Questionnaire (Master Version)

Thank you for helping us with our survey. We are trying to discover what words are used by people in Canada and U.S. regions bordering Canada, and how they pronounce them. We are only interested in what you say when you are among friends - not what you think you should say, and certainly not what you think other people think you should say. The questions start below. Most people take under an hour to answer them. Everybody who has answered the questionnaire has enjoyed doing it. They say it makes them think about things they usually take for granted. And the last questions, about games they played, often bring back pleasant memories. We don't want you to take a long time answering these questions. Your first answer is likely the best one, so please don't look back. Answer each question as it comes. Here's a really useful tip. Many questions ask for your pronunciation of certain words. The words are written in CAPITALS in the questions. If you look at the word before reading the question and pronounce it to yourself, you'll find that the question is very easy to answer. Your participation is anonymous, but we need some general information about you.

Sex: male female Education: grades 1-8 grades 9-12 community college university (Quebec) Grades 1-6 (Quebec) sec 1-5 (Quebec) cegep 1-3 Age: 14-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 over 80 Your Occupation: Your birthplace: Where were you born? Where do you live now? Where were you raised from ages 8 to 18? Where was your father born? What is/was your father's occupation? Where was your mother born? What is/was your mother's occupation? How often do you use English? At home: always, often, seldom, never At work: always, often, seldom, never With your friends: always, often, seldom, never With your relatives: always, often, seldom, never

Part I. Around the House

1. Which do you say?

Our house is very different to yours.
Our house is very different than yours.
Our house is very different from yours.

2. What do you call the upholstered piece of furniture that 3 or 4 people sit on in the living room?

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3. What do you call the piece of furniture where you keep your socks, underwear, and other clothing?

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4. What do you call the knob you turn to get water in a sink?

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5. What do you call the knob you turn to get water outdoors or in the garden?

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6. What do you call the small cloth you use for washing your face?

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Here's a reminder about that time-saving tip. When you come to a question with a word in CAPITALS (like the next five), you are going to be asked about your pronunciation of that word. Look at the word before reading the question and say it to yourself. Then you'll usually find the question easy to answer. For instance, for the next question, 'say radiator'. Now go ahead and read the question, and put your mark in the appropriate box.

7. Does the first part of RADIATOR rhyme with glad or glade?

8. For you, does VASE rhyme with face, days, cause, or has?

9. Does the last half of GARAGE sound more like badge or lodge?

10. Does ROOF rhyme with 'aloof'?

Yes
No

11. Does ROOF rhyme with 'hoof'?

Yes
No

12a. Do you have the same or different names for these decks at the front of a house that the steps are attached to? What do you call them?

a small platform with a few steps coming down from it.

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12b. a bigger one with a railing and a roof over it.

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12c. a covered one extending along the front of the house.

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13. Does SOOT, as in 'chimney soot', rhyme with foot or boot?

14. What do you call the garment you wear over pajamas?

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15. If a mother is going out for a few hours, she might say:
'Will you _________________ the baby while I'm gone?'

16. Does MOM, as in 'My Mom's gone fishing with my Dad', rhyme with tum or Tom?

17. Which do you say?

She's going to bath the baby.
She's going to bathe the baby.

18. What time is it? (Please write in words what you would say.)

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Part II. Food and Drink

19. What do you call your evening meal?

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20. What do you call food eaten between meals or before going to bed?

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21. Does LEISURE rhyme with measure, or with seizure?

22. At meals, people are sometimes given a cloth to wipe their fingers on. What do you call it?

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23. Do you call the hard thing inside a cherry a stone, or pit, or pip?

24. What do you call a carbonated soft drink?

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25. What do you call the corn eaten by people (as opposed to cattle)?

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26. What do you call the leafy sheath that covers an ear of corn?

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27. Which do you say?

He has drank three glasses of milk.
He has drunk three glasses of milk.

28. Does GREASY rhyme with cheesy, or with fleecy?

29. In the word TOMATO do you pronounce the middle part of the word as eight, or as at, or as ought?

30. Do WHINE and WINE sound exactly the same? In other words, are the WH of whine and W of wine pronounced the same, or different?

31. At meals, people are sometimes given a paper to wipe their fingers on. What do you call it?

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32. In the middle of a peach you always find a

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33. Which do you say?

Yesterday I was sick at my stomach.
Yesterday I was sick in my stomach.
Yesterday I was sick to my stomach.
Yesterday I was stomach-sick.

Part III. Outdoors

34. Which do you say?

Yesterday he dove into the quarry.
Yesterday he dived into the quarry.

35. Does LEVER, as in 'Pull the lever', rhyme with clever or cleaver?

36. Does the ending of AVENUE sound like you or oo?

37. In ASPHALT, the PH sounds like f. Does the S sound like sh?

Yes
No

38. What do you call casual wear for exercise - usually pull-on pants and a pull-over top?

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39. What do you call the rubber-soled shoes you'd wear with the above outfit?

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40. Which do you say?

The cat wants to go out.
The cat wants out.

41. Does ROUTE, as in 'paper route', rhyme with shoot or shout?

42. Does NEWS sound like nyooze or nooze?

43. Does SHONE, as in 'The sun shone brightly', rhyme with John or Joan?

44. Which of the following names do you use for a waterway smaller than a river?

• crick
• stream
• brook
• rill
• snye
• run
• creek
• other ________________________

45. Is the ei of EITHER pronounced like the ie of pie, or the ee of bee?

Part IV. Neighbours

46. Which do you say?

The little devil sneaked into the theatre.
The little devil snuck into the theatre.

47. Which do you say?

He loaned me a dollar.
He lent me a dollar.
He borrowed me a dollar.

48. Someone said, John smokes a lot any more. Does this mean that

John hasn't been able to cut down, let alone stop?
or John wasn't smoking much for a while but now he is?
or John has almost quit?

49. What time is it? (Please write in words what you would say.)

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50. What does any more mean in John smokes a lot any more?

still
or nowadays
or negative

51. That sentence, John smokes a lot any more, does it sound like something

you might say under the right circumstances?
or others might say though you wouldn't?
or no one you know would say?

52. Does the u in STUDENT sound like the oo in too, or the u in use?

53. What do you call someone who studies "too much" and tries very hard to impress the teacher?

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Part V. Potpourri

54. Someone said Harry likes rock music any more. Does this mean that

Harry's turned off rock?
or Harry's finally seen the light?
or Harry's always been a great rock fan?

55. Does the sch of SCHEDULE sound like sch in school, or sh in shed?

56. Which do you say?

Just between you and me, your aunt is often wrong.
Just between you and I, your aunt is often wrong.

57. Does the mi of SEMI-, as in semi-final, sound like my, or like me?

58. Does the ti of ANTI-, as in anti-pollution, sound like tie, or like tee?

59. Which would you say?

He snuck by when my back was turned.
He sneaked by when my back was turned.

60. Does BURY, as in 'bury the dead', rhyme with ferry, or with furry?

61. Does CALM, as in 'the wind grew calm', rhyme with Tom or Sam?

62. Do you pronounce the letter Z as zee, or as zed?

63. Which do you say?

We used not to go there.
We didn't use to go there.
We usedn't to go there.

64. In 'We are finally making progress,' does the o of PROGRESS sound like the o of go, or the o of got?

65. Which do you say?

Can you lend me $5?
Can you loan me $5?

66. Do WITCH and WHICH sound exactly the same? That is, are the W of witch and WH of which pronounced the same, or different?

67. Is the first a of GUARANTEE pronounced like

a of cat?
or a of care?
or a of car?

68. Does the beginning of COUPON sound the same as cue, or coo?

69. Which do you say?

The submarine dived to the floor of the sea.
The submarine dove to the floor of the sea.

70. What do you call a hockey game when several people get together at a rink or frozen pond and pick teams?

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71. What do you call a baseball game when several people get together at a diamond or field and pick teams?

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72. Which do you say?

Me and Tom are rooting for the Red Barons.
Tom and me are rooting for the Red Barons.
Tom and I are rooting for the Red Barons.

73. What did you call the game you played as a youngster where several of you joined hands in a line and the others tried to break through?

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74. There is a prank (a kind of mean joke) that grade-school boys sometimes do to another boy: they grab his underpants at the back and hoist him up. What did you call that prank?

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75a. There is (or was) a game played by youngsters on spring evenings where one group guarded an area, usually at a streetlight, and kept 'prisoners', while the other group tried to release them by touching the post before being caught.
What did you call that game?

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75b. What was the name of the guarded area?

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75c. What did you call out when you touched the post to release the prisoners?

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76a. There is (or was) a game played mainly by girls where they bounced a ball against a wall and performed actions (clapping, turning around) before catching the ball.
What did you call that game?

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76b. What words did you say to accompany the actions?

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Thanks for contributing to our survey. Please return these sheets, including the General Information page, in the stamped, self-addressed envelope as soon as possible. If the envelope is missing, please send them to Jack Chambers Department of Linguistics University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H1 If you know other people or groups who might enjoy answering this questionnaire, please send us your address and the approximate number of forms you will need. Contributors need only be English-speaking long-time residents of the survey region. We are hoping to get all ages, men and women, urban and rural residents, diverse ancestries, and so forth. Your help in distributing the questionnaire will be greatly appreciated.