What do you call the rubber-soled shoes used for athletic activities?
Previous Findings:
In the Harvard Dialect Survey, 95.53% Massachusetts speakers reported that they use the term ‘sneakers’ for athletic shoes. Other words that some speakers used were tennis shoes, running shoes, or just shoes.
Our Findings:
According to our research, 95% of respondents refer to rubber-soled athletic shoes as ‘sneakers’. About 90% of African American speakers use the word ‘sneakers’ whereas all the Caribbean American speakers use ‘sneakers’ in our sample. Our findings suggest that Black Boston area natives most commonly refer to rubber-soled athletic shoes as ‘sneakers’.
References:
- (Harvard Dialect Survey, 2003: Massachusetts Dialect Survey Results).
