Personal Dialect Map

Over the past week, my Facebook network has been buzzing with conversations about a new "personal dialect map". This is an online quiz that asks you 25 questions about how you use the English language (e.g., pronunciation, descriptive terms, idioms, etc.) and then uses your answers to create a personal map of what parts of the U.S. you're most similar to (and most unlike). The quiz seems to be incredibly accurate.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the quiz determined that I speak most like someone from ... the San Francisco Bay Area.

My wife grew up in Northern New Jersey, and the quiz determined that she speaks most like someone from ... New Jersey.

The more interesting results came for my 14-year-old daughter and my 12- year-old son (we figured my 8-year-old son was too young to generate valid results). We've moved around a bit, and my kids have been raised in San Francisco, then Northern Virginia (near DC), then Seattle, then South Florida (near Miami), and then/now Atlanta. We were curious what the quiz would say about their dialects.

The quiz determined that Rebecca speaks most like someone from Seattle and that Daniel speaks most like someone from Miami. Interesting. Thinking about this further, we realized that Rebecca spent 5th-7th grades in Seattle and that Daniel spent 6th grade in South Florida. I realize this is only two data points, but ... could it be that Americans today tend to develop their dialects during middle school (i.e., their "tween" years)?

Hmmmmm ....