Central Pennsylvania accent - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Central Pennsylvania speech is closely related to Western Pennsylvania speech, which is generally referred to as Pittsburgh English

Pittsburgh English

Pittsburgh English, popularly known by outsiders as Pittsburghese, is the dialect of American English spoken by many especially older residents of Pittsburgh and parts of surrounding Western Pennsylvania in the United States, a group referred to by locals and others as Yinzers.-Overview:Many of the...

, although the speech extends beyond just the city of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, and also is closely related to the Southern accent

Southern American English

Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to most of Texas and Oklahoma.The Southern dialects make...

, spoken in the Southeastern United States

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

. Although Southeastern and Central Pennsylvania both have accents related to Southern American English, the Central Pennsylvania accent bears little resemblance to the accent spoken in the Delaware Valley. The accent spoken in the Philadelphia area is more similar to Mid-Atlantic English and New York-New Jersey English than to accents spoken in the rest of Pennsylvania. For the most part, the speech of Central Pennsylvania is an accent

Accent (linguistics)

In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...

, but there are enough distinguishing features for one to argue that it is not just an accent, but a dialect

Dialect

The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...

Origin

The first white settlers in Central Pennsylvania were predominantly Scots-Irish. The Scots-Irish were then followed by German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

farmers, most of whom originated in the South German Sprachraum

Sprachraum

Sprachraum is a linguistic term used to designate a geographical region/district where a language, dialect, group or family of languages is spoken. The German word Sprachraum literally means "language area"....

. It was not long before the Germans grew to outnumber the Scots-Irish, but the Germans quickly became bilingual in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

and German, and eventually, their descendants became monolingual in English. These German settlers learned to speak English from people with Scots-Irish accents and consequently, the Central Pennsylvania accent is characterized by a harsh, guttural sound one would expect to hear from a German speaker who learned to speak English by listening to Scottish

Scottish English

Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....

-accented English.

Geographic distribution

The Central Pennsylvania dialect is most prevalent in the following counties: Centre

Centre County, Pennsylvania

Centre County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 153,990....

, Mifflin

Mifflin County, Pennsylvania

Mifflin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 46,682. Its county seat is Lewistown. It is named after Thomas Mifflin, the first Governor of Pennsylvania.-Geography:...

, Snyder

Snyder County, Pennsylvania

Snyder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 39,702. Snyder County was formed in 1855 from parts of Union County...

, Huntingdon

Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

Huntingdon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,913.Huntingdon County was created on September 20, 1787, from part of Bedford County. Its county seat is Huntingdon.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, Fulton

Fulton County, Pennsylvania

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 14,845.Fulton County was created on April 19, 1850, from part of Bedford County and named for inventor Robert Fulton.Its county seat is McConnellsburg....

, Juniata

Juniata County, Pennsylvania

Juniata County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 24,636. Juniata County was created on March 2, 1831, from part of Mifflin County and named for the Juniata River. Its county seat is Mifflintown....

, Perry

Perry County, Pennsylvania

As of the census of 2000, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 79 people per square mile . There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...

, Cumberland

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 235,406.-History:...

, Adams

Adams County, Pennsylvania

Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...

, Franklin

Franklin County, Pennsylvania

As of the census of 2000, there were 129,313 people, 50,633 households, and 36,405 families residing in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile . There were 53,803 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...

, Bedford

Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,762. The county seat is Bedford. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, Blair

Blair County, Pennsylvania

-Significant Topographic Features:*Brush Mountain*Logan Valley*Morrison Cove*Tussey Mountain-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129,144 people, 51,518 households, and 34,877 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile . There were 55,061...

, Clearfield

Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 81,642.Clearfield County was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Huntingdon and Lycoming Counties but was administered as part of Centre County until 1812...

, Northumberland

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

There were 38,835 households out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.50% had...

, Lycoming

Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

-Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Plateau:Lycoming County is divided between the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the dissected Allegheny Plateau in the north and east, and the valley of the West Branch Susquehanna River between these.-West Branch Susquehanna River:The West Branch of the...

, Union

Union County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,624 people, 13,178 households, and 9,211 families residing in the county. The population density was 131 people per square mile . There were 14,684 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...

, and Clinton

Clinton County, Pennsylvania

As of the census of 2000, there were 37,914 people, 14,773 households, and 9,927 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile . There were 18,166 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile...

. Parts of Dauphin County

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...

and the northeastern corner of York County

York County, Pennsylvania

York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....

(Dillsburg

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania

Dillsburg is a borough adjacent to Carroll Township in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,563 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:Dillsburg is surrounded by Carroll Township in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania...

) and southwestern corner of York County (Hanover

Hanover, Pennsylvania

Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...

) also have the Central Pennsylvania accent. As one moves further west towards Pittsburgh, the accent begins to blend into the closely related Western Pennsylvania Pittsburgh English

Pittsburgh English

accent.

There are some notable geographic exceptions. State College

State College, Pennsylvania

State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...

in Centre County, home to the main campus of the Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

, has students and faculty from all over the world. Most people living in State College do not have a strong Central Pennsylvania accent, while just ten miles away in the county-seat of Bellefonte

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, the accent is commonly heard. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, the state capital, is home to many non-native Pennsylvanians who do not have this accent. Other exceptions are the small towns of Belleville

Belleville, Pennsylvania

Belleville is a census-designated place in the Kishacoquillas Valley of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2000 census.-General information:*ZIP Code: 17004*Area Code: 717*Local Phone Exchange: 935...

and Allensville in Mifflin County. These towns, located in close proximity to one another, have long been home to large Amish

Amish

The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...

and Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

communities. The dialect in these two towns is much more influenced by Pennsylvania German

Pennsylvania German language

The Pennsylvania German language is a variety of West Central German possibly spoken by more than 250,000 people in North America...

than by the Central Pennsylvania accent. Thus, people in Belleville and Allensville sound more like people in rural Lancaster

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

and Lebanon

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

As of the census of 2000, there were 120,327 people and 32,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 332 people per square mile . There were 49,320 housing units at an average density of 136 per square mile...

Counties than their neighbors in Mifflin County.

Features

The Central Pennsylvania dialect typically has the following features:

The word "pictures" pɪkˈtʃərz is commonly pronounced "pitchers" [pɪˈtʃərz].
The infinitive form to be is not used in certain contexts. For example, one would not say "The car needs to be washed.", but rather, "The car needs washed."
Use of the term you'ns [ˈjuː.ənz] for the second-person plural. For example "You'ns need to redd up yur room before Gram and Pap come over." The Central Pennsylvania you'uns is different from the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

yinz or yunz and very much different from the Philadelphia area yous.

An important phrase for the visitor to know is "Where you'ns at?" which means "Where are you [plural] located?" The singular forms: "Whurzee'at?" (see below for the dropped h), "Wherez she'at?" and "Whurzit'at?".
The terms gram, pap, and mum are often used in place of grandma, grandpa, and mom, respectively. Other familial terms are the same as they are in Standard English
Standard English
Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...

, though the word cousin may be pronounced cousint [ˈkʌzɨnt].
Use of the term one, where German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

phrases use the word eins, einen or eine. For example "Ich schlage dir gleich einen.", is literally translated as "I'm about to slap you one." The literal translation has become common, even though most Central Pennsylvanian speakers no longer speak German, or have learned it in school rather than home. The phrase is usually rendered as, "I'm about to slap you one upside the head."
Use of the term redd or redd up to mean "to tidy". For example, "You've got to redd up before you can go outside." This is from the old Norse by way of Middle English and probably arrived with the Scots-Irish. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000)
Use of the word goonie. A goonie is a largish rock but still small enough to be thrown. If a rock is too big to be thrown, it is not a goonie. Conversely, if it is smaller than a human fist, it is also not a goonie.
Use of the word about to mean very. For example "You're about dumb." means "You're very stupid." Sometimes the word half is added for extra emphasis. Therefore, "You're are about half dumb." means "You're extremely stupid." The term about is not a true substitution for very but rather it is understood to be an intended understatement on the part of the speaker. The about-half dumb construction has evolved into the otherwise incomprehensible Central Pennsylvania insult "You're about half!".
Use of the word think as a syntactic marker for questions (Short for Do you think...? or similar). For example, One could say "Think she ain't about half?" To which the listener would reply "Think not." Think not is frequently used to convey agreement even if the first sentence did not begin with think. The phrase how 'bout it is also used to express agreement.
Use of the phrase that'd be odd in response to something that happens frequently, and which is annoying to the speaker. For example, imagine the following conversation between two high school cleaning ladies:

Mrs. Aumiller: Them kids was openin' up library books and spittin' chew in them again!

Mrs. Hassinger: That'd be odd!

Mrs. Aumiller: Think not!
Use of the term hogged up to mean very drunk. Imagine the following conversation on a Friday afternoon at a Central Pennsylvania factory:

Mrs. Kuhns: Me and Jack's gettin' in a fight tonight!

Mrs. Fultz: Is Jack your husband?

Mrs. Kuhns: No, Jack Daniels. I'll be all hogged up.
Use of the interjections so I do, so it is, so he does, etc. following declaratory sentences. For example, "The car needs washed, so it does." Some speculate that this construction has its origins in literal translations from Celtic languages such as Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

and Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

, but as of yet, there is no definitive proof.
Use of the word "ignurnt" [ˈɪɡnərnt] to mean "rude", as in "You'ns are about ignurnt!" to mean "You guys are quite rude." Presumably, "ignurnt" was derived from "ignorant", as one who is ignorant of manners may be perceived as rude.
The plural forms of game animals do not add an "s" or have any other plural marker; the singular and plural are identical, with the plural form being ascertained through verb declension or context. For example, one would say "I seen three turkey in them woods." Non-game animals have the same plurals as they do in Standard English. For example, one would never say "I seen three cow." or "I seen three horse in the Amishman's field."
Many speakers of the Central Pennsylvanian dialect use different past-tense verbs that vary from Standard English. This appears mostly as a socialectal feature. Note that not all of these terms may be used by a single speaker. Some of these tenses are common in other dialects, such as African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...

and Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...

. Some examples of these variations:
- saw – seen
- grew – growed
- knew – knowed
- came – come
- gave – give
- we, you, they were – we, you, they was
Past participles are also different from Standard English; for example, "I should'duh went with'im." (generally spelled as 'shoulda') would be more common than, "I should have gone with him."
The caught–cot merger is firmly in place. Caught and cot, and Dawn and Don are homophones.
Him, her, them and me replace the Standard English he, she, they and I as the subjects of a sentence, but only in sentences with a compound subject. For example, one would say "Him and Mike went to the store." instead of "He and Mike went to the store." However, one would never hear "Him went to the store." Likewise, one hears "Mike and them are coming to the party," but one would seldom hear "Them are coming to the party." In Western Pennsylvania, them can be the subject of a sentence, even as a single subject. For example, one could say "Them's good eats." However, them is seldom used as a single subject in the Central Pennsylvania dialect.
With some speakers, the ile sound is pronounced owl [aʊːl]. Thus, the following words may be homonyms: aisle and owl, file and foul; while and wow; mile and Mao; pile and pow; and Kyle and cow. Similarly, a double L is often pronounced as a double W; hence: "Biww, those piwws cost a couple dowwars!" [Bill, those pills cost a couple dollars!]
With some speakers, the i between two consonants is pronounced like an e, as in Scottish. Thus like is pronounced lɛk. The following words may be homonyms:
- did and dead
- hid and head
- rid and read
- bid and bed
Pool and pole can be homonyms so that pole barn may be pronounced pool barn, which is confusing in a real estate transaction.
In some words such as garbage, the second a is replaced by long e sound or ee, making the word garbeege [ˈɡarbiːdʒ]. Also, the word him is pronounced eem (the h becomes silent). Thus /ə/ or /ɪ/ may be realized as [iː]. For example, at a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

game Gedeem! [iːm] (The [h] is deleted) means Get him! Other examples:
- Porridge – [ˈporiːdʒ]
- Message – [ˈmɛsiːdʒ]
Verb placement is sometimes derived from German, rather than following Standard English verb order. For example, "I saw him walking in town.", in German is "Ich sah ihn in der Stadt gehen." In the Central Pennsylvanian dialect, the sentence would be "I seen him in town walking."
The word creek is pronounced crick [ˈkrɪk].
The word wash is pronounced warsh [ˈwarʃ] or [ˈwɜrʃ].
Intervening and trailing phonemes are frequently dropped or swallowed, as in some British dialects. For example, Up there may be pronounced uppair [ʌpɛər], going may be pronounced go-ehn [ˈɡoʊ.ɪn] and might as well may be pronounced mise-well. This is especially prominent in the phrase Jeet yet? meaning Did you eat yet?.
Use of the term yonder to refer to or describe an ill-defined place.
Use of the term let in place of leave in other dialects. For example, one in Central Pennsylvania would say, "Should I just let it on the table?"
Leave may also be used in place of let or allow. For example, someone may ask, "You going to leave us go play?"
Thus, a Central Pennsylvanian might describe his weekend activity thus, "I seen 'im goin' uppair yonder Scotia range huntin' turkey. He come back all dirty, an' had ta warsh his pants in the crick before his old lady letted him back in the house."
Bathe is replaced with the term bath as in some British dialects.
The word color is often pronounced keller [ˈkʌlər].
The word eagle is commonly pronounced iggle [ˈɪɡəl].
The phrase in standard English, "What are you doing?" would be "Whatchya doin?", if said fast "Chya doin?" [ˈwʌtʃə], [ˈwʌtʃjə], or [tʃjə].
Nothing may be pronounced nuttin [ˈnʌʔn] or nuthen [ˈnʌθɨn].
The world yammerin is used to mean, "To talk one's ear off." "What are you'ns yammerin about?" or "She'd been yammerin on the phone for 2 hour now!" (Note the singular "hour".)
People of Central Pennsylvania often don't pronounce the "g" on verbs ending in "ing". For example, "Eating" would be pronounced "eaten". "Hunting" would be pronounced "hunten". Also, words in ending in "ting" are often replaced with "den". This holds true for words having similar endings to "ting" such as "tain". For example, "mountain" would be pronounced as "mounden" and "setting" would be pronounced as "sedden".
When referring to consumable products, the word all is used to mean all gone. For example, the phrase "the butter's all" would be understood as "the butter is all gone." This likely derives from German, where one might say "Die Butter ist alle" in this case.
Iron is pronounced arn [ˈɑrn].
Elision
Elision
Elision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce...

often occurs with words that are followed by have, often only occurring as /ə/ at the end of the preceding word. "Coulda," "woulda," "shoulda," "musta," are good "examplesa" this. Could have would be pronounced [ˈkʊɾə] (with the intervocalic alveolar flapping
Intervocalic alveolar flapping
Intervocalic alveolar flapping is a phonological process found in many dialects of English, especially North American English and Australian English, by which either or both prevocalic and surface as the alveolar tap after sonorants other than , , and .*after vowel: butter*after r:...

rule applied), and "want to" is pronounced [wʌɾ̃ə].
Ain't is often used in place of haven't', hasn't, isn't, aren't, and am not. Examples: "She ain't seen Joe since Mondee." "Ain't you'ns been to the store yet?" "This ain't good." "We ain't crazy!" "I ain't kiddin'!"
Words ending in -ower are pronounced -ar. Shower is pronounced as shar, power as par, etc. This also applies to the word hour .
/h/ is realizd as [j], word-initially, in some words. This means that h is dropped in words that start with hu like huge, humongous. etc. -- leaving the word sounding like yuge or yumongous.
Pumpkin is pronounced punkin [ˈpʌŋkɨn].
What? is often used to answer a question initiating conversation, followed by a brief pause and an answer to the question. For example, Man 1: "Did you get your hair cut yesterday?" Man 2: "What? (pause) Yeah, I did."
"A while" is often used to refer to the present time. Ex. "Do you want money a while?" Translation. "Do you want money now?"
"Color" is pronounced the same as "collar".
"Then" is used at the end of sentences. For example: "Will that be all for you, then?"

Diglossia and code switching

Many of these speech characteristics are more characteristic of older people or people who grew up without television to provide other models of speech. One would expect grand parent to talk with a strong central Pennsylvania accent but the grandchild would probably have less of an accent. The Central Pennsylvania dialect is different enough from Standard English that diglossia

Diglossia

In linguistics, diglossia refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety , a second, highly codified variety is used in certain situations such as literature, formal...

and code-switching

Code-switching

In linguistics, code-switching is the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation. Multilinguals—people who speak more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversing with each other...

are possible. Many educated Central Pennsylvanians can switch back and forth between the accent and Standard English, while the less educated are more apt to speak only in dialect or with a thick Central Pennsylvania accent. Most people do not develop the ability to switch back and forth between the Central Pennsylvania dialect and Standard English until they leave the area to attend college, join the military, or seek employment outside of Central Pennsylvania. Often, the code switching is subconscious. For example, one who has spent years living away from Central Pennsylvania and normally speaks Standard English may revert to the dialect when around other people who are speaking it.

External links

Linguistic Geography of Pennsylvania

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origin

Geographic distribution

Features

Diglossia and code switching

See also

External links