[swagger]

I'm in the trucking industry and discuss routes with truckers from all over the country, all day, every day. I usually use the proper designation, e.g. I-15, US-93, State Route 589, etc.

In casual conversation with people outside the industry, I use "the" a lot (yes, I'm from SoCal). If I'm rattling off a route, I'll usually drop the "the"s, "I-"s, "US-"s, etc., e.g. "take 95 to 15 to Sahara."

[DianeV]

The first and only time I've heard "the Bu" was in a Two and a Half Men episode, where Alan was trying to impress a woman by lying about "his" house (actually, it was his brother's) on the beach in Malibu ... stating that they call it "the Bu".

[mjjudd]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

In California they have so many numbered highways it's just easier for them to say "The" whatever instead of Interstate 10, or I-405, or U.S. 110, or SR 118, etc. To make matters worse they named their freeways also, such as the Hollywood Freeway, the Golden State Freeway, or the Ventura Freeway.

My favorite and most confusing to non-locals would have to be "The PCH". Being from the midwest, when i first heard someone say "take the PCH" all i could think is 'okay which one are they talking about since basically ALL these highways are on the pacific coast'.

[ToeJam]

While freeway names that "the" in front of it, I never put "the" in front of PCH. It was just PCH.

[owelles]

Originally Posted by AA702

In NorCal we call the freeways the same. "the 101" "the 280" "the 880", but if its not an interstate it would be simply called "237" or "highway 4"

I lived in Northern California for almost 30 years and never once said - or heard anyone say - "the 101," "the 280" or any other highway preceded by "the." When I lived in San Jose and was going to San Francisco, I would take 101, not the 101.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. From my experience, "the" before a highway has been almost exclusively a Southern California thing.

[C_A_Braun]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Here's my favorite song about I-95.

What dumbass credits Jimmy Buffett with that song?

[ScoopLV]

No idea. But that's what you get if you Google for "The I-95 Song." IIRC, Jimmy Sturr is singing that one. I think the confusion stems from the fact that whoever is blowing the harmonica sounds a great deal like Fingers Taylor.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

San Diego is no longer considered "SoCal?" Southern Californians talk with an accent. A "Big Lebowski" accent. Sure, there are lots of people who don't sound like "The Dude Abides." Just like there are lots of people in the South who don't sound like they're talking with a mouthful of Skol.

But if I hear someone talking about the "wicked time" they recently had, I know they're from New England. If they're getting some cawfie, no big whoop, then it's New York. And if they have "new dewt aboot it, eh" I know they're from Canada. And if they "like totally need to drive up The 15 to buy ranch dressing," well, SoCal it is.

I don't see any reason to chafe about it. Various regions have various regional dialects. Spend some time in England, it's easy to tell where someone is from. Same goes for Germany. The Berliners speak differently than the Bavarians. And I can barely understand the Austrians. It's almost a different language.

As a long time Californian you are simply incorrect. What you refer to is "valley girl" speak. My daughters can all do it with great fluency...but they can also turn it off completely. One class when they were in high school used to charge a quarter to the jar for "valley girl" speak.


It is very difficult to pin down a CA accent. They speak classical American. Very slight accent. More likely you pick it up on local idioms.

And we lived down the 405...just south of the 605. I don't believe I ever heard a local refer to it as I 405 or Interstate 405. In fact our exits from the 405 was the busy single section of expressway in the USA.

[DianeV]

Yes, agreed -- I was going to say that that was the Valley Girl accent/affectation, but didn't feel like arguing the point.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by lvoc

It is very difficult to pin down a CA accent. They speak classical American. Very slight accent. More likely you pick it up on local idioms.

And I'm telling you that I can listen to someone for 15 seconds and know with a reasonable degree of accuracy whether they spent their formative years in Southern California. Just like I can for a Minnesotan, a New Jerseyan, a Rhode Islander, or a southerner.

Just because you don't hear the accent doesn't mean it isn't there.

Here, take this fun quiz. Results: What American accent do you have?