What's your local dialect?

[ilikeverin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English#Regional_differences

Why would you not call a hot water heater a hot water heater? :?

I speak a combination of Inland North, North Midland, and and North Central American English

[ilikeverin]

For American English, check out:

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1906/dialects.html

Dave

That list is... less than complete. Almost annoyingly so.

Oui.  'Minnewegian' (as they call it) is given a passing reference, and it deserves much more.

Oddly enough, one of my Michigander aunts (actually, all my aunts are Michiganders, but whatever) told my mom that sometimes I hard to understand because I sounded so Minnesotan, which freaked me out to no end.  At least I do not commit the cardinal sin of ending sentences with 'with' (excepting, of course, sentences in which I explain ending sentences with 'with' ).

[ilikeverin]

I'm still confused that there are places were cot and caught have the same vowel sound

[ilikeverin]

Hmm, I don't quite pronounce caught as 'cawt', it's between 'caht' and 'cawt'.  That's what I got for my parents being from Detroit, me being from Fort Wayne (NE Indiana), and being since age 4 in Minnesota.