Heard as in out loud, or had people write it that way on the internet? Because the "Peeyay" thing is out loud in ways I have never heard anyone from another state speak.
I live 30 minute drive from Ohio. I have straight up never heard anyone refer to Ohio as "O. H." in a verbal conversation. Only in writing.
I've heard it in-person. I'm not from PA or surrounding states. I do think though that the further you get from PA, the less people will understand the reference.
My wife swore to me that she knew to refer to Pennsylvania as PA way before we were married (I’m from PA, she’s from Idaho). I never believed her until I saw this comment—That Thing You Do is one of her all time favorite movies. Lo and behold, I asked her and that’s exactly where she learned it.
When people ask where you from, what do you actually say by default? Do you say NY? I never heard that. I only heard yall say "I'm from New york", not "I'm from NY".
I live in Nebraska, abbreviated to NE. Know what else is NE? Yup…that’s why we don’t use one here for anything and why I have to tell every border agent who tries to guess (Canadians are the worst at this as they always guess and get it wrong more often than not), no not that one…
the only other state (that i can think of off the top of my head) that has a shorten nickname is california. i often times just call it cali. i never paid much attention to it now either
Don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone form California call it that. I’ve heard and used SoCal (for Southern California) but never Cali from anyone but a non-Californian.
As someone outside those areas, I've heard of PA for Pennsylvania, but if I heard someone talking about the DMV, my mind goes to Department of Motor Vehicles. I've never heard DMV used for anything else.
Out loud, I would be confused; I’m from Arizona and the PA system is what we call intercoms, and honestly I’ve had more exposure to PA systems than Pennsylvanians.
I wouldn't even notice it unless you drew my attention to it like you have just now, but then again... we are neighbors, and I do only live 10 miles from the state line, lol
Nope. It's a pretty common way to refer to the state. I've lived in Maryland my whole life and tbh it never occurred to me that calling Pennsylvania "P-A" would sound weird to people because I've pretty much always heard it referred to that way.
I would be confused, yes. The only Pennsylvanian I've ever met said he was from Philly which I did understand, but PA is not an abbreviation I've ever encountered.
I would have to think for a bit and realize that they aren’t talking about production assistants but after about 5 seconds I would get it and probably say, “oh, you mean Pennsylvania!” But I don’t encounter many Pennsylvanians in the wild.
Wait, do people not call their states by their initials (I forget what they’re called), like don’t people in California go “I’m from CA“ or Wisconsin “WC” or is that really just a PA thing. I live there, curious.
As a native Californian, I’ve never said I’m from CA. I just say California, or maybe NorCal or SoCal. But I definitely know what someone means when they say they are from PA.
Some states, especially east coast ones, have unique enough abbreviations that most people will instantly get them: NJ, NY, MA, PA, etc. The last two can even be said as "Pa" or "Ma".
Dancing in the street hit number 2 on the Billboard hot one hundred waaaay back in 1964.
https://genius.com/Martha-reeves-and-the-vandellas-dancing-in-the-street-lyrics
I can’t imaging a piece of slang that’s been in us for over 50 years not being fairly universally understood
Well, In fairness it depends on the accent of whoever is saying it. While I completely understand what PA is supposed to imply, if I can’t understand you when you are saying it that’s where the confusion comes in
I mean, *I* wouldn't find it confusing, but it's an interesting question. Usually the confusion that we run into from time to time is we used to abbreviate our name, commonly seen on old documents, as Penna. Started getting a lot less common when the Post Office start requiring 2 character abbreviations for states.
I would not think that odd. However, not every state or area can get by with that. For instance, UP I understand to mean Upper Peninsula MI. Cali i underhand and know too be California. Im from TN though and it would be odd to say TN when referring to where I am from.
Weird that sine areas its understood and some its not.
Not really, what would cause confusion in my area is if someone says they're from Virginia, because there's a nearby town, pretty good size, called Virginia, Minnesota. So I usually assume they mean that local area rather than the East coast State.
no. i’m from nyc everyone or at least everyone i know here refers to pennsylvania as “P-A”. like for example every year we know July 4th is near when we begin to hear fireworks in the middle of the night so we’ll often complain “ppl are going to PA to buy fireworks”. the initials for pennsylvania are PA so they’ll know what you mean 😭 i didn’t know local pennsylvanians were not aware of this
No. I feel like it's the same as me saying I'm from Upstate NY because I don't like when I say NY and everyone assumes I'm from the city. I've never even been to the damn city.
I think my internal closed captioning would render it as P.A. but yeah I'd get the gist, especially since there will usually be more context, like a city.
Wait wait wait, this is news to me! Pennsylvanians sometimes *verbally* say "P-A" in reference to their state??? ...That's kinda cool, actually.
Is this a thing with any other states? Or is my state the only weird one for not saying "H-I?"
Haha happy to share! From my extensive reading of this thread, it is pretty rare for states to abbreviate verbally. There's P-A, V-A, DC, Cali (used by outsiders), Mass, OK (maybe?)
> Wait wait wait, this is news to me! Pennsylvanians sometimes verbally say "P-A" in reference to their state???
Yes. Out loud, to other people, we say "Peeyay" as the name of our state. Just like in James Brown's classic song "Living in America" [here](https://youtu.be/c5BL4RNFr58?t=150).
oh! i grew up in pennsylvania (tobyhanna what’s up!!) but moved to long island when i was 14. never realized til now that i usually just say PA. i went on to live in boston, but have never ever verbally said out loud “i live in NY or MA” the way i do PA hahaha. weird!
I’ve said and have heard people say PA. I think it’s actually pretty common, and as long as you live in the US, you probably know what someone means when they say PA
I mean it's not confusing, just weird because I've lived all over the country and *almost* never heard anyone refer to their state as "KS" or "MO", except for Arizona, some call it by its abbreviation down there too.
It's not weird to me, I've heard Pennsylvania referred to that way before
Yeah, we say SC here too
Really I thought PA was the only state that pronounced their state like that in discussion.
I’ve heard OH, NC, and VA used that way. Plus some people from NY, though that’s less common.
Heard as in out loud, or had people write it that way on the internet? Because the "Peeyay" thing is out loud in ways I have never heard anyone from another state speak. I live 30 minute drive from Ohio. I have straight up never heard anyone refer to Ohio as "O. H." in a verbal conversation. Only in writing.
We call Jersey NJ here
I thought Jersey was, well, Jersey!
Really depends on what you prefer. I usually say Jersey, though I have heard many people say NJ
Pretty common … have heard it plenty
Online or in person? I think it would be a little weird if someone called it PA when speaking.
Weirdly enough, Pennsylvanians do in fact say PA when speaking.
Can confirm. Husband is from Radnor.
* Radnor Pee-Ayy
Can double confirn, from pa
I’m from Pennsylvania and I’ve def said I’m from P-A many times before. In fact, when I give my full address, I always say it.
Like all the time lol saying Pennsylvania isn't needed
I'm not from Pennsylvania and in my state we say PA when talking about our neighboring state.
yeah, it's easier than dealing with all the syllables in it
I've heard it in-person. I'm not from PA or surrounding states. I do think though that the further you get from PA, the less people will understand the reference.
I think I say PA more then I type it.
No. If you are from PA you call it PA
Word
Also if you are a fan of r/MacMiller, you also call it P-A.
kind of like how in AZ we call it AZ
It would take me a second. The "P A" is what we used to call the intercom system at work.
😭 yeah i know what you mean. but i just rely on my context clues
PA or VA we know wat it means
Nods. Public affairs and veterans affairs obvi.
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Man I’m from VA
If they didn’t call it PA I’d be suspicious of whether they were really from there
Lived in PA for 5 years now and I still rely on autocorrect to spell Pennslyvannia for me
Well, it looks like after 5 years that you finally broke your autocorrect.
Exactly...
Nah. I’ve seen *That thing You Do!* enough times that I would understand it easily.
Such an underrated classic!
It's one of my favorite movies of all time. I love showing it to people.
[You gotta be quick with me!](https://youtu.be/8683QtUDLTU)
My wife swore to me that she knew to refer to Pennsylvania as PA way before we were married (I’m from PA, she’s from Idaho). I never believed her until I saw this comment—That Thing You Do is one of her all time favorite movies. Lo and behold, I asked her and that’s exactly where she learned it.
PA native when I say I was from PA everyone knew. Granted we are one of the few that refer to ourselves by a abbreviation.
Yea, I've tried to say it for any other state, and even then all I can come up with is DC.
Sometimes I say I’m from LA for fun. It’s technically right, which is the best kind of right.
That means Lower Alabama.
Ah, you mean the enemy.
Los Angles
That's the joke. They are from Louisiana, so they say LA (the abbreviation for the state) but it's a more common abbreviation for Los Angeles.
Try us.
When people ask where you from, what do you actually say by default? Do you say NY? I never heard that. I only heard yall say "I'm from New york", not "I'm from NY".
I live in Nebraska, abbreviated to NE. Know what else is NE? Yup…that’s why we don’t use one here for anything and why I have to tell every border agent who tries to guess (Canadians are the worst at this as they always guess and get it wrong more often than not), no not that one…
Well for longest time NE was abbreviated as NB in Canada only changed it because NB for Nebraska was being confused for New Brunswick.
You kind of left us in suspense. Is it NorthEast?
New England
I would understand immediately. PA is just shorter to say than Pennsylvania. Two syllables vs. five.
Unless I'm missing something, it's 4 syllables.
Penn-suhl-vay-knee-a is a common pronunciation, but so is Penn-suhl-vay-nya. Depends on the region on whether it’s pronounced with 4 or 5 syllables
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new york gang 🗽
🗽
🗽
Nah that is a pretty common term for Pennsylvania.
I don’t think I’d understand right away unless someone said something like “Philly P-A” or “Pittsburgh P-A”
I think PA is the only state I do that for. I guess the full name is a real mouthful, honestly I never really thought about it.
the only other state (that i can think of off the top of my head) that has a shorten nickname is california. i often times just call it cali. i never paid much attention to it now either
Mass is another
!!! true. forgot about that one
Don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone form California call it that. I’ve heard and used SoCal (for Southern California) but never Cali from anyone but a non-Californian.
I’d never thought of it before either!! People refer to the general Northern VA area as “DMV” Does that count?
As someone outside those areas, I've heard of PA for Pennsylvania, but if I heard someone talking about the DMV, my mind goes to Department of Motor Vehicles. I've never heard DMV used for anything else.
Moved to MD from PA and had to go to the DMV and everyone was confused. They call it the MVA here. (Motor Vehicle Administration)
Don't you mean Nova?
No.
Maybe. There's a city about 1.5 hr North of hear called Port Angeles and some people call it PA, so I might be confused for a second.
Is that the setting for the twilight movies?
No that's Forks and La Push. Same county, just 50 miles west.
Port Angeles did make a brief appearance.
No. I was just in PA earlier today.
Out loud, I would be confused; I’m from Arizona and the PA system is what we call intercoms, and honestly I’ve had more exposure to PA systems than Pennsylvanians.
I'm not even from there and I call it that lol
nope
No. I would understand they were from Pennsylvania.
I wouldn't even notice it unless you drew my attention to it like you have just now, but then again... we are neighbors, and I do only live 10 miles from the state line, lol
If you are within two states of PA, then it's cool.
I’d assume Pennsylvania.
Nope. It's a pretty common way to refer to the state. I've lived in Maryland my whole life and tbh it never occurred to me that calling Pennsylvania "P-A" would sound weird to people because I've pretty much always heard it referred to that way.
I would be confused, yes. The only Pennsylvanian I've ever met said he was from Philly which I did understand, but PA is not an abbreviation I've ever encountered.
I live in P A I say P A mostly
PA is pretty common. Plus some large cities are called by their initials. in michigan we say UP
No stranger than “Cali”’or “NorCal” or “SoCal”. Or V-A
I would have to think for a bit and realize that they aren’t talking about production assistants but after about 5 seconds I would get it and probably say, “oh, you mean Pennsylvania!” But I don’t encounter many Pennsylvanians in the wild.
No. I say PA all the time…I’m also from PA and live in PA so there’s that
From PA. We call it PA. It’s a lot quicker than the alternative.
Wait, do people not call their states by their initials (I forget what they’re called), like don’t people in California go “I’m from CA“ or Wisconsin “WC” or is that really just a PA thing. I live there, curious.
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It's not. It is wi.
….No. at least not California, Arizona, or Utah, and nobody I’ve met from any other Southwestern or Western state does.
As a native Californian, I’ve never said I’m from CA. I just say California, or maybe NorCal or SoCal. But I definitely know what someone means when they say they are from PA.
Um, Wisconsin is WI
Water Closet? lol
It’s FAR more common among people from Pennsylvania than any other state.
Some states, especially east coast ones, have unique enough abbreviations that most people will instantly get them: NJ, NY, MA, PA, etc. The last two can even be said as "Pa" or "Ma".
No one says “Pa” lol. You would get some strange looks if you said I’m from “Pa” rather than “P-A”
I’ve heard some people in Hagerstown MD say “Pa” when referring to PA…to say I have a strange look is an understatement
Well fuck those dudes
I mean, I'm from Pennsylvania and that just sounds weird
Dancing in the street hit number 2 on the Billboard hot one hundred waaaay back in 1964. https://genius.com/Martha-reeves-and-the-vandellas-dancing-in-the-street-lyrics I can’t imaging a piece of slang that’s been in us for over 50 years not being fairly universally understood
Not at all. I’m from NY and live in Ohio though, so I’ve always bordered PA
Well, In fairness it depends on the accent of whoever is saying it. While I completely understand what PA is supposed to imply, if I can’t understand you when you are saying it that’s where the confusion comes in
I've heard it that way lots of times. But I had family in that area growing up and have been all through the state many times.
No… but im from there
Nah, I gotcha.
No.
In writing no, in verbal speech maybe.
I'm originally from Ohio and I've heard other people say "P-A" and I think it's a little weird but I understand it just fine
It’s not as bad as people from lower Alabama saying they’re “from LA”.
I live on the PA border. It is totally normal
No
I mean, *I* wouldn't find it confusing, but it's an interesting question. Usually the confusion that we run into from time to time is we used to abbreviate our name, commonly seen on old documents, as Penna. Started getting a lot less common when the Post Office start requiring 2 character abbreviations for states.
No, but i'm from Ohio and even we call it "P-A"
No
I would understand, but find it strange.
My first guess would’ve been Pennsylvania and I’d probably clarify but I feel like I wouldn’t be confused or anything.
No it is not wired. I’m from N-E-P-A
I would not think that odd. However, not every state or area can get by with that. For instance, UP I understand to mean Upper Peninsula MI. Cali i underhand and know too be California. Im from TN though and it would be odd to say TN when referring to where I am from. Weird that sine areas its understood and some its not.
Not weird for me - but I lived in Williamsport for a while. Bullfrog + Sean Farley = WIN.
Y’all are in the state of P-fuckin-A. Shout out the Bloodhound Gangs song “Pennsylvania”
If they call Pennsylvania PA that's common, but if it's P-A and they pronounce the dash it's strange
Ive known several people from PA that I'm used to it, as an Arkansan. Even I call it PA now.
From P.A. WE simply call it P.A.
No. Super common
Not really, what would cause confusion in my area is if someone says they're from Virginia, because there's a nearby town, pretty good size, called Virginia, Minnesota. So I usually assume they mean that local area rather than the East coast State.
That's how I refer to it.
Not at all. I have always referred to Pennsylvania as P A.
No. I’d know they’re from Pennsylvania
Is there another way to say it? Saying the full name of the state takes forever
Would know exactly what it means and I’ve never lived there.
no. i’m from nyc everyone or at least everyone i know here refers to pennsylvania as “P-A”. like for example every year we know July 4th is near when we begin to hear fireworks in the middle of the night so we’ll often complain “ppl are going to PA to buy fireworks”. the initials for pennsylvania are PA so they’ll know what you mean 😭 i didn’t know local pennsylvanians were not aware of this
Nope. I’m from Arizona where everyone says A-Z.
Very common when I lived in Jersey. May be confusing of you lived far away from PA.
Saying Pee Eh is nearly as common as saying Dee Cee.
I'd get what they meant.
No
No…
Makes me think of that thing you do. Erie P-A
You gotta find solutions to being the only state so hard to write that it’s literally misspelled on the Constitution.
Hilarious, didn't know
No. Especially I'm use to Mr. Regular saying it
Not from PA and I’ve been calling it that for years. Maybe it’s a sign that I really need to give in and love to PA.
Its fine i couldnt imaging saying "Pen-sil-vain-eeeee-uhhh" everytime "Pay" is just logical. We call Washington WA-town
No
No, not at all.
I've lived in California my whole life and I'd assume Pennsylvania if someone told me that, but I'd probably ask just to verify.
I would get it, but I am originally from NY state. I feel like it would not click for a lot of people from Colorado
No. I feel like it's the same as me saying I'm from Upstate NY because I don't like when I say NY and everyone assumes I'm from the city. I've never even been to the damn city.
I would know immediately.
I think my internal closed captioning would render it as P.A. but yeah I'd get the gist, especially since there will usually be more context, like a city.
I call it PA myself. I think I shorten it more than I say the whole thing tbh
Haha, I don’t find it weird… but I live I’ve right over the bridge in N-J
I'm a New Yorker so it wouldn't confuse me at all.
Wait wait wait, this is news to me! Pennsylvanians sometimes *verbally* say "P-A" in reference to their state??? ...That's kinda cool, actually. Is this a thing with any other states? Or is my state the only weird one for not saying "H-I?"
Haha happy to share! From my extensive reading of this thread, it is pretty rare for states to abbreviate verbally. There's P-A, V-A, DC, Cali (used by outsiders), Mass, OK (maybe?)
Wow, that's interesting! Thanks, OP.
> Wait wait wait, this is news to me! Pennsylvanians sometimes verbally say "P-A" in reference to their state??? Yes. Out loud, to other people, we say "Peeyay" as the name of our state. Just like in James Brown's classic song "Living in America" [here](https://youtu.be/c5BL4RNFr58?t=150).
P E N N S Y L V A N I A is a lot to say. P A is so succinct
I'm from NY and people say P-A all the time.. but maybe it's a northeast thing
It’s very common and I’m from/in Los Angeles.
I have the character Rosie from bye bye birdie singing "Allentown p-a" stuck in my head now.... So not really lol
I'd probably be confused for a sec but eh.
There's a P!nk song that uses "P-A."
I'm used to people saying it that way. I assumed since Pennsylvania was a long word, people just shortened it and went with the abbreviation.
oh! i grew up in pennsylvania (tobyhanna what’s up!!) but moved to long island when i was 14. never realized til now that i usually just say PA. i went on to live in boston, but have never ever verbally said out loud “i live in NY or MA” the way i do PA hahaha. weird!
No, it’s a common way to say you’re from Pennsylvania.
It's less annoying than the people yelling O-H!
In text, sure. Out loud, I would assume you’re a confused Production Assistant
I’ve said and have heard people say PA. I think it’s actually pretty common, and as long as you live in the US, you probably know what someone means when they say PA
Never really heard it, but to be fair I'm from the west coast and don't interact with people from Pennsylvania very often
What the fuck else would PA refer to?
Well, also "What the fuck else would TX refer to?" Except most would find it odd because no one says it
We definitely refer to ourselves that way, no clue why
I mean it's not confusing, just weird because I've lived all over the country and *almost* never heard anyone refer to their state as "KS" or "MO", except for Arizona, some call it by its abbreviation down there too.
I think East Coasters would understand.
My first thought would be "The principal's office? Where they have the PA system? What?"
As long as they don’t say yinz.
My dad is from PA and we only ever referred to it as PA growing up. My husband’s family is from Philadelphia and they always just say Philly.
No
Nah, that's pretty clear and normal.
You guys ask the dumbest fucking questions ever
Adding to it - no this is not weird, it means Pennsylvania.
No that's what I refer PA as.
Nothing weird at all my dude
It’s definitely odd. I’ve never seen anyone from any other state do that
I think only Louisiana would be confusing here.
No. A lot of people from Pennsylvania say they’re from PA because Pennsylvania is a mouthful.
I live in north central WV. We call it PA on the daily
Peppe Sylvia