Well, there are lots of things that I hear that irritate me a little, but I don't let them bother me that much. I am from Washington and being here on Long Island I do notice that people say Wa(r)shington, though I don't correct them and it seems to be a general assumption that when I say I'm from Washington they automatically think DC. And I hear Auragone, not Oregon - I think the Aura is not gone!
I don't use abbreviations when I talk OR when I type, I've just never really cared for them at all. I'm sure my grammar is not technically "proper" all the time, but it works.
I never baby talked my kids when they were younger, I taught them the correct words for things and even starting at a few years of age my girls would be confused when someone would use a "baby" word on them, they didn't understand.
It is interesting to listen to the way people talk here as opposed to the West Coast - generally speaking anyway. I know there are transplants all over the place, such as me and my girls
. Some people here have a heavier NY accent than others and when they start talking faster I have to really pay attention to understand. People here ALWAYS ask where I'm from, I tell them the Seattle area and they say "Oh, I could tell, you're way too nice to be a New Yorker". I say thank you and tell them that everyone has the ability to be nice, it's not about where we are from.
And when they say that they know I'm not from around here because of my "accent", I tell them NO, I don't have an accent - THEY do! I just speak the words clearly. haha. (just joking with them) My youngest daughter Megan said "Uh-uh Mom, EVERYONE has an accent!!!