Western New England English refers to thevarieties ofNew England English native toVermont,Connecticut, and the western half ofMassachusetts;[1]New York State'sHudson Valley (fromAlbany toPoughkeepsie) also aligns to this classification.[2][3] Sound patterns historically associated with Western New England English include the features ofrhoticity (full pronunciation of allr sounds), thehorse–hoarse merger, and thefather–bother merger, none of which are features traditionally shared in neighboringEastern New England English.[4] The status of thecot–caught merger in Western New England is inconsistent, being complete in the north of this dialect region (Vermont), but incomplete or absent in the south (southern Connecticut),[5] with a "cot–caught approximation" in the middle area (primarily, western Massachusetts).[6]
Western New England English is relatively difficult for most American laypersons and even dialectologists to identify by any "distinct" accent when compared to its popularly recognized neighbors (Eastern New England English,New York City English, andInland Northern U.S. English),[7] meaning that its accents are typically perceived asunmarked "General American" varieties.[8] Linguistic research, however, reveals that Western New England English is not simply one single or uniform dialect.[9] LinguistCharles Boberg proposes that it be most generally divided into a Northwestern New England English (a standalone "Vermont" accent) and a Southwestern New England English (aless advancedsubdialect ofInland Northern English);[10] however, even Boberg lists the possibilities of several distinct accent divisions of Western New England.[11]
Vocabulary features that predominate in Western New England English includegrinder forsub (submarine sandwich),[12] andtag sale forgarage sale (predominant in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts).[13]
Some Western New England speakers show the "generating conditions"[10] for theNorthern Cities Vowel Shift (or NCVS: the defining feature of theGreat Lakes region'smodern dialect) in backing of/ɛ/ (to[ɛ~ɜ]), possible fronting of/ɑ/ to[ɑ̈], andtensing all instances of/æ/ to something like[ɛə]. Though actually variable, these features occur among Western New England speakers just enough to suggest that they may be the "pivot conditions"[vague] that influenced the NCVS in the Inland North, likely beginning in the early twentieth century.[14][15]
The English of Western New England in fact shows many sharp differences throughout rather than one uniform accent.[9] In 2001,Charles Boberg, discussing that Western New England English was a likely direct influence on the Inland Northern English of the Great Lakes region, still identified as many as four or five English sub-regional accents within Western New England itself, based on data from the late 1990s:[11]
Charles Boberg argues that Northwestern New England (Vermont) English, due to itscot–caught merger but failure to demonstrate other features of the Eastern New England dialect, must be considered as its own separate dialect. On the other hand, in discussing Southwestern New England English as its own unique dialect, he instead proposed that it be regarded as a "subtype" of theInland North dialect, based on the aforementioned commonalities, even if variable, such as the universal raising of the shorta and no cot–caught merger.[16] However, some younger Southwestern New England speakers have diverged away from both of these features, which Boberg at least partly foresaw;[17] such variables are discussed in greater detail below.
Northwestern New England English, sometimes labeled as a Vermont accent, is the most complete or advanced Western New England English variety in terms of thecot–caught merger, occurring largely everywhere north ofNorthampton, Massachusetts, towards[ɑ].[18] Today, speakers documented in Burlington (northwestern Vermont) and Rutland (southwestern Vermont) show consistent fronting of/ɑ/ before/r/, therefore towards[ɑ̈~a], in words likecar orbarn. The first element of/oʊ/ (e.g. in "goat") is similar to[o̞ʊ~ɔʊ] with a low and lax first element, and sometimes with no glide asmonophthongal[o̞].[19]
Northwestern Vermont (centered onBurlington) shows no raising of/æ/ (except before nasal consonants), and therefore/ɑ/ stays back in the mouth, leading to a cot–caught merger to [ɑ]; this whole process follows the logic of theCanadian Shift of StandardCanadian English.
Since the mid-twentieth century, Vermont speakers have largely avoided stigmatized local features, and now follow the rhoticr of the rest of Western New England. However, before this time, the eastern edge of Vermont spokeEastern New England English, evendropping ther sound everywhere except before vowels, just like in traditional Boston or Maine accents.[20][21] These speakers may retain vestigial elements of Eastern New England'strap-bath split, backing and lowering/æ/ in certain environments.[22] Today, a dwindling, generally rural, older, and male segment of the northern Vermont population, best studied in theNortheast Kingdom, uniquely pronounces/aʊ/ with a raised starting point as[ɛʊ] (e.g. in "cows";pronunciations by a female and male speakerⓘ) and/aɪ/ (e.g. in "lie") with a backer, raised, or somewhat more rounded starting point as[ɒɪ~əɪ].[23] A deepretroflex approximant for "r" may be noted among rural northern speakers, perhaps inherited fromWest Country orScots-Irish ancestors,[24][22][25] due to such immigrants largely settling in western New England (though not as much in eastern New England).[24] One notable lifelong native speaker of the rural Vermont accent wasFred Tuttle.[26]
Southwestern Vermont (centered onRutland) shows a universal/æ/ raising to[ɛə] and/ɑ/ fronting to[ɑ̈], but then oversteps and defies the logical direction of theNorthern Cities Vowel Shift by producing a cot–caught merger to[ɑ̈].[27] The universal/æ/ raising is most consistently recorded in speakers born before 1950; those born since 1960 show somewhat less raising.[28]
Southwestern New England English is centered primarily aroundHartford, CT and Springfield, MA. Its older speakers show more instances of universal tensing of the shorta/æ/, while younger speakers show the more General American feature of tensing this vowel only beforenasal consonants.[28][29]The Atlas of North American English confirms that thisraising phenomenon is highly variable in the region, though studies agree that raising always occurs strongest before nasal consonants.
Regarding thecot–caught merger, Southwestern New England speech has historically lacked the merger, before entering a transitional state of the merger in the mid-1900s.[30] A "cot–caught approximation" now prevails especially in Springfield and western Massachusetts, but is variable from one speaker to the next with no apparent age-based correlation, except that the youngest speakers now are tending to demonstrate a full merger.[31] Local, especially working-class speakers of southwestern Connecticut (especially Greater Bridgeport and New Haven) and the Albany area of New York State, strongly influenced by nearbyNew York City dialect, continue to resist the cot–caught merger.
Though not belonging geographically to New England,New York State's Hudson Valley speaks a sub-type of Southwestern New England English (best studied inAlbany, New York), demonstrating additional influence fromNew York City English. Albany English shows Southwestern New England English's slight backing of/ɛ/ (to[ɛ~ɜ]) and possible fronting of/ɑ/ to[ɑ̈],[3] but New York City'scaught vowel[ɔə] and, though having a continuous short-a system, still shows influence from New York City'sshort-a split system.[32] Also, Albany starts/aɪ/ fairly back[ɑɪ~äɪ] and/aʊ/ somewhat forward in the mouth[aʊ].[33]