Baltimore accent: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Regional dialect of American English}} |
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'''Baltimorese''', sometimes phonetically written '''Bawlmerese''', is a [[dialect]] of [[American English]] which originated in [[blue-collar]] southern [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], but is also heard throughout the city and in some areas of central [[Maryland]], in the [[Mid-Atlantic States|Mid-Atlantic]] [[United States]]. While considered a Northern Midland patois, it shares many characteristics of Southern speech, as might befit a [[port]] city of a [[Border states (Civil War)|border state]]. The films of [[John Waters]], all of which have been filmed in and around Baltimore, usually feature actors and actresses with thick Baltimore accents, particularly in his early films. |
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A '''Baltimore accent''', also known as '''Baltimorese''' and sometimes humorously spelled '''Bawlmerese'''<ref name=":1">[http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider-blog/bs-lt-baltimore-slang-20170209-story.html "Hold up, 'Hon': Baltimore's black vernacular youthful, dynamic if less recognized than 'Bawlmerese'"].</ref> or '''Ballimorese''',<ref>Leggett, Debbie A. (2016) "[https://tipsylinguist.com/2016/06/12/drinking-natty-boh-and-speaking-ballimorese-hon/ Drinking Natty Boh and speaking Ballimorese ‘Hon.]" ''Tipsy Linguist''. Tipsy Linguist.</ref> is an [[Accent (sociolinguistics)|accent]] or sub-variety of [[Philadelphia English|Delaware Valley English]] (a dialect whose largest hub is [[Philadelphia]]) that originates among [[blue-collar]] residents of [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], United States. It extends into the [[Baltimore metropolitan area]] and northeastern Maryland.<ref>Labov, William (2007) "Transmission and Diffusion", Language June 2007 p. 64</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2014/04/pennsylvania_dialects_from_pittsburghese_to_philadelphia_speak_the_keystone.html|title=Where Yinz At; Why Pennsylvania is the most linguistically rich state in the country.|publisher=[[The Slate Group]]|author=Malady, Matthew J.X.|date=2014-04-29|access-date=2015-06-12}}</ref><ref name=":2">[https://mdhumanities.podbean.com/e/the-revelatory-power-of-language/ "The Relevatory Power of Language"]. ''Maryland Humanities Council''. April 14, 2017.</ref> |
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At the same time, there is considerable linguistic diversity within Baltimore, which complicates the notion of a singular "Baltimore accent".<ref name=":1"/> According to linguists, the accent of white blue-collar Baltimoreans is different than the [[African-American Vernacular English]] accent of black Baltimoreans.<ref>Jones, Taylor (2020). Variation in African American English: The great migration and regional differentiation (Doctoral dissertation), University of Pennsylvania, pp. 158, 239.</ref> White working-class families who migrated out of Baltimore to the northwestern suburbs brought local pronunciations with them. |
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==Pronunciation== |
==Pronunciation== |
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{{IPA notice|section}} |
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Baltimorese resembles [[Philadelphia]]-area English pronunciation in several ways. These two cities are the only ports on the [[Eastern Seaboard]] to retain [[rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic]] speech, which was greatly influenced by [[Hiberno-English]], [[Scottish English]], and [[West Country dialects|West Country English]]. Also, the "l" sound is "dark," indistinctive or vocalized. Vowels in Baltimorese are flattened and shifted, however, which is more characteristic of [[Southern American English]]. Some vowels, as well as certain vernaculars can be traced to [[Appalachia|Appalachian]] influences. |
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The Baltimore accent that originated among [[White people|white]] [[blue-collar]] residents closely resembles blue-collar [[Philadelphia accent|Philadelphia-area English]] pronunciation in many ways. These two cities are the only major ports on the [[East Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]] never to have developed [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|non-rhotic]] speech among European American speakers; they were greatly influenced in their early development by [[Hiberno-English]], [[Scottish English]], and [[West Country dialects|West Country English]]. Due to the significant similarity between the speeches of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Delaware and southern New Jersey, [[sociolinguist]]s refer to them collectively as the Mid-Atlantic regional dialect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/home.html|title=Phonological Atlas of North America|website=www.ling.upenn.edu|access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref> In Baltimore accents, sounds around {{IPA|/r/}} are often "smoothed" or [[elision|elided]]. For example, a word like ''bureau'' is commonly pronounced {{IPA|/ˈbiroʊ/}} (e.g., [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|Federal ''Beer-o'' of Investigation]]) and ''mirror'' is commonly pronounced {{IPA|/mir/}} ("mere"); the related [[mare–mayor merger]] also exists. |
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===Vowels=== |
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*"f" is often substituted for hard "th" |
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*Several vowels undergo [[front vowel|fronting]]. {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} fronts to {{IPA|[ɛɔ]}} or {{IPA|[æɔ]}}. {{IPAc-en|uː}} fronts to {{IPA|[ʉu]}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://africanamericanenglish.com/2012/08/15/dew-as-you-dew-baltimore-accent-and-the-wire/|title=Dew as you dew: Baltimore Accent and The Wire|date=2012-08-15|work=Word. The Online Journal on African American English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708100803/https://africanamericanenglish.com/2012/08/15/dew-as-you-dew-baltimore-accent-and-the-wire|archive-date=2013-07-08|language=en-US}}</ref> Similarly, {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} shifts to {{IPA|[əʊ]}} or even {{IPA|[eʊ]}}. When word-final and spelled as ''-ow'', it is pronounced like {{IPA|/ə/}}, resulting in colloquial or humorous spellings like ''pilla'' for ''pillow'' and ''winda'' for ''window''. |
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*long "a" becomes long "e"; ''bared'' can rhyme with ''leered'' |
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*No [[cot–caught merger]]: The words ''cot'' {{IPA|/ɑ/}} and ''caught'' {{IPA|/ɔ/}} do not rhyme, with the latter vowel maintaining a raised position. Likewise, the word ''on'' rhymes with ''dawn'' and not ''don''. |
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*long "i," as well as the [[diphthong]]s "oi" and "ow" become "aw"; ''choir'' and ''hire'' rhyme with ''war'', ''aisle'' and ''boil'' with ''ball'' |
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*As in Philadelphia, the word ''water'' is often pronounced as ''wooder'' {{IPA|[ˈwʊɾɚ]}} or, more uniquely, ''warter'' {{IPA|[ˈwɔɻɾɚ]}}. |
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*long "o" shifts to long "a"; one dials a ''phane'' (phone). However, one cheers for the ''Ews'' (O's, for the [[Baltimore Orioles]]). |
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*As in most Mid-Atlantic cities, [[/æ/ raising|short ''a'' is pronounced with a phonemic split]]: for example, the word ''sad'' {{IPA|/sæd/}} does not rhyme with the word ''mad'' {{IPA|/meəd/}}. Pronunciation is dependent upon a complex system of rules that differ from city to city.<ref>[http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/Atlas_chapters/Ch17_2nd.rev.pdf New York City and the Mid-Atlantic States]</ref> Baltimore follows the Philadelphia pattern.<ref>Ash, Sharon. 2002. “The Distribution of a Phonemic Split in the Mid-Atlantic Region: Yet More on Short a.” In “Selected Papers from NWAV 30,” edited by Sudha Arunachalam, Elsi Kaiser, Daniel Ezra Johnson, Tara Sanchez, and Alexander Williams. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics 8.3: 1–15. http:// repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol8/iss3/2.</ref> For more details on the Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore systems see ''[[:/æ/ raising]]''. |
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*the [[epenthesis|epenthic]] "r" is evident |
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*[[elision]] is common |
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{{/æ/ raising in North American English}} |
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A rousing ''Welcoma Bawlmer, hon'' might greet a visitor from across the ''Lanic'' ([[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]) in ''Yerp'' ([[Europe]]), or just south in ''Wershintin'' ([[Washington, DC]]). |
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*The {{IPA|/ɑr/}} vowel in words like ''start'' is often raised and backed, resulting in a vowel close to {{IPA|/ɔ/}}. Likewise, {{IPA|/ɔr/}} as in ''bore''{{Dubious|date=March 2023}}<!-- shorthand for ɔ sound is "awe". That's not how the vowel in bore in pronounced by any Americans, including philly-baltimore speakers --> can shift as high as {{IPA|/ʊr/}} as in ''boor''. This pattern has also been noted to occur in Philadelphia and New York.<ref name=labov /> |
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==Dialectic terms== |
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*[[Canadian raising]] occurs for {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} before voiceless consonants, as in Philadelphia; for instance, the word ''like'' [ɫʌɪk] begins with a higher nucleus than ''live'' [ɫaɪv].<ref name=labov>{{cite book|last1=Labov|first1=William|author-link=William Labov|last2=Ash|first2=Sharon|last3=Boberg|first3=Charles|year=2005|title=The Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-020683-8}}</ref> |
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*'''Annie Runnel''' ('''Canny''') - [[Anne Arundel County]] |
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*On the other hand, {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} may undergo [[Monophthongization#Smoothing|smoothing]] before liquids, becoming {{IPA|[ɑ]}} before {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|/l/}}; e.g., ''fire'' is pronounced as {{IPA|[fɑɻ]}}, in which a popular Baltimore Christmas joke: "Why were the Three Wise Men covered with soot?" "Because they came from afar." |
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*'''arnjuice''' - orange juice (an example of the widespread use of elision) |
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*{{IPA|[ə]}} is often eliminated entirely from a word when before a consonant; e.g. Annapolis = Naplis, cigarette = cigrette, company = compny, Italy = Itly. |
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* '''downey ayshin''' (down to the ocean) - at the beach (''spent sum'r weekends downey ayshin'') |
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*'''hon''' - a universal name used for greeting (''in extreme instances, pronounced "hoo-wun"'') |
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===Consonants=== |
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*'''shar''' - (rhymes with ''car'') shower |
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*[[Th-stopping|''Th''–stopping]] occurs, where the dental fricatives {{IPA|/θ, ð/}} may be realized as stops ({{IPA|/t, d/}} respectively); for instance, ''this'' may sound more like ''diss''. |
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*'''youse''' - plural of ''you'', similar to the Southern ''y'all'' |
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*[[L-vocalization|''L''–vocalization]] is common at the end of a word. The sound {{IPA|/l/}} is often replaced by the semivowel or glide {{IPA|[w]}} and/or {{IPA|[o]}} or {{IPA|[ʊ]}}. Pronunciation of words like ''middle'' and ''college'' become {{IPA|[ˈmɪdo]}} and {{IPA|[ˈkɑwɪdʒ]}} respectively. |
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* '''right smart''' - a not insubstantial amount (''a right smart snayfall'' ([[snow]]fall)). An early use of '''right smart''' can be found in the short story "[[The Private History of a Campaign That Failed]]" by [[Mark Twain]], who was arguably a serious student of American dialects. In this story, written in 1885 but set in 1861 during the [[American Civil War]], he recounts a [[Confederate]] private from Eastern Tennessee who announces he is going back home by saying: "Well, I hain't b'en there for a right smart while, and I'd like to see how things is comin' on." (Quoted passage verbatim from Twain). |
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*[[epenthesis|Epenthetic]] {{IPA|/r/}} often occurs; notably, ''wash'' is pronounced as {{IPA|[wɑɻʃ]}}, popularly written as ''warsh'', and ''Washington'' is pronounced as ''Warshington''. |
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*As is common in many US dialects, {{IPA|/t/}} is frequently elided after {{IPA|/n/}}, thus ''hunter'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈhʌnɚ]}}. |
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==Lexicon== |
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The following is a list of words and phrases used in the Baltimore area that are used much less or differently in other American English dialects. |
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*''down the ocean'' – (eye-dialect spellings include ''dayown the ocean'' or ''downy ocean'') "down to/on/at the ocean", often [[Ocean City, Maryland]]. |
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*''hon'' – a popular term of endearment, short for ''honey'', often used at the end of a sentence. This word has been a popular marker of Baltimore culture, as represented in the annual [http://honfest.net/ Honfest summer festival] and in landmarks such as the Hontown store and the [[Cafe Hon|Café Hon restaurant]].<ref>Rizzo, M. (2010). Hon-ouring the past: play-publics and gender at Baltimore's HonFest. International Journal Of Heritage Studies, 16(4-5), 337-351.</ref> |
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*''natty boh'' – local slang for the beer originally brewed in Baltimore, [[National Bohemian]]. |
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*''pavement'' (commonly pronounced "payment") – means "sidewalk." |
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*''went up'' (shortened from "went up to heaven") – commonly used when an appliance dies; e.g., our refrigerator went up |
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*''yo'' – as a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun<ref name=":1" /><ref>Stotko, E. M., & Troyer, M. (2007). A new gender-neutral pronoun in Baltimore, Maryland: A preliminary study. American Speech: A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage, 82(3), 262.</ref> |
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African-American Baltimore English includes the words ''ard'' for "alright", ''lor'' for "little",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://data.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-dictionary/|title=How Baltimore talks|website=The Baltimore Sun|language=en|access-date=2017-12-02|archive-date=2022-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807200217/http://data.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-dictionary/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''rey'' for ''ready'' (associated with Baltimore users of [[Black Twitter]]),<ref name=":0">Jones, T. (2015) Toward a description of African American Vernacular English dialect regions using “Black Twitter.” American Speech, 90(4): 403-440. doi:10.1215/00031283-3442117</ref> and ''woe'' for a close friend. |
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== African-American variations == |
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According to linguists, the "hon" dialect that is popularized in the media and that derives historically from the speech of by [[white people|white]] [[blue-collar worker|blue-collar]] residents of South and Southeast [[Baltimore]] is not the only accent spoken in the region. There is also a particular Baltimore accent found among Black Baltimoreans: a sub-type of [[African-American Vernacular English]].<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://baltimorelanguage.com/baldamor-curry-and-dug-podcast/|title=Baldamor, Curry, and Dug': Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans|last=DeShields|first=Inte'a|work=Podcast|date=17 May 2011 |access-date=17 July 2011}}</ref> |
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For example, among Black speakers, Baltimore is pronounced more like "Baldamore" {{IPA|/ˌbɔldəˈmɔr/}}, as compared to "Bawlmer" {{IPA|/ˈbɔlmər/}}. Other notable phonological characteristics include vowel centralization before {{IPA|/r/}} (such that words such as "carry" and "parents" are often pronounced as "curry" or "purrents", and "Aaron earned an iron urn" might sound like "Urrun urned an urn urn") and the mid-centralization of {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, particularly in the word "dog," often pronounced like "dug," and "frog" as "frug."<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> |
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The African-American Baltimore accent, or a variation thereof, is also shared by many African Americans throughout Maryland and the [[Washington metropolitan area]]. |
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==Notable examples of native speakers== |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2021}} |
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===Lifelong speakers=== |
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*[[Ben Cardin]] – Maryland U.S. Senator (2007–present) |
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*[[Mary Pat Clarke]] – Baltimore City Councilwoman (1975–2020) |
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*[[Divine (performer)|Divine]] – actor |
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*[[Charley Eckman]] – NBA coach and referee, sportscaster |
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*[[Mel Kiper Jr.]] – [[American football|Football]] [[sports commentator|analyst]] for [[ESPN]] |
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*[[Barbara Mikulski]] – Maryland U.S. Senator (1987– 2017) |
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*[[Felicia Pearson]] – actress on ''[[The Wire]]'' |
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*[[Babe Ruth]] – Baseball Hall of Famer |
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*[[John Waters]] – filmmaker |
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*[[Nancy Pelosi]] – former [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]] |
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*[[Stavros Halkias]] – Stand-up Comedian |
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==In popular culture== |
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===Films=== |
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The films of [[John Waters (filmmaker)|John Waters]], many of which have been filmed in and around Baltimore, often attempt to capture the Baltimore accent, particularly the early films. For example, John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent in the commentary during his film ''[[Pink Flamingos]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Pink_Flamingos/Fun_Facts|title=Pink Flamingos/Fun Facts - The Grindhouse Cinema Database|website=www.grindhousedatabase.com|access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref> [[John Travolta]]'s character in the 2007 version of John Waters's ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'' spoke with an exaggerated Baltimore accent. Likewise, several of the films of [[Barry Levinson]] are set in and around Baltimore during the 1940s-1960s, and employ the Baltimore accent. [[Michael Tucker (actor)|Michael Tucker]] who ''was'' born and raised in Baltimore, speaks with a West Baltimore accent. |
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===Television=== |
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Television drama series ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'' and ''[[The Wire]]'' are both set in Baltimore and in some cases include actors who are native white and black Baltimoreans.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-18-actors-who-appeared-on-both-homicide-and-the-wire-20160105-photogallery.html|title=21 actors who appeared on both 'Homicide' and 'The Wire'|last=Kaltenbach|first=Chris|work=Baltimore Sun|access-date=2017-12-02|language=en-US}}</ref> In the early ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' episode "Three Men and Adena", a suspect, Risley Tucker, describes how he can tell whereabouts in or around the city a person comes from simply by whether they pronounce the city's name as "Balti-maw", "Balti-moh", or "Bawl-mer".<ref>{{Citation|last=Manas Burna|title=Homicide S01E05 Three Men and Adena|date=2016-02-27|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gan5ZcHctlI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Gan5ZcHctlI |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-12-02}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
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In Season 4, Episode 7 of ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'', Baltimore actor [[Michael Tucker (actor)|Michael Tucker]] portrays the father of Ullman's character JoJo. The skit is set in a Baltimore row house. Tucker advises [[Tracey Ullman|Ullman]] to "take a Liverpool accent and Americanize it." The episode called "The Stoops" begins with Tracey washing her marble stoops, which are the most common small porches attached to most Baltimore town homes (called row houses in Baltimore).<ref>{{cite news|title=The Stoops|work=The Tracey Ullman Show|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHOOYntGgxA&t=28s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/NHOOYntGgxA |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
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In the ''[[30 Rock]]'' episode, "[[I Do Do]]", [[Elizabeth Banks]] parodies the accent by portraying Avery Jessup, the spokesperson for the fictional Overshoppe.com in a [[flashback (narrative)|flashback]] scene.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKaHuLMg9tY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/HKaHuLMg9tY |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|work=30 Rock|title=I Do Do}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
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[[Kathy Bates]]' character on the "Freak Show" season of ''[[American Horror Story]]'' was inspired by a Baltimore accent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bartel|first=Jordan|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|title='American Horror Story': The curious case of Kathy Bates' Baltimore-ish accent|date=October 15, 2014|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bthesite/tv-lust/bal-american-horror-story-the-curious-case-of-kathy-bates-baltimoreish-accent-20141015-story.html|access-date=25 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Schremph|first=Kelly|work=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]]|title=Kathy Bates' Accent on 'AHS: Freak Show' Is an Enigma That Needs to Be Unraveled|date=October 8, 2014|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/43372-kathy-bates-accent-on-ahs-freak-show-is-an-enigma-that-needs-to-be-unraveled|access-date=25 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=MsKathyBates|author=Bates, Kathy |number=520085081298186241|date=9 October 2014|title=@gliattoT People online. Just to clear up the mystery, my accent is Baltimore not "broad Canadian." :-)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/2014/10/22/7031005/kathy-bates-american-horror-story-accent-baltimore|title=Kathy Bates's accent is the strangest on TV. So we asked a linguist to place it.|work=Vox|access-date=2017-12-02}}</ref> |
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Whether it was on [[Russillo and Kanell|his ESPN Radio show]] or ''[[SportsCenter|SportsCenter at Night]]'', [[Scott Van Pelt]] always ended his segments with [[Tim Kurkjian]] by mentioning names in a Baltimore accent featuring at least one fronted '[[o]]'.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/09/scott-van-pelt-tim-kurkjian-baltimore-accent-giggling-video|title=Scott Van Pelt uses his Baltimore accent to turn Tim Kurkjian into a giggling child|date=2015-09-15|work=For The Win|access-date=2017-11-30|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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===Music=== |
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Singer-songwriter [[Mary Prankster]] uses several examples of Baltimore slang in her song, "Blue Skies Over Dundalk," from the album of the same name, including, "There'll be O's fans going downy ocean, hon." |
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===Podcasts=== |
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[[Jason La Canfora]], host of the ''B-More Opinionated''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-03|title=B-More Opinionated! – B-More Opinionated Podcast|url=http://bmoshow.com/|access-date=2020-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203073153/http://bmoshow.com/|archive-date=2019-02-03}}</ref> podcast with Jerry Coleman and resident of [[Dundalk, Maryland|Dundalk]], regularly discussed events of the [[NFL|National Football League]] for ''[[The Tony Kornheiser Show]]'' podcast and will end the segment plugging his own podcast in a heavy Baltimore accent. The accent is so distinct that his dog, Copper, will react to it, barking constantly because he knows it is time for a walk. |
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==See also== |
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{{portal|Baltimore}} |
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*[[Culture of Baltimore]] |
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*[[List of people from Baltimore]] |
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*[[Regional vocabularies of American English#The Mid-Atlantic|Regional vocabularies of American English]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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* "[http://www.evolpub.com/Americandialects/MidAtldialects.html The Mid-Atlantic Dialects]," Evolution Publishing |
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==Bibliography== |
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|volume=83 |
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|issue=2 |
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|pages=344–387 |
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|doi=10.1353/lan.2007.0082 |
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|jstor=40070845 |
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|s2cid=6255506 |
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|url=https://www.ling.upenn.edu/~wlabov/Papers/TD.pdf |
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}}<!-- Referenced in [[Template:/æ/ raising in North American English]] --> |
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* {{cite book |
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|last1=Labov |
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|first1=William |
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|last2=Ash |
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|first2=Sharon |
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|last3=Boberg |
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|first3=Charles |
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|year=2006 |
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|title=[[The Atlas of North American English]] |
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|location=Berlin |
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|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |
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|isbn=978-3-11-016746-7 |
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}}<!-- Referenced in [[Template:/æ/ raising in North American English]] --> |
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{{refend}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.baltimorehon.com/ |
*[http://www.baltimorehon.com/ Baltimore Hon] (A through dictionary of Baltimorese) |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090516232255/http://www.seiglefamily.com/baltimorese/ Baltimorese (with some audio)] |
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* "[http://www.evolpub.com/Americandialects/MidAtldialects.html The Mid-Atlantic Dialects]", Evolution Publishing |
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*In March 2011, the [[Special English|VOA Special English]] service of the [[Voice of America]] broadcast a 15-minute feature on Bawlmerese, written and voiced by longtime VOA Special English announcer, photographer, voice-over artist, and Baltimore native [http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/about-us/broadcasters/82432777.html Steve Ember]. A transcript and MP3 of the program – intended for those want to learn American English – can be found at [http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/usa/A-Lesson-in-Bawlmerese-117490218.html An Extended Lesson in Bawlmerese] |
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{{Baltimore}} |
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{{English dialects by continent}} |
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{{Languages of the United States}} |
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{{Languages of Maryland}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Dialect}} |
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[[Category:American English]] |
[[Category:American English]] |
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[[Category:American slang]] |
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[[Category:City colloquials]] |
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[[Category:European-American culture in Baltimore]] |
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[[Category:White American culture in Baltimore]] |
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[[Category:Languages of Maryland]] |
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[[Category:Working-class culture in Maryland]] |
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[[Category:African-American English]] |
Latest revision as of 14:36, 6 December 2024
A Baltimore accent, also known as Baltimorese and sometimes humorously spelled Bawlmerese[1] or Ballimorese,[2] is an accent or sub-variety of Delaware Valley English (a dialect whose largest hub is Philadelphia) that originates among blue-collar residents of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It extends into the Baltimore metropolitan area and northeastern Maryland.[3][4][5]
At the same time, there is considerable linguistic diversity within Baltimore, which complicates the notion of a singular "Baltimore accent".[1] According to linguists, the accent of white blue-collar Baltimoreans is different than the African-American Vernacular English accent of black Baltimoreans.[6] White working-class families who migrated out of Baltimore to the northwestern suburbs brought local pronunciations with them.
Pronunciation
[edit]The Baltimore accent that originated among white blue-collar residents closely resembles blue-collar Philadelphia-area English pronunciation in many ways. These two cities are the only major ports on the Eastern Seaboard never to have developed non-rhotic speech among European American speakers; they were greatly influenced in their early development by Hiberno-English, Scottish English, and West Country English. Due to the significant similarity between the speeches of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Delaware and southern New Jersey, sociolinguists refer to them collectively as the Mid-Atlantic regional dialect.[7] In Baltimore accents, sounds around /r/ are often "smoothed" or elided. For example, a word like bureau is commonly pronounced /ˈbiroʊ/ (e.g., Federal Beer-o of Investigation) and mirror is commonly pronounced /mir/ ("mere"); the related mare–mayor merger also exists.
Vowels
[edit]- Several vowels undergo fronting. /aʊ/ fronts to [ɛɔ] or [æɔ]. /uː/ fronts to [ʉu].[8] Similarly, /oʊ/ shifts to [əʊ] or even [eʊ]. When word-final and spelled as -ow, it is pronounced like /ə/, resulting in colloquial or humorous spellings like pilla for pillow and winda for window.
- No cot–caught merger: The words cot /ɑ/ and caught /ɔ/ do not rhyme, with the latter vowel maintaining a raised position. Likewise, the word on rhymes with dawn and not don.
- As in Philadelphia, the word water is often pronounced as wooder [ˈwʊɾɚ] or, more uniquely, warter [ˈwɔɻɾɚ].
- As in most Mid-Atlantic cities, short a is pronounced with a phonemic split: for example, the word sad /sæd/ does not rhyme with the word mad /meəd/. Pronunciation is dependent upon a complex system of rules that differ from city to city.[9] Baltimore follows the Philadelphia pattern.[10] For more details on the Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore systems see /æ/ raising.
Following consonant |
Example words[12] |
New York City, New Orleans[13] |
Baltimore, Philadelphia[14] |
Midland US, New England, Pittsburgh, Western US |
Southern US |
Canada, Northern Mountain US |
Minnesota, Wisconsin |
Great Lakes US | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-prevocalic /m, n/ |
fan, lamb, stand | [ɛə][15][A][B] | [ɛə][15] | [ɛə~ɛjə][18] | [ɛə][19] | [ɛə][20] | |||
Prevocalic /m, n/ |
animal, planet, Spanish |
[æ] | |||||||
/ŋ/[21] | frank, language | [ɛː~eɪ~æ][22] | [æ~æɛə][18] | [ɛː~ɛj][19] | [eː~ej][23] | ||||
Non-prevocalic /ɡ/ |
bag, drag | [ɛə][A] | [æ][C] | [æ][15][D] | |||||
Prevocalic /ɡ/ | dragon, magazine | [æ] | |||||||
Non-prevocalic /b, d, ʃ/ |
grab, flash, sad | [ɛə][A] | [æ][D][25] | [ɛə][25] | |||||
Non-prevocalic /f, θ, s/ |
ask, bath, half, glass |
[ɛə][A] | |||||||
Otherwise | as, back, happy, locality |
[æ][E] | |||||||
|
- The /ɑr/ vowel in words like start is often raised and backed, resulting in a vowel close to /ɔ/. Likewise, /ɔr/ as in bore[dubious – discuss] can shift as high as /ʊr/ as in boor. This pattern has also been noted to occur in Philadelphia and New York.[28]
- Canadian raising occurs for /aɪ/ before voiceless consonants, as in Philadelphia; for instance, the word like [ɫʌɪk] begins with a higher nucleus than live [ɫaɪv].[28]
- On the other hand, /aɪ/ may undergo smoothing before liquids, becoming [ɑ] before /r/ and /l/; e.g., fire is pronounced as [fɑɻ], in which a popular Baltimore Christmas joke: "Why were the Three Wise Men covered with soot?" "Because they came from afar."
- [ə] is often eliminated entirely from a word when before a consonant; e.g. Annapolis = Naplis, cigarette = cigrette, company = compny, Italy = Itly.
Consonants
[edit]- Th–stopping occurs, where the dental fricatives /θ, ð/ may be realized as stops (/t, d/ respectively); for instance, this may sound more like diss.
- L–vocalization is common at the end of a word. The sound /l/ is often replaced by the semivowel or glide [w] and/or [o] or [ʊ]. Pronunciation of words like middle and college become [ˈmɪdo] and [ˈkɑwɪdʒ] respectively.
- Epenthetic /r/ often occurs; notably, wash is pronounced as [wɑɻʃ], popularly written as warsh, and Washington is pronounced as Warshington.
- As is common in many US dialects, /t/ is frequently elided after /n/, thus hunter is pronounced [ˈhʌnɚ].
Lexicon
[edit]The following is a list of words and phrases used in the Baltimore area that are used much less or differently in other American English dialects.
- down the ocean – (eye-dialect spellings include dayown the ocean or downy ocean) "down to/on/at the ocean", often Ocean City, Maryland.
- hon – a popular term of endearment, short for honey, often used at the end of a sentence. This word has been a popular marker of Baltimore culture, as represented in the annual Honfest summer festival and in landmarks such as the Hontown store and the Café Hon restaurant.[29]
- natty boh – local slang for the beer originally brewed in Baltimore, National Bohemian.
- pavement (commonly pronounced "payment") – means "sidewalk."
- went up (shortened from "went up to heaven") – commonly used when an appliance dies; e.g., our refrigerator went up
- yo – as a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun[1][30]
African-American Baltimore English includes the words ard for "alright", lor for "little",[31] rey for ready (associated with Baltimore users of Black Twitter),[32] and woe for a close friend.
African-American variations
[edit]According to linguists, the "hon" dialect that is popularized in the media and that derives historically from the speech of by white blue-collar residents of South and Southeast Baltimore is not the only accent spoken in the region. There is also a particular Baltimore accent found among Black Baltimoreans: a sub-type of African-American Vernacular English.[33]
For example, among Black speakers, Baltimore is pronounced more like "Baldamore" /ˌbɔldəˈmɔr/, as compared to "Bawlmer" /ˈbɔlmər/. Other notable phonological characteristics include vowel centralization before /r/ (such that words such as "carry" and "parents" are often pronounced as "curry" or "purrents", and "Aaron earned an iron urn" might sound like "Urrun urned an urn urn") and the mid-centralization of /ɑ/, particularly in the word "dog," often pronounced like "dug," and "frog" as "frug."[1][33] The African-American Baltimore accent, or a variation thereof, is also shared by many African Americans throughout Maryland and the Washington metropolitan area.
Notable examples of native speakers
[edit]Lifelong speakers
[edit]- Ben Cardin – Maryland U.S. Senator (2007–present)
- Mary Pat Clarke – Baltimore City Councilwoman (1975–2020)
- Divine – actor
- Charley Eckman – NBA coach and referee, sportscaster
- Mel Kiper Jr. – Football analyst for ESPN
- Barbara Mikulski – Maryland U.S. Senator (1987– 2017)
- Felicia Pearson – actress on The Wire
- Babe Ruth – Baseball Hall of Famer
- John Waters – filmmaker
- Nancy Pelosi – former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- Stavros Halkias – Stand-up Comedian
In popular culture
[edit]Films
[edit]The films of John Waters, many of which have been filmed in and around Baltimore, often attempt to capture the Baltimore accent, particularly the early films. For example, John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent in the commentary during his film Pink Flamingos.[34] John Travolta's character in the 2007 version of John Waters's Hairspray spoke with an exaggerated Baltimore accent. Likewise, several of the films of Barry Levinson are set in and around Baltimore during the 1940s-1960s, and employ the Baltimore accent. Michael Tucker who was born and raised in Baltimore, speaks with a West Baltimore accent.
Television
[edit]Television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire are both set in Baltimore and in some cases include actors who are native white and black Baltimoreans.[35] In the early Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Three Men and Adena", a suspect, Risley Tucker, describes how he can tell whereabouts in or around the city a person comes from simply by whether they pronounce the city's name as "Balti-maw", "Balti-moh", or "Bawl-mer".[36]
In Season 4, Episode 7 of The Tracey Ullman Show, Baltimore actor Michael Tucker portrays the father of Ullman's character JoJo. The skit is set in a Baltimore row house. Tucker advises Ullman to "take a Liverpool accent and Americanize it." The episode called "The Stoops" begins with Tracey washing her marble stoops, which are the most common small porches attached to most Baltimore town homes (called row houses in Baltimore).[37]
In the 30 Rock episode, "I Do Do", Elizabeth Banks parodies the accent by portraying Avery Jessup, the spokesperson for the fictional Overshoppe.com in a flashback scene.[38]
Kathy Bates' character on the "Freak Show" season of American Horror Story was inspired by a Baltimore accent.[39][40][41][42]
Whether it was on his ESPN Radio show or SportsCenter at Night, Scott Van Pelt always ended his segments with Tim Kurkjian by mentioning names in a Baltimore accent featuring at least one fronted 'o'.[43]
Music
[edit]Singer-songwriter Mary Prankster uses several examples of Baltimore slang in her song, "Blue Skies Over Dundalk," from the album of the same name, including, "There'll be O's fans going downy ocean, hon."
Podcasts
[edit]Jason La Canfora, host of the B-More Opinionated[44] podcast with Jerry Coleman and resident of Dundalk, regularly discussed events of the National Football League for The Tony Kornheiser Show podcast and will end the segment plugging his own podcast in a heavy Baltimore accent. The accent is so distinct that his dog, Copper, will react to it, barking constantly because he knows it is time for a walk.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Hold up, 'Hon': Baltimore's black vernacular youthful, dynamic if less recognized than 'Bawlmerese'".
- ^ Leggett, Debbie A. (2016) "Drinking Natty Boh and speaking Ballimorese ‘Hon." Tipsy Linguist. Tipsy Linguist.
- ^ Labov, William (2007) "Transmission and Diffusion", Language June 2007 p. 64
- ^ Malady, Matthew J.X. (2014-04-29). "Where Yinz At; Why Pennsylvania is the most linguistically rich state in the country". The Slate Group. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "The Relevatory Power of Language". Maryland Humanities Council. April 14, 2017.
- ^ Jones, Taylor (2020). Variation in African American English: The great migration and regional differentiation (Doctoral dissertation), University of Pennsylvania, pp. 158, 239.
- ^ "Phonological Atlas of North America". www.ling.upenn.edu. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Dew as you dew: Baltimore Accent and The Wire". Word. The Online Journal on African American English. 2012-08-15. Archived from the original on 2013-07-08.
- ^ New York City and the Mid-Atlantic States
- ^ Ash, Sharon. 2002. “The Distribution of a Phonemic Split in the Mid-Atlantic Region: Yet More on Short a.” In “Selected Papers from NWAV 30,” edited by Sudha Arunachalam, Elsi Kaiser, Daniel Ezra Johnson, Tara Sanchez, and Alexander Williams. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics 8.3: 1–15. http:// repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol8/iss3/2.
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 182.
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 173–174.
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 173–174, 260–261.
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 173–174, 238–239.
- ^ a b c Duncan (2016), pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 173.
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 238.
- ^ a b Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 178, 180.
- ^ a b Boberg (2008), p. 145.
- ^ Duncan (2016), pp. 1–2; Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 175–177.
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 183.
- ^ Baker, Mielke & Archangeli (2008).
- ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 181–182.
- ^ Boberg (2008), pp. 130, 136–137.
- ^ a b Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 82, 123, 177, 179.
- ^ Labov (2007), p. 359.
- ^ Labov (2007), p. 373.
- ^ a b Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2005). The Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change. Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-020683-8.
- ^ Rizzo, M. (2010). Hon-ouring the past: play-publics and gender at Baltimore's HonFest. International Journal Of Heritage Studies, 16(4-5), 337-351.
- ^ Stotko, E. M., & Troyer, M. (2007). A new gender-neutral pronoun in Baltimore, Maryland: A preliminary study. American Speech: A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage, 82(3), 262.
- ^ "How Baltimore talks". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
- ^ Jones, T. (2015) Toward a description of African American Vernacular English dialect regions using “Black Twitter.” American Speech, 90(4): 403-440. doi:10.1215/00031283-3442117
- ^ a b DeShields, Inte'a (17 May 2011). "Baldamor, Curry, and Dug': Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans". Podcast. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ "Pink Flamingos/Fun Facts - The Grindhouse Cinema Database". www.grindhousedatabase.com. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ Kaltenbach, Chris. "21 actors who appeared on both 'Homicide' and 'The Wire'". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
- ^ Manas Burna (2016-02-27), Homicide S01E05 Three Men and Adena, archived from the original on 2021-12-22, retrieved 2017-12-02
- ^ "The Stoops". The Tracey Ullman Show. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22.
- ^ "I Do Do". 30 Rock. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22.
- ^ Bartel, Jordan (October 15, 2014). "'American Horror Story': The curious case of Kathy Bates' Baltimore-ish accent". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ Schremph, Kelly (October 8, 2014). "Kathy Bates' Accent on 'AHS: Freak Show' Is an Enigma That Needs to Be Unraveled". Bustle. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ Bates, Kathy [@MsKathyBates] (9 October 2014). "@gliattoT People online. Just to clear up the mystery, my accent is Baltimore not "broad Canadian." :-)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Kathy Bates's accent is the strangest on TV. So we asked a linguist to place it". Vox. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
- ^ "Scott Van Pelt uses his Baltimore accent to turn Tim Kurkjian into a giggling child". For The Win. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
- ^ "B-More Opinionated! – B-More Opinionated Podcast". 2019-02-03. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
Bibliography
[edit]- Baker, Adam; Mielke, Jeff; Archangeli, Diana (2008). "More velar than /g/: Consonant Coarticulation as a Cause of Diphthongization" (PDF). In Chang, Charles B.; Haynie, Hannah J. (eds.). Proceedings of the 26th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Somerville, Massachusetts: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. pp. 60–68. ISBN 978-1-57473-423-2.
- Boberg, Charles (2008). "Regional phonetic differentiation in Standard Canadian English". Journal of English Linguistics. 36 (2): 129–154. doi:10.1177/0075424208316648. S2CID 146478485.
- Duncan, Daniel (2016). "'Tense' /æ/ is still lax: A phonotactics study" (PDF). In Hansson, Gunnar Ólafur; Farris-Trimble, Ashley; McMullin, Kevin; Pulleyblank, Douglas (eds.). Supplemental Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Meeting on Phonology. Vol. 3. Washington, D.C.: Linguistic Society of America. doi:10.3765/amp.v3i0.3653.
- Labov, William (2007). "Transmission and Diffusion" (PDF). Language. 83 (2): 344–387. doi:10.1353/lan.2007.0082. JSTOR 40070845. S2CID 6255506.
- Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006). The Atlas of North American English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-016746-7.
External links
[edit]- Baltimore Hon (A through dictionary of Baltimorese)
- Baltimorese (with some audio)
- "The Mid-Atlantic Dialects", Evolution Publishing
- In March 2011, the VOA Special English service of the Voice of America broadcast a 15-minute feature on Bawlmerese, written and voiced by longtime VOA Special English announcer, photographer, voice-over artist, and Baltimore native Steve Ember. A transcript and MP3 of the program – intended for those want to learn American English – can be found at An Extended Lesson in Bawlmerese