California English
Encyclopedia
California English is a dialect
of the English language
spoken in California
. California is home to a highly diverse population, which is reflected in the historical and continuing development of California English.
from the United States and Canada
during the California Gold Rush
. The English-speaking population grew rapidly with subsequent migrations, which included large populations from New England
, initially, and later, the Midwest. The dialects imported by these early migrants were the basis for the development of the modern language.
Before World War I
, the variety of speech types reflected the differing origins of these early inhabitants. At the time a distinctly southwestern drawl could be heard in Southern California, although the San Francisco area sounded more Midwestern. When a collapse in commodity prices followed World War I, many bankrupted Midwestern farmers migrated to California, bringing speech characteristic of Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa; and this speech type has dominated to this day. Subsequently, incoming groups with differing speech, such as the speakers of Highland Southern during the 1930s, have been absorbed within a generation. The Dust bowl
migration of the so-called Okies introduced the Southern accent to the west coast in the 1920s and 30s before the migration ended in World War II.
California's status as a relatively young state is significant in that it has not had centuries for regional patterns to emerge and grow (compared to, say, some East Coast or Southern dialects). Linguists who studied English as spoken in California before and in the period immediately after World War II tended to find few if any distinct patterns unique to the region. However, several decades later, with a more settled population and continued immigration from all over the globe, a noteworthy set of emerging characteristics of California English had begun to attract notice by linguists of the late 20th century and on.
, California English is similar to most other forms of American speech in being a rhotic accent
, which is historically a significant marker in differentiating different English varieties. The following vowel diagram
represents the relative positions of the stressed
monophthong
s of the accent, based on nine speakers from southern California. Notable is the absence of /ɔ/, which has merged with /ɑ/ through the cot–caught merger, and the relatively open quality of /ɪ/ due to the California vowel shift discussed below.
Several phonological
processes have been identified as being particular to California English. However, these shifts are by no means universal in Californian speech, and any single Californian's speech may only have some or none of the changes identified below. The shifts might also be found in the speech of people from areas outside of California.
One topic that has begun to receive much attention among scholars in recent years has been the emergence of a vowel shift
unique to California. Much like other vowel shifts occurring in North America, such as the Southern Shift
, Northern Cities Shift
, and the Canadian Shift
, the California Vowel Shift is noted for a systematic chain shift
of several vowel
s.
This image on the right illustrates the California vowel shift. The vowel space of the image is a cross-section (as if looking at the interior of a mouth from a side profile perspective); it is a rough approximation of the space in a human mouth where the tongue is located in articulating
certain vowel sounds (the left is the front of the mouth closer to the teeth, the right side of the chart being the back of the mouth). As with other vowel shifts, several vowels may be seen moving in a chain shift around the mouth. As one vowel encroaches upon the space of another, the adjacent vowel in turn experiences a movement in order to maximize phonemic differentiation.
Two phonemes, /ɪ/ and /æ/, have allophones that are fairly widely spread apart from each other: before /ŋ/, /ɪ/ is raised to [i] and, as mentioned above, may even be identified with the phoneme /i/. In other contexts, /ɪ/ has a fairly open pronunciation, as indicated in the vowel chart above. /æ/ is raised and diphthongized to [eə] or [ɪə] before nasal consonant
s (a shift reminiscent of, but more restricted than, non-phonemic æ-tensing in the Inland North); before /ŋ/ it may be identified with the phoneme /e/. Elsewhere /æ/ is lowered in the direction of [a]. The other parts of the chain shift are apparently context-free: /ʊ/ is moving towards [ʌ], /ʌ/ towards [ɛ], /ɛ/ toward [æ], /ɑ/ toward [ɔ], and /u/ and /oʊ/ are diphthongs whose nuclei are moving toward [i] and [e] respectively.
Unlike some of the other vowel shifts, however, the California Shift is generally considered to be in earlier stages of development as compared to the more widespread Northern Cities and Southern Shifts, although the new vowel characteristics of the California Shift are increasingly found among younger speakers. As with many vowel shifts, these significant changes occurring in the spoken language are rarely noticed by average speakers; imitation of peers and other sociolinguistic
phenomena play a large part in determining the extent of the vowel shift in a particular speaker. For example, while some characteristics such as the close central rounded vowel [ʉ] or close back unrounded vowel
[ɯ] for /u/ are widespread in Californian speech, the same high degree of fronting for /oʊ/ is common only within certain social groups.
Older native Californians tend to pronounce the suffixes -ive (motive) and -age (message) as eve and eej, respectively.
In the southern Central Valley (Kern, Tulare, and Kings Counties), where a large number of people from Oklahoma emigrated during the Dust Bowl, many white Californians speak with an Oklahoma-like accent that is quite distinct from the English spoken in coastal Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay region.
s popularized by the 1982 hit song
by Frank
and Moon Unit Zappa
, or "surfer-dude
" speech made famous by movies such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High
. While many phrases found in these extreme versions of California English from the 1980s may now be considered passé, certain words such as awesome, totally, fer sure, harsh and dude
have remained popular in California and have spread to a national, even international, level. The use of the word like
for numerous grammatical
functions or as conversational "filler
" (e.g. in place of thinking sounds "uh" and "um") has also remained popular in California English and is now found in many other varieties of English.
A common example of a Northern Californian colloquialism is hella
(from "hell of a (lot of)", rare euphemistic alternative, hecka) to mean "many", "much", "so" or "very". It can be used with both count and mass nouns. For example: "I haven't seen you in hella days"; "There were hella people there"; or "This guacamole is hella good." More rarely, hella may also heard when used as an affirmative interjection. "Dude... Just got off the phone. Hooked us up for tonight with those bangin' snowboarder betties from earlier." - "Hel-llaa!" Pop culture references to "hella" are common, as in the song "Hella Good
" by the band No Doubt
, which hails from Southern California, and "Hella" by the band Skull Stomp, who come from Northern California.
Popular Culture - Because California has traditionally been the filming location of a large number of television and commercial motion pictures based in the Southern California (Hollywood/Burbank) area, many transplanted actors/actresses from other states/countries have been obliged to learn/adopt a California accent in order to get acting roles.
Because these films and series are distributed across America and the rest of the world, it has become a recognized baseline standard of American speech, although regional dialects (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest) still persist in the US.
California, like other Southwestern states, has borrowed many words from Spanish
, especially for place names, food, and other cultural items, reflecting the heritage of Mexican
Californians. High concentrations of various ethnic groups throughout the state have contributed to general familiarity with words describing (especially cultural) phenomena. For example, a high concentration of Asian American
s from various cultural backgrounds, especially in urban and suburban metropolitan areas in California, has led to the adoption of words like hapa
(itself originally a Hawaiian borrowing of English "half"). A person who was hapa was either part European/Islander or part Asian/Islander. Today it refers to a person of mixed racial heritage — especially, but not limited to, half-Asian/half-European-Americans in common California usage) and FOB
("fresh off the boat", often a newly arrived Asian immigrant). Not surprisingly, the popularity of cultural food items such as Vietnamese
phở
and Taiwan
ese boba
in many areas has led to the general adoption of such words amongst many speakers.
One difference between California
and most of the rest of the United States
has been the way California English speakers refer to highways, or freeways. The term freeway itself is not used in many areas outside California
; for instance, in New England
, the term highway
is universally used. Where most Americans may refer to "I-80
" for the east-west Interstate Highway leading from San Francisco
to the suburbs of Oakland or "I-15" for the north-south artery linking San Diego
through Salt Lake City to the Canadian border, Californians -- especially Southern Californians -- are less likely to use the "I." Northern and Southern Californians alike are even less likely to use the "interstate" designation in naming freeways.
The numbering of freeway exits, common in most parts of the United States
, has only recently been applied in California
and initially appearing only in more populous areas. Thus, virtually all Californians refer to exits by signage name rather than by number, as in "the Grand Avenue exit" (in Los Angeles) rather than "Exit 21."
is to refer to the city of San Francisco itself as simply "The City". Some Mexican Spanish
-speakers refer to it as "San Pancho" because Pancho is a nickname for the Spanish name Francisco. Similarly, the city of South San Francisco
in San Mateo County
and thus not a part of the city and county of San Francisco, is sometimes referred to as "South City", especially within the San Francisco Examiner.
The metro region often referred to as the Bay Area
includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties.
The San Francisco Bay Area is commonly referred to as "the Bay Area" or sometimes simply as "The Bay". The Bay Area is sub-divided into several regions:
The term "Frisco" is rarely used by San Francisco Bay Area residents, much as "The Big Apple" is not typically used by native New Yorkers
. However, though well-known newspaper columnist Herb Caen
once harshly criticized the use of the term "Frisco", he later recanted, and the term continues to be used. Still, the term "Frisco" continues to be viewed by many as either revealing ignorance, or as vaguely derogatory. Emperor Norton, a colorful 19th century inhabitant of San Francisco, once issued a proclamation about the City's nickname:
In 1918 in his courtroom, a San Francisco judge rebuked a Los Angeles resident's use of the nickname "Frisco" by saying "No one refers to San Francisco by that title except people from Los Angeles." Decades later, San Francisco columnist Herb Caen
renewed the drive to keep "Frisco" out of San Francisco.
Some Northern Californians refer to Sacramento
, the state capital, as "Sac", "Sacto", "Sactown", "Sacra" (by the Chicano community), "Sacratomato" (for the local tomato canning industry) and various other nicknames.
Bay Area and Sacramento residents speak of going "up the hill" into the neighboring mountains to Lake Tahoe
or Reno, Nevada
, but "over the hill" for crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains
, either to Santa Cruz
or Half Moon Bay
. In the Sacramento area, "the Valley" refers to the Central Valley. Also residents of West Marin will call the San Geronimo Valley
as "the valley and Mount Tamalpais
"the hill" , as in you're from "the valley" or I'm going "over the hill". Additionally, residents of the Bay Area will sometimes refer to the area of the Santa Clara Valley and surrounding cities as "the Valley" or as the more famous term, "Silicon Valley
". Residents of Santa Cruz use the phrase "over the hill" to refer to Silicon Valley
(which is often referred to by Santa Cruz "locals" as "The Pit"), but for them "the Bay" refers to closer Monterey Bay
, not San Francisco Bay
.
" dialect of the San Fernando Valley
have their roots in the Ozark English of Arkansas and Missouri, and first developed when many people from the Ozarks migrated to California in the 1930s. East Los Angeles
and the Gateway Cities house a distinctive form of Chicano English
. These dialects can exist in very small areas, such as the traditionally New Orleanian Yat
in northern Pasadena.
In the city of Los Angeles, the terms "Westside" and "Eastside" are frequently used to refer to regions on either side of the city. The boundaries of these regions are not defined, and whether certain neighborhoods should be included in the Westside or the Eastside remains a heated topic of discussion. Generally, the Westside includes neighborhoods with the area code 310, including Santa Monica
, Westwood
and Culver City
. The Eastside includes neighborhoods east of the Los Angeles River
such as Boyle Heights
, East Los Angeles
and Whittier
.
Neighborhoods south of downtown Los Angeles
are typically referred to as "South Central" (though officially renamed to "South L.A.
" 2003). South Central initially referred to Central Ave South of Jefferson which was a major location for jazz and nightlife in the fifties and sixties. Neighborhoods in South L.A. include Watts
, Leimert Park
, and Inglewood
.
In Los Angeles County
, the "South Bay
" refers to the area adjacent to southern Santa Monica Bay
, encompassing communities between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
and the Port of Los Angeles
. This area includes the Beach Cities
(Manhattan Beach
, Hermosa Beach
, Redondo Beach
), El Segundo
, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Hawthorne
, Lawndale
and Torrance
.
The San Fernando Valley
, which lies north of the Santa Monica mountains
, is often called simply "the Valley." It became a cultural phenomenon and a major real estate destination for millions of Angelenos to call home in the 20th century. And indeed where the "Valley girl/boy" accent developed in the later 1970s and 1980s or early 1990s become popularized by teenagers and young adults nationwide and globally through Hollywood's media circuit.
Residents of Long Beach
simply refer to their city as Long Beach. Although residents outside the region may refer to the city as the "LBC," popularized in the media by famous residents, such as the rapper Snoop Dogg
.
The Inland Empire
, which encompasses cities in San Bernardino, Riverside, and sometimes the eastern edge of Los Angeles counties, is commonly referred to as "the I.E." or "the 909
" for its original telephone area code. Although the United States Census Bureau
defines the Inland Empire region as all of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, these counties' high or low desert regions are frequently excluded from the colloquial definition, which refers instead to the more urbanized area around the cities of Riverside
and Rancho Cucamonga
and other cities in the Pomona Valley which may also include Los Angeles County. Typically, this excludes all areas north of Cajon Pass
and San Gorgonio Pass
.
Residents in communities in the San Gabriel
and San Bernardino Mountains
(i.e. Crestline
, Wrightwood
, Lake Arrowhead
, Big Bear
) will refer to people on either side of the mountains as "flat-landers". This practice is also common among hikers and outdoor enthusiasts when referring to those who do not venture into the mountains. In an example of wry understatement, the residents of these mountain communities also refer to the rather lengthy journeys between them and the surrounding lowlands as "going down (or up) the hill."
A common colloquialism for Orange County
is "behind The Orange Curtain
", referring to the politically conservative demographics for that area. This term is typically used by Californians who self-identify as politically liberal. According to the Fox
television show The O.C.
, the abbreviation of the county's name tends to be mainly used by those from outside of the area, rather than natives. Many residents of Orange County refer to their telephone area codes to describe where in Orange County they are from. The "562" or "714" refers to people in Northern Orange County and the older suburban communities of Cypress, California
, La Palma
, Los Alamitos
, Seal Beach
, Huntington Beach
, Sunset Beach
, Fountain Valley
, Brea
, Fullerton
, Orange
, Garden Grove
, Santa Ana
, Westminster
, Tustin
and Anaheim
, while "949" refers to more affluent and recently developed communities in South Orange County such as Irvine
, Mission Viejo
, Aliso Viejo
, Foothill Ranch, Laguna Hills
, Newport Beach
, and Coto de Caza
. The "909" area code refers to people inland from Orange County, typically from Riverside and further inland, and is used by many native southern Californians, especially those living in cities near the beaches, as a derogatory term for tourists, "909ers". Rarely, people will even refer to their zip codes to communicate where they live, many times an indication of their income level.
In San Diego County
, "South Bay" refers to the area adjacent to the southern portion of San Diego Bay. Suburbs in the northern half of the county almost always identify as simply North County and suburbs immediately east of the city proper, though geographically still located in the western half of the county, identify similarly as East County. San Diego residents will also sometimes define their location relative to major highways. "South of 8" refers to communities south of the I-8, which cuts roughly through the City of San Diego. This term also implies a socioeconomic divide, residents and communities are perceived as being less affluent, as well as a greater concentration of ethnic minorities. Another common example is "East of 5", in which many central beach community residents will use to define where in San Diego they will not go to. As the I-5 follows the coastline in much of San Diego, this is a way of signifying an inclination to stay within the coastal regions of San Diego.
And finally the California Desert region: the Coachella Valley
and Imperial Valley
are referred to as the "Desert", but a more "Southwestern" cultural emphasis on desert western living has a more Hispanic and American Indian flavor to the local dialect. The Mojave Desert
and Mono Lake
area is also known as the "High Desert" due to the region's higher elevations, but has a more rural American (i.e. Southern, Midwest/Central and Texan/Western) cultural character.
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spoken in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. California is home to a highly diverse population, which is reflected in the historical and continuing development of California English.
History
English was first spoken on a wide scale in the area now known as California following the influx of English-speaking WhitesWhite people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
from the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
during the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. The English-speaking population grew rapidly with subsequent migrations, which included large populations from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, initially, and later, the Midwest. The dialects imported by these early migrants were the basis for the development of the modern language.
Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the variety of speech types reflected the differing origins of these early inhabitants. At the time a distinctly southwestern drawl could be heard in Southern California, although the San Francisco area sounded more Midwestern. When a collapse in commodity prices followed World War I, many bankrupted Midwestern farmers migrated to California, bringing speech characteristic of Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa; and this speech type has dominated to this day. Subsequently, incoming groups with differing speech, such as the speakers of Highland Southern during the 1930s, have been absorbed within a generation. The Dust bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
migration of the so-called Okies introduced the Southern accent to the west coast in the 1920s and 30s before the migration ended in World War II.
California's status as a relatively young state is significant in that it has not had centuries for regional patterns to emerge and grow (compared to, say, some East Coast or Southern dialects). Linguists who studied English as spoken in California before and in the period immediately after World War II tended to find few if any distinct patterns unique to the region. However, several decades later, with a more settled population and continued immigration from all over the globe, a noteworthy set of emerging characteristics of California English had begun to attract notice by linguists of the late 20th century and on.
Phonology
As a variety of American EnglishAmerican English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
, California English is similar to most other forms of American speech in being a rhotic accent
Rhotic and non-rhotic accents
English pronunciation can be divided into two main accent groups: a rhotic speaker pronounces a rhotic consonant in words like hard; a non-rhotic speaker does not...
, which is historically a significant marker in differentiating different English varieties. The following vowel diagram
Vowel diagram
A vowel diagram or vowel chart is a schematic arrangement of the vowels. Depending on the particular language being discussed, it can take the form of a triangle or a quadrilateral...
represents the relative positions of the stressed
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense.The stress placed...
monophthong
Monophthong
A monophthong is a pure vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation....
s of the accent, based on nine speakers from southern California. Notable is the absence of /ɔ/, which has merged with /ɑ/ through the cot–caught merger, and the relatively open quality of /ɪ/ due to the California vowel shift discussed below.
Several phonological
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
processes have been identified as being particular to California English. However, these shifts are by no means universal in Californian speech, and any single Californian's speech may only have some or none of the changes identified below. The shifts might also be found in the speech of people from areas outside of California.
- Front vowelFront vowelA front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also...
s are raised before /ŋ/, so that /æ/ and /ɪ/ are raised to [e] and [i] before /ŋ/. This change makes for minimal pairMinimal pairIn phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, which differ in only one phonological element, such as a phone, phoneme, toneme or chroneme and have distinct meanings...
s such as king and keen, both having the same vowel [i], differing from king [kɪŋ] in other varieties of English. Similarly, a word like rang will often have the same vowel as rain in California English, not the same vowel as ran as in other varieties. - The vowels in words such as Mary, marry, merry are merged to [ɛ].
- Most speakers do not distinguish between /ɔ/ and /ɑ/, characteristic of the cot–caught merger. A notable exception may be found within the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, many of whose inhabitants' speech somewhat reflects a historical East-CoastEast Coast of the United StatesThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
heritage which has probably influenced the maintenance of the distinction between words such as caught and cot. - According to phoneticiansPhoneticsPhonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
studying California English, such as Penelope EckertPenelope EckertPenelope "Penny" Eckert is a professor of linguistics at Stanford University in Stanford, California. She is a prominent scholar of variationist sociolinguistics, and is the author of several scholarly works on language and gender....
, traditionally diphthongDiphthongA diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
al vowelVowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s such as /oʊ/ as in boat and /eɪ/, as in bait, have acquired qualities much closer to monophthongMonophthongA monophthong is a pure vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation....
s in some speakers. - The pin–pen merger is complete in BakersfieldBakersfield, CaliforniaBakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, and speakers in SacramentoSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
either perceive or produce the pairs /ɛn/ and /ɪn/ close to each other.
One topic that has begun to receive much attention among scholars in recent years has been the emergence of a vowel shift
Vowel shift
A vowel shift is a systematic sound change in the pronunciation of the vowel sounds of a language.The best-known example in the English language is the Great Vowel Shift, which began in the 15th century...
unique to California. Much like other vowel shifts occurring in North America, such as the Southern Shift
Southern American English
Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to most of Texas and Oklahoma.The Southern dialects make...
, Northern Cities Shift
Northern cities vowel shift
The Northern cities vowel shift is a chain shift in the sounds of some vowels in the dialect region of American English known as the Inland North.-Geography:...
, and the Canadian Shift
Canadian Shift
The Canadian Shift is a linguistic vowel shift found in Canadian English. It was first described by Clarke, Elms and Youssef in 1995, based on impressionistic analysis....
, the California Vowel Shift is noted for a systematic chain shift
Chain shift
In phonology, a chain shift is a phenomenon in which several sounds move stepwise along a phonetic scale. The sounds involved in a chain shift can be ordered into a "chain" in such a way that, after the change is complete, each phoneme ends up sounding like what the phoneme before it in the chain...
of several vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s.
Place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an articulatory gesture, an active articulator , and a passive location...
certain vowel sounds (the left is the front of the mouth closer to the teeth, the right side of the chart being the back of the mouth). As with other vowel shifts, several vowels may be seen moving in a chain shift around the mouth. As one vowel encroaches upon the space of another, the adjacent vowel in turn experiences a movement in order to maximize phonemic differentiation.
Two phonemes, /ɪ/ and /æ/, have allophones that are fairly widely spread apart from each other: before /ŋ/, /ɪ/ is raised to [i] and, as mentioned above, may even be identified with the phoneme /i/. In other contexts, /ɪ/ has a fairly open pronunciation, as indicated in the vowel chart above. /æ/ is raised and diphthongized to [eə] or [ɪə] before nasal consonant
Nasal consonant
A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
s (a shift reminiscent of, but more restricted than, non-phonemic æ-tensing in the Inland North); before /ŋ/ it may be identified with the phoneme /e/. Elsewhere /æ/ is lowered in the direction of [a]. The other parts of the chain shift are apparently context-free: /ʊ/ is moving towards [ʌ], /ʌ/ towards [ɛ], /ɛ/ toward [æ], /ɑ/ toward [ɔ], and /u/ and /oʊ/ are diphthongs whose nuclei are moving toward [i] and [e] respectively.
Unlike some of the other vowel shifts, however, the California Shift is generally considered to be in earlier stages of development as compared to the more widespread Northern Cities and Southern Shifts, although the new vowel characteristics of the California Shift are increasingly found among younger speakers. As with many vowel shifts, these significant changes occurring in the spoken language are rarely noticed by average speakers; imitation of peers and other sociolinguistic
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
phenomena play a large part in determining the extent of the vowel shift in a particular speaker. For example, while some characteristics such as the close central rounded vowel [ʉ] or close back unrounded vowel
Close back unrounded vowel
The close back unrounded vowel, or high back unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . Typographically a turned letter m, given its relation to the sound represented by the letter u it...
[ɯ] for /u/ are widespread in Californian speech, the same high degree of fronting for /oʊ/ is common only within certain social groups.
Older native Californians tend to pronounce the suffixes -ive (motive) and -age (message) as eve and eej, respectively.
In the southern Central Valley (Kern, Tulare, and Kings Counties), where a large number of people from Oklahoma emigrated during the Dust Bowl, many white Californians speak with an Oklahoma-like accent that is quite distinct from the English spoken in coastal Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay region.
Lexical characteristics
The popular image of a typical California speaker often conjures up images of the so-called Valley girlValley girl
Valley Girl is a stereotype leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking and materialistic...
s popularized by the 1982 hit song
Valley Girl (song)
"Valley Girl" is a song by the musician Frank Zappa and his 14 year-old daughter, Moon Unit Zappa. It was released on Zappa's 1982 album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Moon supplied Frank with much of the content, speaking typical "Valley girl" or "Valspeak" phrases she heard at...
by Frank
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa is an American actress, musician and author. She goes by the name Moon Zappa; "Unit" is her middle name.-Personal life:...
, or "surfer-dude
Surf culture
Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion and life surrounding the art of surfing.The culture began early in the 20th century, spread quickly during the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to evolve. It affected fashion, music, literature, films, jargon, and more...
" speech made famous by movies such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
. While many phrases found in these extreme versions of California English from the 1980s may now be considered passé, certain words such as awesome, totally, fer sure, harsh and dude
Dude
A dude is an individual, typically male. The female equivalent, which is used less often, is "dudette" or "dudess". However, "dude" has evolved to become more unisex to encompass all genders, and this was true even in the 1950s....
have remained popular in California and have spread to a national, even international, level. The use of the word like
Like
In the English language, the word like has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, interjection, and quotative....
for numerous grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
functions or as conversational "filler
Speech disfluencies
Speech disfluencies are any of various breaks, irregularities, or non-lexical vocables that occur within the flow of otherwise fluent speech. These include false starts, i.e. words and sentences that are cut off mid-utterance, phrases that are restarted or repeated and repeated syllables, fillers i.e...
" (e.g. in place of thinking sounds "uh" and "um") has also remained popular in California English and is now found in many other varieties of English.
A common example of a Northern Californian colloquialism is hella
Hella (word)
Hella is a word associated with Northern California used throughout the United States and Canada. It is a contraction of the phrase "hell of a" or "hell of a lot [of]"....
(from "hell of a (lot of)", rare euphemistic alternative, hecka) to mean "many", "much", "so" or "very". It can be used with both count and mass nouns. For example: "I haven't seen you in hella days"; "There were hella people there"; or "This guacamole is hella good." More rarely, hella may also heard when used as an affirmative interjection. "Dude... Just got off the phone. Hooked us up for tonight with those bangin' snowboarder betties from earlier." - "Hel-llaa!" Pop culture references to "hella" are common, as in the song "Hella Good
Hella Good
"Hella Good" is a song written by Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, and The Neptunes for No Doubt's fifth studio album Rock Steady . The song draws influence from electro, rock, and funk music...
" by the band No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
, which hails from Southern California, and "Hella" by the band Skull Stomp, who come from Northern California.
Popular Culture - Because California has traditionally been the filming location of a large number of television and commercial motion pictures based in the Southern California (Hollywood/Burbank) area, many transplanted actors/actresses from other states/countries have been obliged to learn/adopt a California accent in order to get acting roles.
Because these films and series are distributed across America and the rest of the world, it has become a recognized baseline standard of American speech, although regional dialects (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest) still persist in the US.
California, like other Southwestern states, has borrowed many words from Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, especially for place names, food, and other cultural items, reflecting the heritage of Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
Californians. High concentrations of various ethnic groups throughout the state have contributed to general familiarity with words describing (especially cultural) phenomena. For example, a high concentration of Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
s from various cultural backgrounds, especially in urban and suburban metropolitan areas in California, has led to the adoption of words like hapa
Hapa
Hapa is a Hawaiian language term used to describe a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander racial or ethnic heritage.-Etymology:In the Hawaiian language, hapa is defined as: portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. It is a loan from the English word half...
(itself originally a Hawaiian borrowing of English "half"). A person who was hapa was either part European/Islander or part Asian/Islander. Today it refers to a person of mixed racial heritage — especially, but not limited to, half-Asian/half-European-Americans in common California usage) and FOB
Fresh off the boat
The phrases Fresh off the boat , Off the boat , or just simply Boat; are terminologies used to describe immigrants that have arrived from a foreign nation and have not yet assimilated into the host nation's culture, language, and behavior. Within some ethnic Asian circles in the United States, the...
("fresh off the boat", often a newly arrived Asian immigrant). Not surprisingly, the popularity of cultural food items such as Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
phở
PHO
PHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially hazardous object, an asteroid or comet that could potentially collide with Earth...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese boba
Bubble tea
Bubble tea is the name for pearl milk tea and other similar tea and juice beverages that originated in tea shops in Taichung, Taiwan during the 1980s. Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit and/or milk...
in many areas has led to the general adoption of such words amongst many speakers.
Freeway nomenclature
Since the 1950s and 1960s, California culture (and thus its variety of English) has been significantly affected by "car culture," that is, dependence on private automobile transportation and the effects thereof.One difference between California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and most of the rest of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has been the way California English speakers refer to highways, or freeways. The term freeway itself is not used in many areas outside California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; for instance, in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, the term highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
is universally used. Where most Americans may refer to "I-80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
" for the east-west Interstate Highway leading from San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to the suburbs of Oakland or "I-15" for the north-south artery linking San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
through Salt Lake City to the Canadian border, Californians -- especially Southern Californians -- are less likely to use the "I." Northern and Southern Californians alike are even less likely to use the "interstate" designation in naming freeways.
The numbering of freeway exits, common in most parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, has only recently been applied in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and initially appearing only in more populous areas. Thus, virtually all Californians refer to exits by signage name rather than by number, as in "the Grand Avenue exit" (in Los Angeles) rather than "Exit 21."
- Northern California
- Northern Californians will typically say "80," "I-80," "Business 80," or "101" ("one-oh-one") to refer to freeways. Some long-time San Francisco Bay Area residents and many traffic report broadcasts still refer to such highways by name and not number designation: "Bayshore" for Highway 101, or "the Nimitz" for I-880, the portion of the Eastshore Freeway which was named for Admiral Chester Nimitz, a prominent World War II hero with strong local ties. State Route 1 is called "Highway 1" or simply "One" (that is, "take One down the coast"). Differentiation among freeways is generally determined, by stating East to West, or North to South. Because the major freeways go either north to south (101 or I-5) or east to west (15 or 80), it's only necessary to differentiate between those two directions, except for shorter, intrastate freeways.
- Southern California
- In the Greater Los Angeles areaGreater Los Angeles AreaThe Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
, Orange CountyOrange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, the Inland EmpireInland Empire (California)The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
, and San Diego, freeways are referred to either by name or by route number (perhaps with a direction suffix), but with the addition of the definite articleDefinite ArticleDefinite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
"the," such as "the 405 North" or "the 605 (Freeway)". This is in contrast to typical Northern CaliforniaNorthern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
usage, which omits the definite article.
- There is no road named the "Los Angeles Freeway"; instead, each freeway which radiates from Downtown Los AngelesDowntown Los AngelesDowntown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
is named for its nominal terminus in some other city, such as Santa MonicaSanta Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, PomonaPomona, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
or San BernardinoSan Bernardino, CaliforniaSan Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
. News reports will occasionally refer to the Santa Monica and Santa Ana freeways as such; however, residents will rarely refer to the 405 freeway as the San Diego Freeway (other than on street signs). The majority of natives stick to calling the freeways by "The" + (Freeway number).
- Conversely, the older state highways are generally called not by their numbers but by their names, as used on signage and in postal addresses. For example, in Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, State Route 1 is called the Pacific Coast Highway and is often referred to as "PCH".
- Southern Californians often refer to the lanes of a multi-lane divided highway by number, "The Number 1 Lane" (also referred to as "The Fast Lane") is the lane farthest to the left (not counting the carpool lane), with the lane numbers going up sequentially to the right until the far right lane, which is usually referred to as "The Slow Lane." In areas outside of Los Angeles, where three and occasionally two lane freeways are more common, the lanes are simply the "fast lane", "middle lane" and "slow lane".
- Distribution
- The distribution of these contrasting nomenclatures are irregular, and indicate the extent of integration with the Greater Los Angeles economic sphere of influence. Along Highway 101, the shift occurs at the Santa Ynez MountainsSanta Ynez MountainsThe Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California.-Geography:...
, so that residents of Santa Barbara CountySanta Barbara County, CaliforniaSanta Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...
speak of "the 101," but residents of northern San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
call the same freeway "101". Along Interstate 5Interstate 5Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...
, this border is less clear. Residents of BakersfieldBakersfield, CaliforniaBakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, over the San Gabriel MountainsSan Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
from Los Angeles, speak of "the Five" and "the 99", but this use is notably absent in FresnoFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. Towns in the Mojave DesertMojave DesertThe Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
tend to use the "the" at least as far as Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, but not into most of Arizona; Las Vegas has notable historic ties to the Los Angeles area, given that as much as 25% of visitors to Las Vegas are from Southern California. Residents of San DiegoSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, the Imperial Valley, and Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
follow Southern California usage as well.
Northern California
A common expression amongst residents of the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
is to refer to the city of San Francisco itself as simply "The City". Some Mexican Spanish
Mexican Spanish
Mexican Spanish is a version of the Spanish language, as spoken in Mexico and in various places of Canada and the United States of America, where there are communities of Mexican origin....
-speakers refer to it as "San Pancho" because Pancho is a nickname for the Spanish name Francisco. Similarly, the city of South San Francisco
South San Francisco, California
South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area...
in San Mateo County
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
and thus not a part of the city and county of San Francisco, is sometimes referred to as "South City", especially within the San Francisco Examiner.
The metro region often referred to as the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties.
The San Francisco Bay Area is commonly referred to as "the Bay Area" or sometimes simply as "The Bay". The Bay Area is sub-divided into several regions:
- "The CitySan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
" or simply "SF" refers to San Francisco proper. - The "North BayNorth Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)The North Bay is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The largest city is Santa Rosa. It is by far the least populous and least urbanized part of the Bay Area...
" encompasses Marin CountyMarin County, CaliforniaMarin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, the southern half of Napa CountyNapa County, CaliforniaNapa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
and the southern half of Sonoma CountySonoma County, CaliforniaSonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
, including the city of Santa RosaSanta Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
. The northern portions of Sonoma and Napa counties are typically considered to be Wine Country, a separate region less characterized by suburbanization. Some cities in central areas of these counties are considered to be members of both communities. - The "South Bay" encompasses the cities of the Santa Clara ValleySanta Clara ValleyThe Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration...
, including San JoseSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, and can refer to all of Santa Clara CountySanta Clara County, CaliforniaSanta Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
, as far south as GilroyGilroy, CaliforniaGilroy is the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 48,821 at the 2010 census. Gilroy is well-known for its garlic crop and for the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, featuring various garlicky foods, including garlic ice cream. Gilroy also produces...
and sometimes Santa CruzSanta Cruz County, CaliforniaSanta Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
and San BenitoSan Benito County, CaliforniaSan Benito County is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of San Jose. As of 2010 the population was 55,269. The county seat is Hollister, which includes nearly two-thirds of the county's population. El Camino Real passes through the county and...
counties, Mountain ViewMountain View, California-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, home of GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, is undeniably part of Silicon ValleySilicon ValleySilicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, but northwestern parts seem to be more integrated with Palo Alto. (San Jose is often referred to as "San JO" or "SJ") - The "East BayEast Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
" extends inland from the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and includes AlamedaAlameda County, CaliforniaAlameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
and Contra CostaContra Costa County, CaliforniaContra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
counties. East Bay cities include OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, BerkeleyBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, ConcordConcord, CaliforniaConcord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months...
, Walnut CreekWalnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
, FremontFremont, CaliforniaFremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
, HaywardHayward, CaliforniaHayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...
, and San LeandroSan Leandro, CaliforniaSan Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
. Cities on the Bay side of the East Bay HillsBerkeley HillsThe Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
are sometimes referred to as the "Near East Bay", and historically, inland cities along the I-680 corridor have been referred to as the "Far East Bay". The definition of this term has been muddied in recent years as suburban sprawl from the Bay Area spilled into the Central Valley, adding a distinct third subregion to the East Bay. - Some residents in the San Joaquin County area refer the area as the "209Area code 209209 is the North American telephone area code for California that covers Stockton, Modesto, Turlock, Merced, Winton, Atwater, Livingston, Manteca, Ripon, Tracy, Lodi, Sonora, Los Banos, San Andreas, Mariposa, and Yosemite, as well as the northern San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Foothills...
", the county's area code. - "The PeninsulaSan Francisco PeninsulaThe San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is in Santa Clara County, including the cities of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Mountain...
" refers to the San Francisco Peninsula south of the City of San Francisco, encompassing the cities in San Mateo CountySan Mateo County, CaliforniaSan Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
, including Daly CityDaly City, CaliforniaDaly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...
, San MateoSan Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, Redwood CityRedwood City, CaliforniaRedwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
and Menlo ParkMenlo Park, CaliforniaMenlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
, as well as Palo AltoPalo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
(in Santa Clara County). It is virtually never referred to as the "West Bay". Palo Alto is considered "on the Peninsula", which despite being in Santa Clara County has long historical ties with the Peninsula (especially with Menlo Park); for example, Jane Lathrop Stanford kept a personal waiting room at the Menlo Park train station, despite the Stanford estate's proximity to Palo Alto.
The term "Frisco" is rarely used by San Francisco Bay Area residents, much as "The Big Apple" is not typically used by native New Yorkers
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. However, though well-known newspaper columnist Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
once harshly criticized the use of the term "Frisco", he later recanted, and the term continues to be used. Still, the term "Frisco" continues to be viewed by many as either revealing ignorance, or as vaguely derogatory. Emperor Norton, a colorful 19th century inhabitant of San Francisco, once issued a proclamation about the City's nickname:
In 1918 in his courtroom, a San Francisco judge rebuked a Los Angeles resident's use of the nickname "Frisco" by saying "No one refers to San Francisco by that title except people from Los Angeles." Decades later, San Francisco columnist Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
renewed the drive to keep "Frisco" out of San Francisco.
Some Northern Californians refer to Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, the state capital, as "Sac", "Sacto", "Sactown", "Sacra" (by the Chicano community), "Sacratomato" (for the local tomato canning industry) and various other nicknames.
Bay Area and Sacramento residents speak of going "up the hill" into the neighboring mountains to Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
or Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, but "over the hill" for crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
, either to Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
or Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, USA. Its population was 11,324 as of the 2010 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is the Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea....
. In the Sacramento area, "the Valley" refers to the Central Valley. Also residents of West Marin will call the San Geronimo Valley
San Geronimo Valley
San Geronimo Valley is a valley in Marin County, California, composed of four unincorporated towns: Woodacre, San Geronimo, Forest Knolls, and Lagunitas. Residents of San Geronimo Valley and surrounding areas refer to it as "The Valley." It is a fairly close-knit community, with a rather liberal...
as "the valley and Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Mount Tamalpais Watershed.-Geography:...
"the hill" , as in you're from "the valley" or I'm going "over the hill". Additionally, residents of the Bay Area will sometimes refer to the area of the Santa Clara Valley and surrounding cities as "the Valley" or as the more famous term, "Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
". Residents of Santa Cruz use the phrase "over the hill" to refer to Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
(which is often referred to by Santa Cruz "locals" as "The Pit"), but for them "the Bay" refers to closer Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
, not San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
Southern California
Southern California has many distinctive accents and dialects; these often reflect the geographic origins of the people who came there. Bakersfield English and the "Valley GirlValley girl
Valley Girl is a stereotype leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking and materialistic...
" dialect of the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
have their roots in the Ozark English of Arkansas and Missouri, and first developed when many people from the Ozarks migrated to California in the 1930s. East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles (region)
East Los Angeles is the portion of the City of Los Angeles that lies east of Downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River and the unincorporated areas of Lincoln Heights, west of the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles and City Terrace, south of Cypress Park, and north of Vernon, California and...
and the Gateway Cities house a distinctive form of Chicano English
Chicano English
Chicano English is a dialect of American English used by Chicanos. One major variation of Chicano English is Tejano English, used mainly in south Texas...
. These dialects can exist in very small areas, such as the traditionally New Orleanian Yat
Yat (New Orleans)
Yat is a dialect of English spoken in the Greater New Orleans Area. The term refers to those people who speak with the Yat accent and dialect of New Orleanians throughout the city...
in northern Pasadena.
In the city of Los Angeles, the terms "Westside" and "Eastside" are frequently used to refer to regions on either side of the city. The boundaries of these regions are not defined, and whether certain neighborhoods should be included in the Westside or the Eastside remains a heated topic of discussion. Generally, the Westside includes neighborhoods with the area code 310, including Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, Westwood
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
and Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. The Eastside includes neighborhoods east of the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
such as Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California
Boyle Heights is a neighborhood east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles. For much of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights was a gateway for new immigrants. This resulted in diverse demographics, including Jewish American, Japanese American and Mexican American populations,...
, East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
and Whittier
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
.
Neighborhoods south of downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
are typically referred to as "South Central" (though officially renamed to "South L.A.
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
" 2003). South Central initially referred to Central Ave South of Jefferson which was a major location for jazz and nightlife in the fifties and sixties. Neighborhoods in South L.A. include Watts
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Watts is a mostly residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant...
, Leimert Park
Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California
Leimert Park is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California roughly bounded by Rodeo Road on the north, 4th Avenue and Roxton Avenue on the east, Vernon Avenue on the south, and Crenshaw Boulevard on the west. Crenshaw District lies to the south, View Park to the west, Vermont Square to the east,...
, and Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
.
In Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, the "South Bay
South Bay, Los Angeles
The South Bay is a region of the southwest peninsula of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The name stems from its geographic features stretching along the southern shores of Santa Monica Bay which forms its western border.The picture at right uses the broadest definition of the...
" refers to the area adjacent to southern Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in Malibu, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its eastern...
, encompassing communities between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
and the Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
. This area includes the Beach Cities
Beach Cities
The term Beach Cities refers to both a region of California located in Los Angeles County along the Santa Monica Bay coastline as well as a smaller group of cities located therein the region...
(Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
, Hermosa Beach
Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....
, Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
), El Segundo
El Segundo, California
El Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on the Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments...
, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Hawthorne
Hawthorne, California
Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The city at the 2010 census had a population of 84,293, up from 84,112 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, Lawndale
Lawndale, California
Lawndale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 32,769 at the 2010 census, up from 31,711 according to the 2000 census...
and Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
.
The San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, which lies north of the Santa Monica mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
, is often called simply "the Valley." It became a cultural phenomenon and a major real estate destination for millions of Angelenos to call home in the 20th century. And indeed where the "Valley girl/boy" accent developed in the later 1970s and 1980s or early 1990s become popularized by teenagers and young adults nationwide and globally through Hollywood's media circuit.
Residents of Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
simply refer to their city as Long Beach. Although residents outside the region may refer to the city as the "LBC," popularized in the media by famous residents, such as the rapper Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
.
The Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
, which encompasses cities in San Bernardino, Riverside, and sometimes the eastern edge of Los Angeles counties, is commonly referred to as "the I.E." or "the 909
Area code 909
Area code 909 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 714 on November 14, 1992. Western Riverside County was split off from 909 into area code 951 on July 17, 2004...
" for its original telephone area code. Although the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
defines the Inland Empire region as all of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, these counties' high or low desert regions are frequently excluded from the colloquial definition, which refers instead to the more urbanized area around the cities of Riverside
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
and Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Rancho Cucamonga is a suburban city in San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,269, up from 127,743 at the 2000 census. L. Dennis Michael was elected as Mayor on November 2, 2010. Jack Lam is the City Manager...
and other cities in the Pomona Valley which may also include Los Angeles County. Typically, this excludes all areas north of Cajon Pass
Cajon Pass
Cajon Pass is a moderate-elevation mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California in the United States. It was created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault...
and San Gorgonio Pass
San Gorgonio Pass
The San Gorgonio Pass el. cuts between the San Bernardino Mountains on the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. Like the Cajon Pass to the northwest, it was also created by the San Andreas Fault...
.
Residents in communities in the San Gabriel
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
and San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
(i.e. Crestline
Crestline, California
Crestline is a census-designated place in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, USA. The population was 10,770 at the 2010 census, up from 10,218 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crestline is located at ....
, Wrightwood
Wrightwood, California
Wrightwood is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California. It sits at an elevation of . The population was 4,525 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Lake Arrowhead
Lake Arrowhead, California
Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, within the San Bernardino National Forest, adjacent to Lake Arrowhead Reservoir...
, Big Bear
Big Bear Lake, California
Big Bear Lake is a city in San Bernardino County, California along the south shore of Big Bear Lake, located northeast of the city of San Bernardino. The population was 5,019 at the 2010 census, down from 5,438 at the 2000 census...
) will refer to people on either side of the mountains as "flat-landers". This practice is also common among hikers and outdoor enthusiasts when referring to those who do not venture into the mountains. In an example of wry understatement, the residents of these mountain communities also refer to the rather lengthy journeys between them and the surrounding lowlands as "going down (or up) the hill."
A common colloquialism for Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
is "behind The Orange Curtain
Orange Curtain
The Orange Curtain is a term that refers to the border between Orange County and Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. It is a sometimes derogatory, sometimes lighthearted term, that is used to describe Orange County's more conservative and suburban population as compared to the more...
", referring to the politically conservative demographics for that area. This term is typically used by Californians who self-identify as politically liberal. According to the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television show The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, the abbreviation of the county's name tends to be mainly used by those from outside of the area, rather than natives. Many residents of Orange County refer to their telephone area codes to describe where in Orange County they are from. The "562" or "714" refers to people in Northern Orange County and the older suburban communities of Cypress, California
Cypress, California
Cypress is a suburban city located in the northern region of Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 47,802 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, La Palma
La Palma, California
La Palma is a city located in northern Orange County, California. Incorporated on October 26, 1955, the population was 15,408 at the 2000 census...
, Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos, California
Los Alamitos is a small city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,449 at the 2010 census, down from 11,536 at the 2000 census...
, Seal Beach
Seal Beach, California
-Neighborhoods:Seal Beach encompasses the Leisure World retirement gated community with roughly 9,000 residents. This was the first major planned retirement community of its type in the U.S...
, Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
, Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach, California
Sunset Beach is a beachfront community in Huntington Beach in Orange County, California. In 2011, it was annexed by Huntington Beach and is now part of that city. Prior to, it was a census-designated place, with a population of 971 at the 2010 census....
, Fountain Valley
Fountain Valley, California
Fountain Valley is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 55,313 at the 2010 census. A classic bedroom community, Fountain Valley is a middle-class residential area.- History :...
, Brea
Brea, California
Brea is a city in Orange County, California. The population, as of the 2010 Census was 39,282.The city began as a center of crude oil production, was later propelled by citrus production, and is now an important retail center because of the large Brea Mall and the recently redeveloped Brea Downtown...
, Fullerton
Fullerton, California
Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 135,161.It was founded in 1887 by George and Edward Amerige and named for George H. Fullerton, who secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...
, Orange
Orange, California
Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...
, Garden Grove
Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
, Santa Ana
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
, Westminster
Westminster, California
-Government:In the state legislature Westminster is located in the 34th, Senate District, represented by Democrat Lou Correa and Republican Tom Harman respectively, and in the 67th and 68th Assembly District, represented by Republicans Jim Silva and Van Tran respectively...
, Tustin
Tustin, California
-Top employers:According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Tustin had a population of 75,540. The population density was 6,816.7 people per square mile...
and Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, while "949" refers to more affluent and recently developed communities in South Orange County such as Irvine
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, Mission Viejo
Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo is a city located in southern Orange County, California, U.S. in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size...
, Aliso Viejo
Aliso Viejo, California
Aliso Viejo is a city in Orange County, California. It had a population of 47,823 as of the 2010 census, up from 40,166 as of the 2000 census. It became Orange County's 34th city on July 1, 2001, the only city in the county to incorporate since 2000...
, Foothill Ranch, Laguna Hills
Laguna Hills, California
Laguna Hills is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby—Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods—are similarly named.-Geography:...
, Newport Beach
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
, and Coto de Caza
Coto de Caza, California
Coto de Caza is a census-designated place and guard-gated private community in Orange County, California. The population was 14,866 at the 2010 census, up from 13,057 at the 2000 census....
. The "909" area code refers to people inland from Orange County, typically from Riverside and further inland, and is used by many native southern Californians, especially those living in cities near the beaches, as a derogatory term for tourists, "909ers". Rarely, people will even refer to their zip codes to communicate where they live, many times an indication of their income level.
In San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
, "South Bay" refers to the area adjacent to the southern portion of San Diego Bay. Suburbs in the northern half of the county almost always identify as simply North County and suburbs immediately east of the city proper, though geographically still located in the western half of the county, identify similarly as East County. San Diego residents will also sometimes define their location relative to major highways. "South of 8" refers to communities south of the I-8, which cuts roughly through the City of San Diego. This term also implies a socioeconomic divide, residents and communities are perceived as being less affluent, as well as a greater concentration of ethnic minorities. Another common example is "East of 5", in which many central beach community residents will use to define where in San Diego they will not go to. As the I-5 follows the coastline in much of San Diego, this is a way of signifying an inclination to stay within the coastal regions of San Diego.
And finally the California Desert region: the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
and Imperial Valley
Imperial Valley
The Imperial Valley is an agricultural area of Southern California's Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, centered around the city of El Centro. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously. The Valley is bordered between the...
are referred to as the "Desert", but a more "Southwestern" cultural emphasis on desert western living has a more Hispanic and American Indian flavor to the local dialect. The Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and Mono Lake
Mono Lake
Mono Lake is a large, shallow saline lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in a basin that has no outlet to the ocean...
area is also known as the "High Desert" due to the region's higher elevations, but has a more rural American (i.e. Southern, Midwest/Central and Texan/Western) cultural character.
See also
- North American Regional Phonology
- BoontlingBoontlingBoontling is a folk language spoken only in Boonville in Northern California.-History and description of Boontling:Although based on English, Boontling's unusual words are unique to Boonville, California. Scottish Gaelic and Irish, and some Pomoan and Spanish, also influenced the vocabulary of the...
- Chain shiftChain shiftIn phonology, a chain shift is a phenomenon in which several sounds move stepwise along a phonetic scale. The sounds involved in a chain shift can be ordered into a "chain" in such a way that, after the change is complete, each phoneme ends up sounding like what the phoneme before it in the chain...
- Chicano EnglishChicano EnglishChicano English is a dialect of American English used by Chicanos. One major variation of Chicano English is Tejano English, used mainly in south Texas...
- HyphyHyphyThe word hyphy is Conor Devlin's preferred short word meaning "hyperactive." It was created by Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak when he used the term on an album he recorded in 1994. From the USA Today article: "Every record label was getting at us at that time, but we fumbled the ball," says E-40,...
- SociolectSociolectIn sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
- SociolinguisticsSociolinguisticsSociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
- SpanglishSpanglish.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
- ValspeakValspeakValleyspeak or Valspeak is a common name for an American sociolect, originally of Los Angeles, California, in particular Valley girls. This stereotype, which originated in the 1970s, became an international fad for a certain period...
- Vowel ShiftVowel shiftA vowel shift is a systematic sound change in the pronunciation of the vowel sounds of a language.The best-known example in the English language is the Great Vowel Shift, which began in the 15th century...
- California slangCalifornia slangCalifornia slang is slang used in California English, or which originates in California. The slang heard in California originates from three different regions: Northern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California...
Further reading
- Vowels and Consonants: An Introduction to the Sounds of Languages. Peter Ladefoged, 2003. Blackwell Publishing.
- Language in Society: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Suzanne Romaine, 2000. Oxford University Press.
- How We Talk: American Regional English Today. Allan Metcalf, 2000. Houghton Mifflin.
External links
- Do you speak American? PBS
- Penelope Eckert, Vowel Shifts
- Phonological Atlas of North America
- A hella new specifier Paper by Rachelle Waksler discussing usage of hella
- Word Up: Social Meanings of Slang in California Youth Culture by Mary Bucholtz Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara department of Linguistics Includes discussion of "hella"