Southland

[Dave Wilton]

> I don't recall ever hearing this use of "Southland"--though
> of course that
> doesn't mean it wasn't around.  It sounds like something that would be
> understood only within California.  (Unless, of course, it
> was part of some
> tourism ad campaign that would make the meaning clear--e.g.,
> "Come visit
> OUR "Southland"!)  I don't recall hearing or seeing it during
> the year I
> lived in Northern CA--1976-77--but again that's no guarantee.

Since moving to northern California five years ago, I've never heard the
"Southland" used to refer to SoCal by residents here in the Bay Area. I
have, however, heard it on visits to L.A. My impression is that, unlike "Bay
Area," it is a local term. restricted to SoCal.

It's also used in the movie "Grosse Point Blank," 1994:

"MARTIN: I work at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
[...]
AMY: What do you do?
MARTIN: I sell biscuits to the Southland."

I first noticed the term when I saw this movie. I've seen it several times
since then.