College student sparks debate with list of ‘Southern’ names for everyday objects

Is it a backpack, or a book sack?

To most people, that might sound like an insane question, but according to college student Colette Bernard, it all depends on where you grew up.

Bernard, who is from Louisiana, is currently going viral on TikTok after sharing her list of the “Southern” names for everyday household items. The only problem? A lot of Southerners do not agree.

In her video, which has more than 1.2 million views, Bernard explains she never knew about these regional differences until moving to New York for college.

Her first example: coolers. Or as Bernard calls them “ice chests.”

@artistcolette

Y’all got any examples from wherever you are from? ##southern ##louisiana

♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod

“It’s a chest full of ice … I mean hello?” she says in the video.

The TikToker goes on to claim that in her hometown, backpacks were called book sacks and snowcones were called snowballs.

Lastly, she settles a classic debate between “crayfish” and “crawfish.” As Grammarly points out, many Southerners (including Bernard) say crawfish or even crawdad. Northerners and those in other countries typically use crayfish.

That may explain why most TikTok users seemed to agree with Bernard’s use of the word crawfish. Her other words, though, were a lot more controversial.

“I am from East Texas, it’s cooler, backpack and crawfish,” one user claimed.

“I was born and raised in the south and this is all wrong,” another wrote.

“Yeah, I’ve lived in Texas … ain’t none of this right,” another added.

Despite the naysayers, Bernard has kept posting videos about famous linguistic differences. For example, another one of her clips asks TikTok users what they call those fizzy, sugary drinks you get in vending machines.

“The final boss level,” she captioned the clip. “Is it soda, pop, fizz or coke?”

@artistcolette

Reply to @mochisweetjimin7 the final boss level: is it soda, pop, fizz, or coke? ##soda ##southern ##debate

♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod

If you liked this story, check out In The Know’s article on Arizona’s one-of-a-kind McDonald’s.

More from In The Know:

Afterpay’s “buy now, pay later” attitude poses problems for millennial, Gen Z shoppers

This pan is great for small spaces and “can do basically everything”

This pre-seasoned Lodge cast iron grill pan is on sale for just $20

These $15 best-selling sweatpants are trending on Amazon

Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: