Eastern New England English

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Template:Short description Template:IPA notice Eastern New England English, historically known as the Yankee dialect since at least the 19th century,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Sletcher, Michael (2004). New England. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 264</ref> is the traditional regional dialect of Maine, New Hampshire, and the eastern half of Massachusetts.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 130)</ref> Features of this variety once spanned an even larger dialect area of New England, for example, including the eastern halves of Vermont and Connecticut for those born as late as the early twentieth century.<ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 161)</ref> Studies vary as to whether the unique dialect of Rhode Island technically falls within the Eastern New England dialect region.<ref>See, for example, that Labov's 2006 Atlas of North American English frequently includes Providence/Rhode Island under this general dialect, yet his 1997 Regional Telsur Map does not.</ref>

Eastern New England English, here including Rhode Island English, is classically associated with sound patterns such as: non-rhoticity, or dropping r when not before a vowel; both variants of Canadian raising, including a fairly back starting position of the {{#invoke:IPA|main}} vowel (as in Template:Sc2);<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> and some variation of the [[father–bother merger|Template:Sc2]][[cot-caught merger|Template:Sc2 vowel distinctions]], the marry–merry distinction, or both.<ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 154)</ref> Eastern New England (excluding Rhode Island) is also nationally recognized for its highly front Template:Sc2 vowel. The most well-known subsets include Boston accents, Maine accents, and a cultivated or elite accent, sometimes known as a "Boston Brahmin accent" within Boston, that was associated with wealthy New England families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="Knight">Knight, Dudley. "Standard Speech". In: Hampton, Marian E. & Barbara Acker (eds.) (1997). The Vocal Vision: Views on Voice. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 160.</ref>

As of the 21st century, certain traditional characteristics are declining due to many younger Eastern New Englanders avoiding them, particularly non-rhoticity and the aforementioned vowel distinctions,<ref>Stanford et al. (2014: 120)</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> which they tend to perceive as old-fashioned, overly rural-sounding,<ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 160-1)</ref> or even overly urban-sounding with regard to Boston.<ref name="Nagy"/> New Hampshire speakers on the whole are particularly well documented as retreating from these older Eastern New England features since the mid-20th century onwards.<ref name="Platt">Platt, Melanie, "Do you "park your car" or "pahk your cah"?: The Changing Dialect of Southern New Hampshire" (2015). Inquiry Journal 2015. 5. http://scholars.unh.edu/inquiry_2015/5</ref><ref name="Nagy">Nagy, Naomi (2001). " 'Live Free or Die' as a Linguistic Principle". American Speech, Volume 76, Number 1, Spring 2001, pp. 30-41.</ref>

Overview of phonology

The sound system of traditional Eastern New England English includes:

  • Template:AnchorNon-rhoticity: The r sound may be "dropped" or "silent" if not before a vowel; therefore, in words like car, letter, horse, poor, etc. The feature is retreating and is not found in many younger speakers,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> for example, in virtually no speakers born since the mid-20th century in southeastern New Hampshire.<ref name="Platt"/>

    • Template:AnchorLinking and intrusive r: The non-rhotic r may be pronounced after all if it is followed by a vowel, even a vowel that begins the next word in the sentence. Also, any word that ends in /ə/ (as in Cuba), /ɑ/ (as in spa), or /ɔ/ (as in law) can be followed by an unwritten r sound when followed by a vowel sound in the next word: thus, law and public safety sounds like Lauren public safety.
  • Template:AnchorBacking of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: The vowel of goose, rude, coup, etc. remains pronounced relatively far back in the mouth.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
  • Template:AnchorPossible lack of the horse–hoarse merger: The vowel of words like war versus wore, or morning versus mourning, are mostly produced either very close or the same in Eastern New England; however, as of the early 2000s, such vowels may still be pronounced differently by some Eastern New England speakers, especially in Maine.<ref name="Labov 2006 227">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Conversely, the merger of the vowels is largely complete elsewhere in the United States.
  • Template:AnchorFull Canadian raising: The tongue is raised in the first element of the gliding vowel Template:Audio-IPA as well as Template:Audio-IPA whenever either appears before a voiceless consonant.<ref name="Boberg">Template:Cite book</ref> Therefore, a word like house {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is often {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
  • Template:AnchorBacking of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: The vowel of gouge, loud, town, power, etc. has a relatively back-of-mouth starting position: thus, something like {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.<ref name="Labov 2006 227"/>
  • Template:AnchorPossible lack of the Mary–marry–merry mergers: Before intervocalic {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, the vowels {{#invoke:IPA|main}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}} in rhotic varieties), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (as in Mary, marry, and merry) are distinguished from one another, particularly in Southeastern New England (namely Rhode Island), which is also true in the New York City area and Britain. However, recent studies have shown that there is an emerging tendency in Northeastern New England (Boston, for example) to merge them, as in most other American accents.<ref name="Labov 2006 227"/>
  • Template:Anchor"Short a" nasal system: The "short a" sound {{#invoke:IPA|main}} may be tensed in various environments, though most severely before a nasal consonant; therefore, in words like man, clam, Annie, etc.
  • Template:AnchorFronting of Template:Sc2/Template:Sc2: The vowel of words like palm, spa, car, park, etc. is pronounced farther to the front of the vocal tract than in most other dialects, so that car, for example, is something like {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. This, plus non-rhoticity, is often associated with the shibboleth "Park the car in Harvard yard." This fronting is seldom reported in Rhode Island, in which car is more often backed {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
  • The weak vowel merger is traditionally absent. This makes Lenin {{#invoke:IPA|main}} distinct from Lennon {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp

Overview of vocabulary and grammatical features

Template:See also

Some words or phrases most famously or strongly associated with Eastern New England are:

  • bang: to make a sudden or decisive turn while driving; only used in certain phrases: "bang a left", "bang a right", or "bang a U-ie".
  • bubbler or water bubbler: drinking fountain.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> This term is also used in Wisconsin and Australia.

  • bulkie: a thick white-bread roll, similar to a hamburger bun or kaiser roll
  • frappe {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: a thick beverage made of milk and ice cream, i.e. a milkshake in most other places (whereas "milkshake" in Boston traditionally means flavored milk). A synonym common only in Rhode Island is cabinet.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • hoodsie: a small disposable cup of ice cream, the kind that comes with a flat wooden spoon (from HP Hood, the dairy that sells them and elsewhere sometimes known as a "dixie cup".)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> A secondary meaning (very offensive slang) is "promiscuous teenaged girl".<ref name="Boston To English Dictionary">Boston To English Dictionary at CelebrateBoston.com</ref>

  • jimmies: sprinkles; to some, particularly chocolate sprinkles.<ref name="nytimes.com">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The term is also common in the Philadelphia area.
  • pissa(h): "great" or "amazing", either realistically or sarcastically. This is from the word "pisser" with a Boston accent, but used as an adjective. Occasionally combined with "wicked" to yield "wicked pissah".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • scrod: any small whitefish, such as cod or haddock, used in cooking<ref>"The Legend of the Sacred Cod (Or Is It Scrod?)". Yankee Magazine. Yankee Publishing, Inc., 2021.</ref>
  • "So don't I": "so do I" or "I do too".<ref>"So Don't I". Yale Grammatical Diversity Project English in North America. Yale University. 2017.</ref>
  • spa: a neighborhood convenience store that has a soda fountain and often sells sandwiches.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref>

  • tonic {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: any sweet, carbonated soft drink (chiefly confined to Boston), otherwise known as "soda" in the region or "pop" elsewhere;<ref>Labov et al., Atlas of North American English, p. 289.</ref> not the same as tonic water.
  • whiffle: a crew cut or male haircut done with electric clippers.<ref name="Boston To English Dictionary"/>
  • wicked: "very" or "super", used as an adverb or intensifier (such as "That hockey game was wicked good!" or "Ugh, that guy is wicked slow").

Many words common to Boston are also common throughout New England dialects: grinder for "submarine sandwich" (also, spuckie or spuky in East Boston),<ref>"Spuky". Dictionary.com, 2022.</ref> packie (or package store) for "liquor store",<ref>Dictionary of American Regional English</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> rotary for "traffic circle" (these full-speed circular intersections being common in Greater Boston),<ref name="nytimes.com" /> and yous as the working-class plural form of "you" (a word found throughout the urban Northeast with many spelling variants).<ref name="Vaux">Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder. 2003. The Harvard Dialect Survey. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref> Cellar, whose definition may have slight nuances nationwide, can also be a simple synonym for basement in Eastern New England and Massachusetts generally. In this same area, related expressions like down the cellar or even down-cellar are distinctive, meaning "down to the basement" or "down in the basement" (as in "She's getting some boxes down-cellar").

Northeastern New England English

Northeastern New England English, popularly recognized as a Boston or Maine accent, in addition to all the above phonological features, further includes the merger of the vowel in cot and caught to {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, often with a slightly rounded quality, but a resistance to the merger of the vowels in father versus bother, a merger that is otherwise common throughout North America. Also, for speakers born before 1950, the words half and pass (and, before World War II, also ask and can't) are pronounced with a "broad a," like in spa: {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

Boston

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Boston, Massachusetts is the birthplace and most famous site of Eastern New England English. Historically, a Northeastern type of New England English spread from metropolitan Boston into metropolitan Worcester, the bulk of New Hampshire, and central and coastal Maine.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Boston speech also originated many slang and uniquely local terms that have since spread throughout Massachusetts and Eastern New England.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although mostly non-rhotic, the modern Boston accent typically pronounces the r sound in the Template:Sc2 vowel, Template:Avoid wrap, as in bird, learn, turkey, world, etc.

Maine

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A traditional Maine accent, the closest remnant today to a more widespread 19th-century Yankee regional accent, includes the phonology mentioned above, plus the loss of the phonemic status of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (as in there), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (as in here), and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (as in more) all of which are broken into two syllables ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}, respectively): they-uh, hee-yuh, and moh-uh; some distinct vocabulary is also used in this accent.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Maine is one of the last American regions to resist the horse–hoarse merger. This continued resistance was verified by some speakers in a 2006 study of Bangor and Portland, Maine,<ref name="Labov 2006 227"/> yet contradicted by a 2013 study that reported the merger as embraced by Portland speakers "of all ages".<ref>Ryland, Alison (2013). "A Phonetic Exploration of the English of Portland, Maine". Swarthmore College.</ref> The horse–hoarse separation means that words like war and wore may sound different: war {{#invoke:IPA|main}} rhyming with law {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and wore {{#invoke:IPA|main}} rhyming with boa {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. Unlike the Boston accent, this traditional Maine accent may be non-rhotic entirely: even in the pronunciation of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

Notable speakers

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Rhode Island English

Template:Anchor The traditional English-language accent of Southeastern New England, popularly known as a Rhode Island accent, is spoken in Rhode Island and the western half of Bristol County, Massachusetts.<ref name="Johnson"/> In addition to all the features mentioned under the phonology section above, the Rhode Island accent also includes a sharp distinction in the vowels of Mary, marry, and merry and in the vowels in cot {{#invoke:IPA|main}} versus caught {{#invoke:IPA|main}},<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> plus the pronunciation of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, as in car, far back in the mouth as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}—these three features making this New England accent noticeably similar to a New York accent.<ref>"This phonemic and phonetic arrangement of the low back vowels makes Rhode Island more similar to New York City than to the rest of New England".Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> These features are often unlike the modern Northeastern New England (NENE) dialect of Boston, as is Rhode Island's feature of a completed father–bother merger, shared with the rest of the country outside of NENE.<ref name="Johnson">Johnson, Daniel Ezra (2010). "Stability and Change Along a Dialect Boundary: The Low Vowels of Southeastern New England". American Dialect Society 95. p. 100.</ref> A few terms are unique to this area, such as the word cabinet to mean "milkshake" (particularly, coffee cabinets),<ref name="dialect.redlog.net">Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder. 2003. "What do you call the drink made with milk and ice cream?." The Harvard Dialect Survey. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref> pizza strips (Italian tomato pie strips served cold without cheese), and coffee milk.<ref>Musto, Marisa (2018). "Famed Rhode Island Foods". AAA Northeast.</ref>

Notable lifelong native speakers

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  • John Chafee – a non-rhotic "New England accent"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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French-American Manchester English

An ethnic local accent has been documented among self-identifying French Americans in Manchester, New Hampshire.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> The accent's most prominent pronunciation features are th-stopping (pronouncing thin like tin and there like dare) and, variably, word-initial h-dropping (so that hair may sound like air).<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>

See also

Notes

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References

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  • Template:Citation
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  • Stanford, James N.; Leddy-Cecere, Thomas A.; Baclawski Jr., Kenneth P. "Farewell To The Founders: Major Dialect Changes Along The East-West New England Border." American Speech 87.2 (2012): pp. 126–169. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
  • Stanford, James N.; Severance, Nathan A.; Baclawski Jr., Kenneth P. "Multiple vectors of unidirectional dialect change in eastern New England." Language Variation and Change (2014) Vol.26 (1), pp. 103–140.
  • Stanford, James. 2019. New England English: Large-scale acoustic sociophonetics and dialectology. Oxford University Press. 367 pages.
  • Template:Accents of English

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Further reading

Template:English dialects by continent

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