Baltimore accent
Baltimorese, sometimes phonetically written Bawlmerese, is a dialect of American English which originated in blue-collar southern Baltimore, but is also heard throughout the city and in some areas of central Maryland, in the 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 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.
Pronunciation
Baltimorese resembles Philadelphia-area English pronunciation in several ways. These two cities are the only ports on the Eastern Seaboard to retain rhotic speech, which was greatly influenced by Hiberno-English, Scottish English, and 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 Appalachian influences.
- "f" is often substituted for hard "th"
- long "a" becomes long "e"; bared can rhyme with leered
- long "i," as well as the diphthongs "oi" and "ow" become "aw"; choir and hire rhyme with war, aisle and boil with ball
- long "o" shifts to long "a"; one dials a phane (phone). However, one cheers for the Ews (O's, for the Baltimore Orioles).
- the epenthic "r" is evident
- elision is common
A rousing Welcoma Bawlmer, hon might greet a visitor from across the Lanic (Atlantic) in Yerp (Europe), or just south in Wershintin (Washington, DC).
Dialectic terms
- Annie Runnel (Canny) - Anne Arundel County
- arnjuice - orange juice (an example of the widespread use of elision)
- downey ayshin (down to the ocean) - at the beach (spent sum'r weekends downey ayshin)
- hon - a universal name used for greeting (in extreme instances, pronounced "hoo-wun")
- shar - (rhymes with car) shower
- youse - plural of you, similar to the Southern y'all
- right smart - a not insubstantial amount (a right smart snayfall (snowfall)). 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).
References
- "The Mid-Atlantic Dialects," Evolution Publishing