Smelt or Shmelt?

Discuss.

Depends on how you shpeak.....

In my travels (huntin) in other parts of the country some people in stores say :Would you like that in a SACK! it makes me chuckle... and i say No Thank You just throw it on the floor and i will kick it all the way to the truck! i thought a sack was something potatoes were hauled around in! or was a race game played at (pikaniks)...

I was born and raised here in Barron County, Wisconsin, and stayed in this area after completion of college. I have never heard anybody say "shmelt". I never heard of a "bubbler" until I went to college. "Soda" refers to baking soda, the soft drink is known as "pop".

Notice that only the eastern tier of Wisconsin counties say "soda".

http://www.popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html

I say both smelt and shmelt, depends how much I've had to drink! I like whiskey old fashions made with sweet SODA. And I drink from bubblers and I like skim melk (yes i spelled it wrong). I thought everyone in Wisconsin talked like this, the only people I hear say pop and drinking fountain are from Illinois or Minnesota, or should I say Minnesoda.

I won't drink out of a fountain, those are for decoration. I'll give you pop though, isn't it technically soda pop?

Well maybe a kind moderator can move this rather than delete it.

I live in illinois, but do nearly all of my fishing in wisconsin. I've never heard a person say "bubbler" and all of the people i've heard say "shmelt" say everything else weird too. I always thought it was smelt.

You also call soft drinks "soda"

Yep

and call a drinking fountain a "bubbler"

Yep.

That must mean ... *gulp* ... I'm one of "you people". I always thought I was one of "those people".

I remember in college getting laughed at big time because I asked someone where the "bubbler" was. I refused to call it a "water fountain" so after that I just asked where I could get a drink of water. But, yes. I usually say "shmelt". I never questioned the pronunciation. That's what my grandpa called them, that's what my mom called them so that's what I called them. Same thing as "crappie" and "crohppie".

This is in the wrong forum! This will be deleted anyways, but I have always heard it pronounced "smelt". But I have heard that many of "you people" in southeast Wisconsin say "shmelt." You also call soft drinks "soda" and call a drinking fountain a "bubbler". Glad I'm from Northwest Wisconsin and don't talk like I'm from Boston or San Fransisco.

Smelt

Oops - wanted this on the General Discussion.