In Bud, Not Buddy, why does Bud think Grand Rapids people talk funny?

The quote that this question is referring to appears in chapter 16 of Bud, Not Buddy. The chapter begins with Bud waking up after a long night of sleep. He's been needing a good rest. Bud quietly begins making his way downstairs, and he overhears all of the band members talking about him. Bud quietly retreats, and he then makes a bunch of noise upstairs. This alerts the band to stop talking about Bud before he comes down again.

When Bud arrives downstairs, Mr. Jimmy asks Bud what the "scoop" is. Bud doesn't know what he is talking about. Then another band member tells him to "cop a squat" and points at a chair. The pointing lets Bud know the man is talking about sitting. Then Miss Thomas asks Bud about whether or not his ears were "burning" last night. Bud is completely lost and lets readers know that he thinks people from Grand Rapids talk funny.

The band members aren't talking funny. They are simply using a lot of words and phrases that Bud has never been exposed to before. As the chapter continues, the band members start throwing in musical jargon like referring to a saxophone as an "ax" and "bread and butter." The band's musical world is completely new territory for Bud, and the vocabulary isn't something he's learned; therefore, Bud just thinks they talk funny because none of it makes sense to him.

Can you provide an example from "Bud, Not Buddy" that illustrates how people in Grand Rapids talk?

In chapter 16, Bud wakes up in Grand Calloway Station and goes downstairs to eat breakfast rather late. When Bud enters the kitchen, everyone except Herman Calloway is happy to see him. After Miss Thomas tells him that Mr. Jimmy will make him lunch, Mr. Jimmy asks Bud, "So what's the scoop, little man?" (Curtis, 116) Mr. Jimmy is essentially asking Bud "What's going on?" or saying "What's up?" for short. Bud mentions that he had no idea what Mr. Jimmy was asking so he responds by simply saying, "Nothing, sir." After Steady Eddie tells him to "Cop a squat," Miss Thomas asks Bud, "Were your ears burning last night, Bud?" (Curtis, 116) Miss Thomas is essentially asking Bud if he heard people talking about him behind his back last night. Being that Bud is from Flint, Michigan, he does not understand the dialect of citizens of Grand Rapids, which seems foreign and strange to him. After Miss Thomas asks him a question, Bud mentions that everybody in Grand Rapids talks funny and it seems like they are speaking a strange language. Bud is simply unfamiliar with the dialect and idioms used by the members of Herman Calloway's band and entourage.