When I lived there (and still today), I use CA in print, and in both print and speech have been known to use SoCal and NoCal.
Of course, I'm forever marked as having been an Angelino for a few years, because I also still use the term "surface streets" (as in not freeways), which is to my knowledge a term only used in and only useful in the horror that is LA.
I say SoCal and NorCal in certain contexts too, but that wasn't the question. In another place, where someone outside the US said "Cali", I remarked that it was a funny thing that I knew no Californians who referred to it as such. Of course one of them came out of the woodwork to disprove me. :P But I was curious who actually said it or wrote it, and where they were from (i.e., was I basically right, it's an outsider term, or am I completely off base).
My father uses the term "surface streets". He's from Ohio and moved to the Bay area in the 1950s. I picked it up from him, so I use it in exactly the manner you've described.
I was born and raised in the south bay, and I too use the term "surface streets". Like you, I picked it up from my father, who was born in Israel but moved to the Bay Area before age 10 and thus did most of his growing up in Sunnyvale.
My father uses the term "surface streets". He's from Ohio and moved to the Bay area in the 1950s. I picked it up from him, so I use it in exactly the manner you've described.
Weird, I have lived all over the US (DC, MO, WI, CA, & OR) and LA was the first place I heard that term and the only one where I noticed it in use.
See talonstrike's comment. It's possible he didn't import it to the Bay area, but rather picked it up here. My father was older than his when he came here, but not by that much, by the sounds of things.
The Bay area is not quite as epic in terms of freeways, but still the distinction is quite meaningful since your daily life is likely to include both.
We're also the only place that doesn't preface our freeway numbers with the definite article, as far as I've experienced. It's like we think of them as people and their numbers are names. Oddly enough, where the local habit is to use "the", I have no problem using it too, and in fact it sounds weird to my ears if I don't. I can't bring myself to say "the 101" (or 1, 5, 50, 80, 85, 87, 99, 280, 237, 580, 680, or 880!), but you'd never hear me saying just naked "401" (a freeway in Ontario) without its "the".
what about sacrademento? used by complete outsiders in reference to a rp which skipped through a california unlikely to even vaguely resemble reality apart from the forest.
Sixth-generation native Californian. Actually, sixth-gen Angeleno (if only by a technicality: my mom had ties to one of the German families that founded Anaheim in the 1850's). Now annoying native Oregonians by taking up space in their beautiful state.
The only people that I ever heard say the words "Cali" to refer to the state of California are people who weren't from California.
Given the size of the state, actually, it is more common for people to refer to which metro they are from (LA, SF, SD [which, unlike "Frisco", natives actually say "Dego" sometimes], even Fresno and Bakersfield) rather than say they are from "California." This is often taken to a logical extreme: it was not uncommon for people from Palm Springs and Barstow (both over 100 miles from LA city center) to say they're from LA.
It is also worth noting that out of the 100 or so people I kept in contact with from my high school days (the 1980's), only two are still living in California. And one is trying to move right now.
I think the term "surface streets" might be a generational thing.
I've heard the previous generation of my family use it regardless of whether they were from the Californian (mom's) side of the family or the Bostonian (dad's) side.
We used to call it "Suckramento" down in Bakersfield.
What is it with Central Valley cities always being "down" on the other Central Valley cities? Common saying in Bakersfield was "yeah, today kind-of sucked, but it could have only been worse in Fresno." Bakersfield's reputation (somewhat deserved) of being a 24-hour Hee Haw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hee_Haw) episode in the northern parts of the Valley also stands out.
Jeez, people: the whole Central Valley from Redding to Tejon Pass is a dusty agricultural shithole, only made tolerable by the fact you're a little over an hour's drive to either the beauty of the Sierras or the cool breezes of the Pacific Ocean.
The first time I heard the term 'Cali' used in reference to California was in a rap song in the early 90's. I use it sometimes, mostly when joking around.
Oh, I say Sacrademento. But that's like "Berzerkeley", a nickname said specifically to be silly, not just a general shorthand. If I just want to refer to the place without being silly, I say "Sacramento" or in text will often type "Sacto".
Also, Sacratomato, which is actually the name of a house-brand tomato bisque available at a local grocery chain. :)
In CA it is, but it seems that everywhere else I've been they use definite articles too (Ontario, for instance, and when I was driving across the US people kept referring to "the 80"). "Everywhere" is probably a sweeping generalization and I'm just not remembering the exceptions, but it seems that Northern Californians are quite unusual in this respect.
When I was at university in Sacramento (oh! the irony!) there was a poster on the wall in one of my photography classes, "so-and-so's Compendium of Photographic Truths."
One of them was "A good photograph cannot be made in Fresno."
Now annoying native Oregonians by taking up space in their beautiful state.
*snicker*
I sometimes say I'm from "around San Francisco" (I'm ~45 miles from it), but only to people whom I don't expect to have any idea where I mean if I say "Sunnyvale" or even "San Jose". (It also forestalls "Sunnydale" jokes, which I hate with a passion.)
Most of the people I know who have left California did so because it was too expensive. I'm hoping that we can install enotsola into something lucrative enough that with my $57k we might actually be able to *gasp* afford a house (although not likely anywhere near my street, where something currently way undersold for about $860k because the inheritors just wanted to be rid of it, and others are going for ~$1m) or even just a condo, but at the moment I'll settle for being able to move out into an apartment before the end of the year (hello, ~$1500-2000/mo).
That's pronounced "Cal-ee-foar-nee-ah". Make sure you get all the syllables in there. Ain't you been listenin' to the Governator? Mercy! Think you'd been larnin' from them Beverly Hillbillies!
*scratches head* You mean you don't? Just about everywhere else I've ever been, people seem to call the freeways by "the". I thought us northern Californians were, if not unique, then at least quite odd that we didn't do so.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:29 am (UTC)From:Of course, I'm forever marked as having been an Angelino for a few years, because I also still use the term "surface streets" (as in not freeways), which is to my knowledge a term only used in and only useful in the horror that is LA.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:45 am (UTC)From:My father uses the term "surface streets". He's from Ohio and moved to the Bay area in the 1950s. I picked it up from him, so I use it in exactly the manner you've described.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:51 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:11 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:26 am (UTC)From:I was born and raised in the south bay, and I too use the term "surface streets". Like you, I picked it up from my father, who was born in Israel but moved to the Bay Area before age 10 and thus did most of his growing up in Sunnyvale.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:29 am (UTC)From:Didn't know what to say as a comment though. ;-)
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:36 am (UTC)From:Weird, I have lived all over the US (DC, MO, WI, CA, & OR) and LA was the first place I heard that term and the only one where I noticed it in use.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:42 am (UTC)From:Which I tactfully refrained from giving a lecture about in the example under consideration, heheh.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:42 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:49 am (UTC)From:The Bay area is not quite as epic in terms of freeways, but still the distinction is quite meaningful since your daily life is likely to include both.
We're also the only place that doesn't preface our freeway numbers with the definite article, as far as I've experienced. It's like we think of them as people and their numbers are names. Oddly enough, where the local habit is to use "the", I have no problem using it too, and in fact it sounds weird to my ears if I don't. I can't bring myself to say "the 101" (or 1, 5, 50, 80, 85, 87, 99, 280, 237, 580, 680, or 880!), but you'd never hear me saying just naked "401" (a freeway in Ontario) without its "the".
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 08:50 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 10:37 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 01:53 pm (UTC)From:yeah, but my daddy took the t-bird away.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 02:03 pm (UTC)From:The only people that I ever heard say the words "Cali" to refer to the state of California are people who weren't from California.
Given the size of the state, actually, it is more common for people to refer to which metro they are from (LA, SF, SD [which, unlike "Frisco", natives actually say "Dego" sometimes], even Fresno and Bakersfield) rather than say they are from "California." This is often taken to a logical extreme: it was not uncommon for people from Palm Springs and Barstow (both over 100 miles from LA city center) to say they're from LA.
It is also worth noting that out of the 100 or so people I kept in contact with from my high school days (the 1980's), only two are still living in California. And one is trying to move right now.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 02:06 pm (UTC)From:I've heard the previous generation of my family use it regardless of whether they were from the Californian (mom's) side of the family or the Bostonian (dad's) side.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 02:08 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 02:22 pm (UTC)From:What is it with Central Valley cities always being "down" on the other Central Valley cities? Common saying in Bakersfield was "yeah, today kind-of sucked, but it could have only been worse in Fresno." Bakersfield's reputation (somewhat deserved) of being a 24-hour Hee Haw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hee_Haw) episode in the northern parts of the Valley also stands out.
Jeez, people: the whole Central Valley from Redding to Tejon Pass is a dusty agricultural shithole, only made tolerable by the fact you're a little over an hour's drive to either the beauty of the Sierras or the cool breezes of the Pacific Ocean.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 03:24 pm (UTC)From:Thats's about the only time I've ever heard Calllyforny refered to as "Cali".
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 04:29 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:34 pm (UTC)From:Also, Sacratomato, which is actually the name of a house-brand tomato bisque available at a local grocery chain. :)
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:36 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:36 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:43 pm (UTC)From:When I was at university in Sacramento (oh! the irony!) there was a poster on the wall in one of my photography classes, "so-and-so's Compendium of Photographic Truths."
One of them was "A good photograph cannot be made in Fresno."
(I've only been there once, but that was enough.)
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:46 pm (UTC)From:Surf music makes everything better.
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:53 pm (UTC)From:*snicker*
I sometimes say I'm from "around San Francisco" (I'm ~45 miles from it), but only to people whom I don't expect to have any idea where I mean if I say "Sunnyvale" or even "San Jose". (It also forestalls "Sunnydale" jokes, which I hate with a passion.)
Most of the people I know who have left California did so because it was too expensive. I'm hoping that we can install
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Date: Mar. 26th, 2008 07:54 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 27th, 2008 12:24 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 27th, 2008 03:39 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 27th, 2008 05:15 am (UTC)From:No, I don't think we-all are gonna get into accents. ;) This is actually just my own personal curiosity. The discussion itself has passed by.
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Date: Mar. 29th, 2008 09:15 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 29th, 2008 10:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Mar. 29th, 2008 10:36 pm (UTC)From: