Eastern New England English, historically known as theYankee dialect since at least the 19th century,[1][2] is the traditional regional dialect ofMaine,New Hampshire, and the eastern half ofMassachusetts.[3][4] Features of this variety once spanned an even largerdialect area of New England, for example, including the eastern halves ofVermont andConnecticut for those born as late as the early twentieth century.[5] Studies vary as to whether the unique dialect ofRhode Island technically falls within the Eastern New England dialect region.[6]
Eastern New England English, here including Rhode Island English, is classically associated with sound patterns such as:non-rhoticity, or droppingr when not before a vowel; both variants ofCanadian raising, including a fairlyback starting position of the/aʊ/ vowel (as inMOUTH);[7][8] and some variation of thePALM–LOT–THOUGHT vowel distinctions, themarry–merry distinction, or both.[9] Eastern New England (excluding Rhode Island) is also nationally recognized for its highlyfrontPALM/START vowel. The most well-known subsets includeBoston accents,Maine accents, and acultivated 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.[10]
As of the 21st century, certain traditional characteristics are declining due to many younger Eastern New Englandersavoiding them, particularly non-rhoticity and the aforementioned vowel distinctions,[11][12] which they tend to perceive as old-fashioned, overly rural-sounding,[13] or even overly urban-sounding withregard to Boston.[14] 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.[15][14]
The sound system of traditional Eastern New England English includes:
Non-rhoticity: Ther sound may be "dropped" or "silent" if not before a vowel; therefore, in words likecar,letter,horse,poor, etc. The feature is retreating and is not found in many younger speakers,[16] for example, in virtually no speakers born since the mid-20th century in southeastern New Hampshire.[15]
Linking and intrusiver: The non-rhoticr 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 inCuba), /ɑ/ (as inspa), or /ɔ/ (as inlaw) can be followed by an unwrittenr sound when followed by a vowel sound in the next word: thus,law and public safety sounds likeLauren public safety.
Backing of/u/: The vowel ofgoose,rude,coup, etc. remains pronounced relatively far back in the mouth.[17]
Possible lack of thehorse–hoarse merger: The vowel of words likewar versuswore, ormorning versusmourning, 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.[18] Conversely, the merger of the vowels is largely complete elsewhere in the United States.
Backing of/aʊ/: The vowel ofgouge,loud,town,power, etc. has a relatively back-of-mouth starting position: thus, something like[ɑ̈ʊ].[18]
Possible lack of theMary–marry–merry mergers: Before intervocalic/r/, the vowels/ɛə/ (/eɪ/ in rhotic varieties),/æ/ and/ɛ/ (as inMary,marry, andmerry) 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.[18]
"Shorta" nasal system: The "shorta" sound/æ/ may betensed in various environments, though most severely before anasal consonant; therefore, in words likeman,clam,Annie, etc.
Fronting ofPALM/START: The vowel of words likepalm,spa,car,park, etc. is pronounced farther to the front of the vocal tract than in most other dialects, so thatcar, for example, is something like[kʰa]. This, plus non-rhoticity, is often associated with theshibboleth "Park the car in Harvard yard." This fronting is seldom reported in Rhode Island, in whichcar is more often backed[kʰɑ].[20]
Theweak vowel merger is traditionally absent. This makesLenin/ˈlɛnɪn/ distinct fromLennon/ˈlɛnən/.[21]
frappe/fræp/: a thick beverage made of milk and ice cream, i.e. amilkshake in most other places (whereas "milkshake" in Boston traditionally meansflavored milk). A synonym common only in Rhode Island iscabinet.[24]
hoodsie: a small disposable cup of ice cream, the kind that comes with a flat wooden spoon (fromHP Hood, the dairy that sells them and elsewhere sometimes known as a "dixie cup".)[25] A secondary meaning (very offensive slang) is "promiscuous teenaged girl".[26]
jimmies:sprinkles; to some, particularly chocolate sprinkles.[27][28] The term is also common in thePhiladelphia 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".[29]
scrod: any small whitefish, such as cod or haddock, used in cooking[30]
tonic/ˈtɒnɪk/: any sweet, carbonatedsoft drink (chiefly confined to Boston), otherwise known as "soda" in the region or "pop" elsewhere;[37] not the same astonic water.
whiffle: a crew cut or male haircut done with electric clippers.[26]
wicked: "very" or "super", used as an adverb orintensifier (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 orspuky inEast Boston),[38]packie (orpackage store) for "liquor store",[39][40]rotary for "traffic circle" (these full-speed circular intersections being common inGreater Boston),[27] andyous as the working-class plural form of "you" (a word found throughout the urban Northeast with many spelling variants).[41]Cellar, whose definition may have slight nuances nationwide, can also be a simple synonym forbasement in Eastern New England and Massachusetts generally. In this same area, related expressions likedown the cellar or evendown-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, popularly recognized as a Boston or Maine accent, in addition to all the above phonological features, further includes themerger of the vowel incot andcaught to[ɒ~ɑ], often with a slightly rounded quality, but a resistance to themerger of the vowels infather versusbother, a merger that is otherwise common throughout North America. Also, for speakers born before 1950, the wordshalf andpass (and, before World War II, alsoask andcan't) are pronounced with a "broada," like inspa:[haf] and[pʰas].
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 intometropolitan Worcester, the bulk ofNew Hampshire, and central and coastalMaine.[42] Boston speech also originated many slang and uniquely local terms that have since spread throughout Massachusetts and Eastern New England.[43] Although mostly non-rhotic, the modern Boston accent typically pronounces ther sound in theNURSE vowel,/ɜr/, as inbird,learn,turkey,world, etc.
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/ɛə/ (as inthere),/ɪə/ (as inhere), and/oə/ (as inmore) all of which are broken into two syllables (/eɪə,i.ə,oʊə/, respectively):they-uh,hee-yuh, andmoh-uh; some distinct vocabulary is also used in this accent.[44] Maine is one of the last American regions to resist thehorse–hoarse merger. This continued resistance was verified by some speakers in a 2006 study of Bangor and Portland, Maine,[18] yet contradicted by a 2013 study that reported the merger as embraced by Portland speakers "of all ages".[45] The horse–hoarse separation means that words likewar andwore may sound different:war/wɒ/ rhyming withlaw/lɒ/, andwore/ˈwoʊə/ rhyming withboa/ˈboʊə/. Unlike the Boston accent, this traditional Maine accent may be non-rhotic entirely: even in the pronunciation of/ɜr/ as[ɜ].
Ted Kennedy – "No one else from Boston, or anywhere in New England, has imprinted the regional accent on the national consciousness as Senator Kennedy did."[54]
Mel King – "he has the soft Rs of a deep Boston accent"[55]
The traditional English-language accent of Southeastern New England, popularly known as a Rhode Island accent, is spoken inRhode Island and the western half ofBristol County, Massachusetts.[64] In addition to all the features mentioned under the phonology section above, the Rhode Island accent also includes a sharp distinction in the vowels ofMary,marry, andmerry and in the vowels incot[ɑ] versuscaught[oə],[65] plus the pronunciation of/ɑr/, as incar, far back in the mouth as[ɑ~ɑə]—these three features making this New England accent noticeably similar to aNew York accent.[66][67] These features are often unlike the modern Northeastern New England (NENE) dialect of Boston, as is Rhode Island's feature of a completedfather–bother merger, shared with the rest of the country outside of NENE.[64] A few terms are unique to this area, such as the wordcabinet to mean "milkshake" (particularly,coffee cabinets),[68]pizza strips (Italian tomato pie strips served cold without cheese), andcoffee milk.[69]
An ethnic local accent has been documented among self-identifyingFrench Americans inManchester, New Hampshire.[80] The accent's most prominent pronunciation features areth-stopping (pronouncingthin liketin andthere likedare) and, variably, word-initialh-dropping (so thathair may sound likeair).[81]
^Knight, Dudley. "Standard Speech". In: Hampton, Marian E. & Barbara Acker (eds.) (1997).The Vocal Vision: Views on Voice.Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 160.
^abNagy, Naomi (2001). " 'Live Free or Die' as a Linguistic Principle".American Speech, Volume 76, Number 1, Spring 2001, pp. 30-41.
^abPlatt, 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
Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006),The Atlas of North American English, Berlin: Mouton-de Gruyter,ISBN3-11-016746-8
Nagy, Naomi; Roberts, Juli (2004),"New England phonology"(PDF), in B., Kortmann; Schneider, E. W.; Burridge, K.; Mesthrie, R.; Upton, C. (eds.),Handbook of Varieties of English, vol. 1, Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 270–281, archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2015-12-10
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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.
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