one ever leads with anything detroit-related. It's always a simple "I'm from Michigan".

It's so completely opposite of Chicagoland where no one ever leads with "Illinois".

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

I grew up in Michigan too. I don't remember there being this overt state pride. It seemed like if anything it football based.

One of the really funny things about Wisconsin pride is the college football rivalry with Michigan. My mom went to Madison and has all sorts of hilarious anti-Ann-Arbor shirts and always gets the most fired up during Michigan games

Little do the Wisconsinites know, Michigan not only doesnt reciprocate the hate, they even on some level see Wisconsin as an ally in the fight against The Great Satan To The South

[jmecklenborg]

Certain areas have musicians who are willing to sing about their particular locality while others aren't. There are a fair number of states and major U.S. cities that have never been mentioned in a single famous song (Pittsburgh?), while a variety of crap places (Memphis!!!) are mentioned endlessly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWm5WErkffQ

[craigs]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Certain areas have musicians who are willing to sing about their particular locality while others aren't. There are a fair number of states and major U.S. cities that have never been mentioned in a single famous song (Pittsburgh?), while a variety of crap places (Memphis!!!) are mentioned endlessly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWm5WErkffQ

Sufjan Stevens has Michigan and Illinois covered, that's for sure.