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I don't speak right. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is a linguistic enclave full of oddities and regionalisms. I revolted against these in seventh grade, so I don't have the most noticeable Pittsburghisms, but it turns out that I did not, thankfully, purge all of the region from my language. Here's just a few of the odd ways I speak:
I find it difficult to not reverse the vowels in "steel mill", tending to say "still meal" if speaking quickly.
"My one friend" is the same as "one of my friends". It does not imply the speaker has only one friend.
"This needs washed" and "this needs to be washed" are both equally grammatical to me. "This needs washing" sounds affected and questionably grammatical.
"I'll switch you seats" is as grammatical as "I'll switch seats with you."
I pronounce the final vowel in "museum" to rhyme with "ham", though no one else I have ever met, my parents included, do so.
I add emphasis and switch focus with the phrase "is the thing". For example: "But I don't want to go to the store, is the thing."
Positive anymore! "It seems I'm always wearing these shoes anymore" means the same as "It seems I'm always wearing these shoes these days."
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