A Lesson on Regional Dialect: The Florida Keys

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Photo courtesy of Daniel Martone

While researching southern Florida for my latest travel guide, Moon Florida Keys, I discovered a number of unique regional terms – and, in some cases, unique definitions for words that I already knew. For the Resources section of the book, I compiled a list of these expressions, which, in turn, inspired me to write a blog series about different regional dialects in America.

Of course, I'd need to prepare an entire book to truly do this subject justice. Luckily, several helpful books already exist, including American Dialects: A Manual for Actors, Directors, and Writers (Lewis Herman and Marguerite Shalett Herman/New York: Routledge, 1997) and the more erudite American English: Dialects and Variation (Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes/Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006). My favorite book about U.S. dialects, though, is American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast (Walt Wolfram, ed., and Ben Ward, ed./Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006), which contains chapters like “Doing the Charleston” (South Carolina), “Beantown Babble” (Boston), and “Saying Ya to the Yoopers” (Michigan’s Upper Peninsula).

For the blog series, I'm focusing on the jargon – and features – common to four of my favorite American locales – the Florida Keys, the Everglades, New Orleans, and Michigan – all of which I've blogged about before. To get you started, here's a list of useful terms and abbreviations often heard in the Florida Keys:

bight: a body of water bounded by a bend in the shore
BS: a commonly used abbreviation for addresses on the bay side of U.S. Highway 1 in the Florida Keys
chum: a foul mixture of fish blood and diced fish parts, usually tossed into open water to lure fish to the area
coconut telegraph: the laidback, word-of-mouth method by which news travels in the Florida Keys
conch: a multi-purpose term used to describe a marine gastropod, a Bahamian immigrant, or a native inhabitant of the Florida Keys
conch fritter: a fried ball made with spices and ground conch meat, popular as an appetizer in the Florida Keys
Conch Republic: a micronation declared as a protest secession of the Florida Keys from the United States in April 1982
cracker: a term that refers to the state's early settlers, who cracked long whips to herd cattle and oxen; now, informally used to designate a native-born Floridian
Duval crawl: the local expression for frequenting each bar along Key West's Duval Street, which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
eyebrow house: a type of Key West domicile that has an overhanging porch roof, which conceals the upper front windows
“Floribbean” cuisine: Florida's hybrid cuisine, consisting of fresh Florida produce and seafood, with American, European, Caribbean, and Latin American influences
Florida fighting conch: a feisty mollusk found in the southeastern United States, known for its tendency to fight with potential collectors and predators
Florida lobster: a warm-water crustacean that, unlike its New England counterpart, has no claws; also called rock lobster or spiny lobster
gingerbread architecture: an elaborate Victorian-era style of construction, prevalent throughout Key West
grouper: a firm white fish, popular in the Florida Keys
Intracoastal Waterway (ICW): a 3,000-mile-long waterway, partly natural and partly artificial, along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of America, meant to protect small boats from the dangers of the open sea
island time: the perception of a slower, more relaxed way of life on islands like Key West
key: a low, offshore island composed of sand or coral, the name of which is derived from the Spanish word cayo, meaning “little island”
mahi-mahi: a sweet, lean fish also known as dorado or dolphinfish
MM: the abbreviation for “mile marker,” how most Floridians designate addresses along U.S. Highway 1 in the Florida Keys
OS: a commonly used abbreviation for addresses on the ocean side of U.S. Highway 1 in the Florida Keys
Overseas Highway: the popular term for the stretch of U.S. Highway 1 that links many of the keys between Key Largo and Key West
patch reef: an isolated coral formation closer to the coast than the main offshore reef and usually filled with fish
sandspur: the seed of the sandspur plant, prevalent in grassy or sandy areas and resembling a little spiked ball; also called a sandbur
sea grape: a native, salt-tolerant plant that grows on Florida's beaches and helps to stabilize sand dunes
sea oat: a wispy, salt-tolerant plant found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where it helps to protect the state's beach dunes from erosion
skunked: an unfortunate condition whereby one returns to the dock after a fishing trip, without having caught any fish
snook: a tropical inshore fish found in the Florida Keys and notoriously difficult to catch
snowbird: anyone who vacations or lives in Florida during the winter months, usually from November to April, to escape the cold and snow in other parts of the country
Snuba: an underwater breathing system, patented by Snuba International, that combines features of snorkeling and scuba diving
Stingray Shuffle: the method by which people shift their feet as they venture into Gulf waters to avoid inadvertently stepping on a camouflaged stingray
Turtle Walk: a state-organized nighttime event, usually held in June or July, when the public can view sea turtles nesting and hatching on Florida's shores

If I'm missing any terms, please let me know by commenting below. For more information about the Florida Keys, consult the Monroe County Tourist Development Council – and keep an eye out for the rest of my dialect series.

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As always, I’m open to ideas for future posts. If you have any suggestions, burning questions, or destinations that you’d like me to explore in greater detail, please comment below or contact me via laura [at] wanderingsoles [dot] com.

© 2010 Laura Martone