This website documents some of the curiosities of WI English, but isn't specific to Sheboygan. Some differences:
Sheboygan says frying out for grilling or barbecuing. Fry out is also used as a noun. "What are we having for dinner?" "Fry out." Specifically, fry out is hamburgers and brats on a Weber coal grill - no gas grills allowed and the grill is called a fryer.
Sheboygan uses the word bakery to describe the sweet items one purchases at a bakery. Sweet rolls are called bakery. The once exception here is a crueller (pronounced cruller). Cruellers are called by name. A crueller is a long, filled, chocolate topped sweet roll.
The word cooler means popsicle.
A slide is a sliding board. A sloppy joe is a hot tamale. Traffic lights are stop and go lights. Come here, instead, is come here once. Once is used frequently at the end of sentences.
Go by and down by are used because the German bei means to. I am going by (or going down by) Sue's house means I am going to Sue's house.
Schluck (from the German verb schlucken for to swallow) means sip. "Can I have a schluck of that soda?" Yes, Sheboyganites say soda. Much of the state says pop.
Yes, when we leave a door open in the winter, my mom says, "Close the door. Were you born in a barn?"
The site linked above says Wisconsinites use D's in place of T's. There is some of that, but it is not as prevalent as they argue.
A Friday night fish fry isn't legit unless the fish is perch.
Lots of people learn to play sheepshead, except in Sheboygan it is pronounced without the second S.
My mom still refers to hiking boots as stompers.
I'll add to this as I think of more things. There are other very regional Germanifications of the language that occur to me occasionally.
My mom still refers to hiking boots as stompers.
Posted by: pharmacy | August 30, 2011 at 11:51 AM