There are exceptions to this generalized eastern-western split. Rhode Island which is part of eastern New England does not follow the rest of the region’s pattern of merging the two sounds. Instead, Rhode Island maintains a distinction between the two vowels like the west does. Interestingly thought, Vermont which has the most contact in the western New England region merges the two sounds like the east does. Linguists explain this phenomenon due to Vermont’s lack of contact with the Inland North where the sounds are different because of an isogloss created by Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains. They have also theorized that Vermont’s merger of the two sounds is a recent phonological development as some older residents of Vermont maintain the separation of sounds (Nagy and Roberts 2004:259).
3.2 For-Four
Just about the whole of the United States would pronounce ‘for’ and ‘four’ the same way, just as they would say ‘horse’ and ‘hoarse’ alike, but in eastern New England, there are two distinct sounds. However in some parts of the region, where people pick up the tradition of Bostonian speech by dropping the consonant ‘r’ when pronouncing their words, it causes certain words to rhyme when you would not normally expect it to. This occurs especially in sets of words like short with shot and north with moth. For the first set, speakers would pronounce short and shot exactly the same and merge to a ‘shot’ sound and they would say ‘north’ as if it was spelt ‘noth’ and thus rhymes with moth. In New Hampshire, this new merger is particularly apparently. Linguists also found that younger speakers within the New England region have also shown increasing signs to also merge the sounds rather than separating the sounds of these words (Nagy and Roberts 2004:262).
3.3 Bother-Father
There is a southwestern and northeastern split in New England over the bother-father merger. In regions such as Massachusetts, in particular the city of Boston, northern New Hampshire and in Maine, the distinction between ‘bother’ and ‘father’ are maintained and so the vowel sounds are [a] and [a] respectively. However in Vermont and southern New Hampshire, the two vowels have merged as one sound, forcing the two vowels in the words to rhyme. This is particularly the case among younger speakers (Nagy and Roberts 2004:262).
- Mary-Merry-Marry
In some regions of the United States, you can not tell if someone is saying the name Mary, or wishing you to be merry as in to be happy or to marry the one you love, as their pronunciation sounds exactly the same, like those in Vermont and southern New Hampshire. There are some people who will differentiate between two of them so out of the three words, you would hear two sounds. This is the case in Maine where up to 80% of the speakers pronounce with a two way merger, saying Mary and marry as [meri] and merry as [mεri]. Yet still, there are some other people such as those who live in eastern Massachusetts and Northern New Hampshire, who will pronounce the three words in three using three different sounds. These people pronounce Mary with [e:], merry with [ε] and marry with [æ] sounds. However this was not always the case. Earlier on in the 20th century, linguists found that the whole of the New England region pronounced the three words distinctly, but in more recent decades, studies have shown that certain states have started to merge the sounds together (Nagy and Roberts 2004:262).
- Witch-Which
Within the northeastern part of the United States, there is general distinction between the East and the West on the issue of a witch-which merger. In New England, the distinction is less generalized, as Nagy and Roberts find in their discovery. They found that there is a clear distinction between the two words in parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. However these three states do not completely fit under the East and West categories as they cover the central part of New England, suggesting that the division between the sounds of ‘witch’ and ‘which’ are not restricted to an east-west separation. Nagy and Roberts also found that the merged sounds of the two words appeared more distinctly along the coastal parts of New England, stretching down from Maine to Boston of Massachusetts. There was however, no substantial pattern found in Connecticut and Rhode Island, which covers the southern section of New England (Nagy and Roberts 2004:263).
3.6 Aphaeresis
In more recent years, studies on the aphaeresis in New England were also conducted. Aphaeresis focuses on the “initial syllable deletion in polysyllabic words” (Fisher and McDavid Jr. 1973:246). This means that when New Englanders said certain words that consisted of two or ore syllables, they would not pronounce the first syllable to shorten the sounds. While aphaeresis was found all over New England, there were certain areas in the region where aphaeresis was more common, such as the highly conservative areas of New England, including Maine, New Hampshire, Eastern Vermont and Northeastern Massachusetts. This region falls into the geographic location of Northeastern New England.
The most popular word which is pronounced using the form of aphaeresis is “almost”, however in New England, especially in Maine, the word would be pronounced as “most”. The spelling of the word is also shortened by dropping the ‘al’ and replaced by an apostrophe, producing ‘most. “Eleven” and “afraid” are also popular words throughout New England where the first syllable is chopped off, leaving it with ‘leven and ‘fraid. In Western New England in particular, “enough” is shortened as well but its aphaeresis changes the spelling of the word into exactly what it sounds like. After the aphaeresis transformation, “enough” is written as ‘nuff. Back in the eastern region such as Massachusetts, their nationality is known as ‘merican rather than “American”. “Unless” is another common word which undergoes aphaeresis in New England. Interestingly though, this word takes the form in two possible ways, either as ‘less or ‘lessen. The former shortening is expected as it merely deletes the first syllable of the word “unless”, but the latter not only drops the first syllable, it unusually attaches another syllable at the end of word. Expectedly, ‘less is used more often around the region than ‘lessen as it is abnormally formed. The stereotype tied in with pronouncing the words in this shortened form suggests that people who do so are lazy and uneducated and therefore do not pronounce the full form of the word. However this is not the case as Fisher and McDavid (1973:248) discovered that people of all walks of life in used aphaeresis. This meant that aphaeresis is not restricted to any socio-economic group but rather divided between geographic locations.
- Lexical Items
Lexical units refer to the vocabulary and phrases that people in a certain region adopts as part of their regular speech. There are some lexical items which are understand throughout parts of New England while there are some which are unique to each state. Both scenarios are summarized in the following section.
- How Do You Like Your Eggs, Poached or Dropped?
If you hear the term ‘dropped eggs’, chances are you are in New England. Most people understand that the northeastern region in general refers to ‘poached eggs’ as dropped eggs, however this understanding is a little overstated and there are places within the New England region where poached eggs is the more common term to use than dropped. In the eastern side of Connecticut, people refer to their eggs as poached eggs when cooked in this manner. So do the people in Rhode Island. Having said that, most of the eastern and northern area of New England does not take the usage of poached eggs to mean dropped eggs, but instead, when they hear the term ‘poached eggs’, they think scrambled eggs. In states like Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, dropped eggs are used. Previous findings have shown that there was always an east and west distribution of this set of lexis, but new data shows that there is also a north and south split between the usages of poached and dropped eggs in New England (Penzl 1934:90).
Connecticut’s case of using ‘poached eggs’ instead of ‘dropped eggs’ is quite an intriguing case as it follows the same vocabulary as the rest of the “general American” speech. As a result, further research has been conducted on Connecticut and the conclusion is that in western and central Connecticut, the word “poached eggs” is native the area because the word is used among residents of all kind and not restricted to any people of a certain background. In Penzl’s (1934:93) research, he found that “city dwellers and farmers alike” used the term comfortably. Contrastingly, elsewhere in New England where poached eggs were used to replace the meaning of dropped eggs, only metropolitan communities used the term. This suggests that using the term ‘poached eggs’ become a type of overt prestige as users from more urban backgrounds were likely to manually adopt this into their speech in needed (Penzl 1934:93).
- See-Saw
Not a word which you would expect to have much prominence yet it does stir quite a bit of interest in New England, as there are several different lexical terms which are used by different states to substitute for see-saw. The word is known throughout New England however many consider the term to be “high-flown or as a book word” (Kurath 1933:14). As a result new lexical terms such as ‘teeter’ or ‘teeter board’ have replaced see-saw in western and northern New England such as New Hampshire. Linguists theorize that the words ‘teeter’ and ‘teeter board’ originated in New Hampshire and then spread towards the west as the population of the neighbouring spread and grew. These vocabularies also exist in Connecticut, although in this state, the split is even greater. Older people in Connecticut tend to pronounce the words in a nasalized manner so the word is spelt as ‘teenter’ as supposed to ‘teeter’. ‘Tinter’ and ‘tinter board’ are also common lexical terms to have formed from the original teeter among the elderly. In the southern counties of Connecticut, the elderly yet have another word for see-saw. ‘Teeter-totter’ is commonly used by the older population despite the articulation sounds like words used by a child (Kurath 1933:15). The pattern found in the other southern states of New England such as in Massachusetts and Newport County in Rhode Island, derives from the verb ‘to tilt’. Lexical terms such as ‘tilt’ and ‘tiltin’ board’ are used to substitute for see-saw in these areas. However the rest of Rhode Island does not follow this pattern. The term the tiny island uses except Newport County is ‘dandle’ which has no connection with the form of ‘tilt’ or ‘teeter’. ‘Dandle’ has never been recorded outside of Rhode Island, suggesting that this word is native to this state and is an exclusively local term. Maine however, has no pattern of its own but seems to have embodied a combination of ‘teeter’ from the west and north as well as ‘tilt’ from the south forming the words ‘tilter’ and ‘tilterin’ board’ (Kurath 1933:17).
Linguists have also found an interesting new development with these lexical items among the younger generation. Children in New England have started to use the nouns and verbs and constantly interchange their usage of several terms. It is therefore quite common to hear a child say, “seesaw-r on the teeter” or “teeter on the seesaw” (Kurath 1933:18) and both statements would carry the meaning of play on the see-saw.
- Unique to Each State
Massachusetts is a state worthy of particular note as there are lexical items special to the state itself, but the largest city in New England, Boston, also has its own lingo. Throughout Massachusetts, a ‘hole’ has a meaning other than just a ditch. It carries the meaning of a small habour or a channel as well. Sailors also often go ‘gunkholing’ which means sailing from one hole to another. The region used to be “nautically orientated, so ship building, fishing and seafood vocabulary” (Wolfram and Ward 2006:59) are quite common. Other lexical terms popular in Massachusetts include ‘joe flogger’ which means a special kind of donut or pancake, and a ‘mountain day’ is a beautiful autumn day. Massachusetts also uses a negative positive phrase ‘so don’t I’. This phrase is expressed when agreeing with someone. In Standard English, people say “so do I’ but in Massachusetts, the negative form of ‘do’ means the same thing as the positive phrase. To illustrate this example, if you were to say, “I want to catch a movie” a Massachusetts resident would respond with, “So don’t I” and you would both head for the cinemas (Metcalf 2000:73). Lexical items deriving from Boston include a ‘tonic’ meaning a soft drink, a ‘frappe’ which is what the rest of the country calls a milkshake, a ‘spuncky’ for a submarine sandwich and most interestingly, a ‘spa’ for a local convenience store. The etymology of the word ‘spa’ originated from people going into stores for soda fountains to refresh themselves and later when refrigerators were invented to freeze cold drinks to replace soda fountains, the stores kept the name as ‘spas’. Boston also overuse the intensifier ‘wicked’ as a way to replace the word ‘very’ and so when a Bostonian says, “That was wicked cool”, they mean it was very cool (Metcalf 2000:76).
Bordering Canada’s largest province, Quebec, some of the English words and phrases in Maine are influenced by French such as the word ‘loup-garou’ which translates to werewolf. Maine however still has a long list of native lexical terms, some of which are quite strange and you would not expect to use often. A “billdad’ is a little mythical creature found in the woods in Maine, to ‘fub around’ means to fool around and a ‘nubble’ is a small hill or island. Other famous terms native to Maine include a ‘dozy’ which refers to decayed wood, ‘culch’ for trash and if you want to call someone stupid, you would use the term ‘gaumy’ (Metcalf 2000:72).
As Vermont bothers upstate New York, some people believe that the accent and some of the lexical terms used are similar to upstate New York, such as the exclamation ‘jeezum crow!’ which is the polite way to exclaim, “Jesus Christ!” so not offend religious communities. Other exclusive vocabularies in Vermont are ‘apron’, ‘aprons off’, ‘frog run’ and ‘toque’. The first word is used to refer to a layer of thick liquid on a spoon and so if someone says the jelly has ‘aprons off’, it means the jelly is setting and ready to eat. ‘Frog run’ may strike people as a funny term but it means the sap in maple trees which have not been collected despite it already being so late in the season that you can hear frogs croaking. The last term, ‘toque’ refers to a ski hat. More recently, ‘Vermonster’ was coined as a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavour which takes the ingredients of a favourite Vermont dessert. For girls who may not want so many calories could opt for the ‘Bride of Vermonster’ which uses low-fat yogurt instead of ice cream (Metcalf 2000:78).
New Hampshire struggles to curve a piece of the pie for itself linguistically as it is often influenced by Massachusetts from its southern border. However linguists have been able to find several lexical items that are distinctively associated with New Hampshire. ‘Larbo’ is an old fashioned candy made by pouring hot maple syrup on snow while ‘crom’ means worthless junk food. In New Hampshire and in some parts of Maine as well, midge which is an irritating and stinging fly is known as a ‘minge’ (Metcalf 2000:77).
For the smallest state in the country, there are plenty of lexical terms that are definitely from Rhode Island. While Bostonians call their milkshakes a ‘frappe, Rhode Islanders call it a ‘cabinet’. The alleged story behind this term was because the ice cream used to make milkshakes used to be kept in cabinets. As strange as this may have been, if you want a milkshake you must ask for a cabinet in Rhode Island, or you will just get flavoured milk with no ice cream in your glass. So not to confuse people who may want to signify a cabinet with the meaning of a kitchen cupboard, the term Rhode Islanders then use is a ‘pantry’. Another common lexical term used in the small state is ‘cade’ which was first used to refer to a farm animal raised as a family pet. Later on, cade was also used to call children who were spoilt and had the full attention from their parents. Perhaps the most misleading lexical phrase of all is the ‘New York system’ which is actually home to Rhode Island. It describes a kind of hot dog which you can order in Rhode Island that has everything on top of it (Metcalf 2000:78).
Connecticut is another state that is said to be influenced by New York, both upstate and downstate as Connecticut’s western border touches New York. Despite this, there are several lexical terms unique to this southern New England region such as ‘bog meadows’ which is used to describe low-lying waterlogged grasslands. Connecticut also used to ship oysters to New York City in medium sized boxes as opposed to in barrels, and so as this tradition continued, the term box oysters’ was coined. Thanks to a historical incident in the late 1930s which haunted the city of Glastonbury in Connecticut, a ‘glawackus’ is used to portray a dog-like monster which to this date, no one has said to have witnessed such a hideous creature (Metcalf 2000:79).
- So What’s So Special About the Boston Accent?
There is nothing particularly outstanding about the Boston accent which makes it special or above other accents, but it is an accent that most people assume the whole of New England speaks with and therefore the most attention is paid on the Boston accent. Linguist Robert Parslow claims that the Boston accent is not actually a single accent, but rather consists of three varieties. These three varieties include an accent for the average middle-class speech, the second for the upper-class Brahmins which are also called the ‘First Families of Boston’ who are considered to be the wealthiest families in the area, and the last variety depicting speech used by the central city. Parslow explains that the first variety is the most common one, used by Bostonians as well as being heard elsewhere around New England. The second variety shares linguistic features of British speech as it is spoken by the social elite class. A simple way to spot this is to watch for the sounds made by vowels as they tend to speak with a long ‘o’ sound, so the number ‘four’ for example would have two syllables as they stretch the ‘o’ sound. The last variety is spoken by the working class in central Boston. Many people can not tell the difference between this variety and the first one. Parslow pointed out the difference in the vowel sound ‘a’ and the consonant sound produced by the letter ‘t’. He claims that in words like ‘washed’, there is a stronger ‘o’ sound rather than an ‘a’ sound and the ‘t’s in ‘potatoes’ sound like ‘d’s. As a result, the vegetable is pronounced as ‘b’daydas’ and in more recent years, this new spelling has become quite common among locals (Metcalf 2000:74).
To hear some sample clips of a Boston accent, try the clip from , paying particular attention to Ben Affleck when he say words like ‘lager’ and ‘class’. Another clip, which is slightly more amusing although the visual quality is not perfect, is the , saying split apart and wicked cold. His example shows how some people may try to speak more Standard English but at times their Boston accent slips out unintentionally.
Over the last several decades, some people became concern over New England losing its speech patterns as they interacted more frequently with non-Englanders. Others speculated that some New Englanders were purposely trying to speak differently to sound more like the general American. However regions like Boston and Maine show no signs of letting their accent die out as media influences help keep it alive. The Boston accent is often “portrayed in movies and television” (The New Hampshire 2006) as it is the highlight of tourism in New England. Being proud of their accent is another major contributor of maintaining the Boston accent as Bostonians realize that it is a “symbol of solidarity recognized throughout the country” (Wolfram and Ward 2006:69). People living in Maine also immerse themselves in pride as they play around with their state’s name to form catchy names or phrases such as ‘Mainely Audio’ or ‘Meals for ME’ or calling themselves ‘Maine-iacs’. This helps keep their feelings about their home and accent alive and this is recognized both by themselves and others around the country. The majority of New England is also rural farm land so in many western counties there is little contact with much of the outside region and so there is little risk of the New England variants being eroded away. With proud residents of New England continuing to pass on their accent and dialects to the future generations and rural areas having dispersed contact with non-New Englanders, there is minimal threat to the erosion of New England speech and so it can continue to thrive as a linguistically rich region (Wolfram and Ward 2006:71).
References
Fisher, Lawrence E. and McDavid Jr., Raven. 1973. Aphaeresis in New England. Vol. 48. No.3/4: 246-249.
Kurath, Hans. 1933. New England Words for the Seesaw. American Speech. Vol. 8. No. 2:14-18.
Metcalf, Allan A. 2000. How We Talk: American Regional English Today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Nagy, Naomi and Roberts, Julie. 2004. New England: Phonology. A Handbook of Varieties of English. 1:255-266.
Penzl, Herbert. 1934. New England Terms for ‘Poached Eggs’. American Speech. Vol. 9. No. 2:90-95.
Wolfram, Walt. Ward, Ben. Ed.2006. American Voices: How Dialects Differ From Coast to Coast. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing.
2006. The New Hampshire: Book of New England Dialects Explores Regional Accents. Available: . Retrieved on 5 May 2008