Terry,
My eyesight must be fading, as I never can see the line youse guys was standing ON while waiting to get something when there were other people ahead of you. We, on the other hand, stood IN a line, and knew if you got out of the line you might not be able to get back in at the same place - even if the guy behind you promised to hold your space/spot. (Bonus points if you can identify where "spot" is used instead of "space".)
What I'd really like to see is a phonetic atlas of the US. For example, for much of the country it is possible to properly guess if a speaker is black or other-than-black based on certain phonetic markers. This does not hold true for the NYC area, but does even in places like Bahstun and the Great Rift Valley of California. Another example is the ability to place a speaker's place of origin (although not as well their place of current residence) by the way they pronounce the name of the letter that comes between Q and S. "Ah" (said to indicate satisfaction), Ahh (the noise the doctor tells you to make when he shoves that popsicle stick down your throat), Arrrgh" (what pirates say befor saying "matey"), or "are-ruh" (usually with an rising inflection denoting a question).
Many moons ago I used to be able to read, write, and "hear" in my head the various sounds indicated by phonetic indication (those funny things over letters when you look up a word in a good dictionary). Lack of practice has made me illiterate for most of them.
stay safe.
