Boston accent: Difference between revisions

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A '''Boston accent''' is a [[regional accent|local accent]] of [[Eastern New England English]], native specifically to the city of [[Boston]] and its suburbs. '''Northeastern New England English''' is classified as traditionally including [[New Hampshire]], [[Maine]], and all of [[Greater Boston|eastern Massachusetts]], thoughwhile some uniquely local vocabulary appears only around Boston.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Schneider | first = Edgar |author2=Bernd Kortmann | title = A Handbook of Varieties of English: A Multi-Media Reference Tool | publisher = Mouton de Gruyter | year = 2005 | page = 270 | isbn = 978-3-11-017532-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Millward | first = C.M. | title = A Biography of the English Language | publisher = Wadsworth Publishing | year = 1996 | page = 353 | isbn = 978-0-15-501645-3}}</ref> A [[Atlas of North American English|2006 study]] co-authored by [[William Labov]] claims that the accent remains relatively stable,<ref name="Labov 2010">Labov, William (2010). ''[http://www.cogsci.msu.edu/DSS/2011-2012/Labov/POLC%20Chapters%201-3.pdf The Politics of Language Change: Dialect Divergence in America]''. The University of Virginia Press. Pre-publication draft. p. 53.</ref> though a 2018 study suggests the accent's traditional features may be retreating, particularly among the city's younger residents, and becoming increasingly confined to the historically [[Irish-American]] neighborhood of [[South Boston]].<ref>Browne, Charlene; Stanford, James (2018). "[https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2019&context=pwpl Boston Dialect Features in the Black/African American Community]." University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 24 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. p. 19.</ref>

Boston accents typically have the [[cot-caught merger]] but not the [[Father bother merger|father-bother merger]]. This means that instead of merging the historical "short ''o''" sound (as in [[lexical set|{{Sc2|LOT}}]]) with the "broad ''a''" (as in {{sc2|PALM}}) like most other [[American English|American accents]], the Boston accent merges it with the "aw" vowel (as in {{sc2|THOUGHT}}). Thus, ''lot'', ''paw'', ''caught'', ''cot'', ''law'', ''wand'', ''rock'', ''talk'', ''doll'', ''wall'', etc. all are pronounced with the same open back (often) rounded vowel {{IPAblink|ɒ|audio=yes}}, while keeping the broad ''a'' sound distinct: {{IPAblink|a|audio=yes}}, as in ''father'', ''spa'', and ''dark''. So, even though the word ''dark'' has no {{IPA|/r/}} in many Boston accents, it remains pronounced differently from ''dock'' because it belongs to Boston's {{sc2|START}}–{{sc2|PALM}} [[lexical set|class of words]] versus the {{sc2|LOT}}–{{sc2|THOUGHT}} one: ''dark'' {{IPA|/dak/}} versus ''dock'' {{IPA|/dɒk/}}.<ref>Labov et al. 2006 The Atlas of North American English Berlin: DeGruyter</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2018}} Thus, while [[New York accent]]s have {{IPA|/ɔ/}} for ''paw'' and {{IPA|/ɑ/}} for ''lot'', and [[Received Pronunciation|Standard British accentsaccent]]s have a similar distinction ({{IPA|/ɔɔː/}} versus {{IPA|/ɒ/}}), Boston accents only have one merged [[phoneme]] here for both: {{IPA|/ɒ/}}.

In general, Eastern New England accents have a "short ''a''" vowel {{IPA|/æ/}}, as in {{sc2|TRAP}}, that is extremely tensed towards {{IPA|[eə]}} when it precedes a [[nasal stop|nasal consonant]]; thus, ''man'' is {{IPA|[meən]}} and ''planet'' is {{IPA|[ˈpʰleənɪʔ]}}. Boston shares this system with some of the American Midwest and most of the West, though the raising in Boston tends to be more extreme. This type of modern [[General American]] [[Æ-tensing|{{IPA|/æ/|cat=no}}-raising system]] is simpler than the systems of British or New York City accents. However, elements of a more complex pattern exist for some Boston speakers; in addition to raising before nasals, Bostonians (unlike nearby New Hampshirites, for example) may also "raise" or "break" the "short ''a''" sound before other types of consonants too: primarily the most strongly before [[voiceless fricative]]s, followed by [[voiced stop]]s, laterals, voiceless stops, and voiced fricatives, so that words like ''half'', ''bath'', and ''glass'' become {{IPA|[hɛəf]}}, {{IPA|[bɛəθ]}} and {{IPA|[ɡlɛəs]}}, respectively.<ref>Wood, Jim. (2010). "[https://jimwood8.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/wood-2011-short-a-in-northern-new-england.pdf Short-a in Northern New England]". ''Journal of English Linguistics'' 20:1–31. pp. 146, 149.</ref> This trend began around the early-mid to mid-twentieth century, replacing the older Boston accent's London-like "broad ''a''" system, in which those same words are transferred over to the {{sc2|PALM}} class {{IPA|/a/}} ({{see "below|{{section link||Declining features"}}, below)}}.<ref name="Wood, 2010, p. 139">Wood, 2010, p. 139.</ref> The raised {{IPA|[ɛə]}} may overlap with the non-rhotic realization of {{sc2|SQUARE}} as {{IPA|[ɛə]}}.

Boston accents make a greater variety of distinctions between [[English-language vowel changes before historic r|short and long vowels before medial {{IPA|/r/|cat=no}}]] than many other modern American accents do: ''hurry'' {{IPA|/ˈhʌri/}} and ''furry'' {{IPA|/ˈfəri/}}; and ''mirror'' {{IPA|/ˈmɪrə/}} and ''nearer'' {{IPA|/ˈnɪərə/}}, though some of these distinctions are somewhat endangered as people under 40{{clarification|reason=A year here would be more stable than an age category, which is always changing|date=April 2021}} in neighboring New Hampshire and Maine have lost them. In this case, Boston shares these distinctions with both New York and British accents, whereas other American accents, like in the Midwest, have has lost them entirely.

As in other New England Englishes, theThe [[weak vowel merger]] is traditionally absent. This makes ''Lenin'' {{IPA|/ˈlɛnɪn/}} distinct from ''Lennon'' {{IPA|/ˈlɛnən/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=520}}

The traditional Boston accent is widely known for being [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]] (or "''r''-dropping"), particularly before the mid-20th century. Recent studies have shown that younger speakers use more of a rhotic (or ''r''-ful) accent than older speakers.<ref name="Irwin Nagy 2007">{{Cite journal|url = http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=pwpl|title = Bostonians /r/ Speaking: A Quantitative Look at (R) in Boston|last1 = Irwin|first1 = Patricia|year = 2007|journal = University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics|last2 = Nagy|first2 = Naomi | volume = 13| issue = 2}}</ref> This goes for black Bostonians as well. <ref>Browne, Charlene; Stanford, James (2018). "[https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2019&context=pwpl Boston Dialect Features in the Black/African American Community]." University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 24 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. p. 19.</ref> Non-rhoticity means that the [[phoneme]] {{IPA|/r/}} does not appear in [[syllable coda|coda position]] {{crossref|(for where in English [[phonotactics]] it must{{IPA|/r/}} precedeprecedes other consonants, see [[English phonology#Coda|English phonology - coda§&nbsp;Coda]])}}, as in most dialects of [[English language in England|English in England]] and [[Australian English|Australia]]; ''card'' therefore becomes {{IPA|/kad/}} "cahd" and ''color'' {{IPA|/ˈkʌlə/}} "culluh". Words such as ''weird'' {{IPA|/wɪəd/}} and ''square'' {{IPA|/skwɛə/}} feature centering diphthongs, which correspond to the sequences of close and mid vowels + {{IPA|/r/}} in rhotic AmE. The phonemicity of the centering diphthongs {{IPA|/ɪə, ʊə, ɛə, oə/}} depends on a speaker's rhoticity. Also, the stressed sequence {{IPA|/ɜr/}} inside a closed syllable, as in {{sc2|NURSE}}, is most likely to take on a rhotic {{IPA|[ɝ]}} pronunciation among Bostonians.<ref name="Irwin Nagy 2007"/><ref>{{cite thesis|last1=Fish|first1=Jody|date=Spring 2018|title=Gende(r) in the Boston Accent: A linguistic analysis of Boston (r) from a gender perspective|url=http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1483072&dswid=-1441|degree=BA|pages=4, 8|publisher=Malmö University, Faculty of Culture and Society|id={{URN|nbn|se:mau:diva-23112}}|access-date=May 15, 2023}}</ref>

AnA famous example of non-rhoticity (plus a fronted {{sc|START}} vowel) is "Park your car in [[Harvard Yard]]", pronounced {{IPA|[pʰak jə ˈkʰaɹ‿ɪn ˌhavəd ˈjad]}}, or as if spelled "pahk yah cah(r) in Hahvud Yahd".<ref>{{cite book|last=Vorhees|first=Mara|title=Boston. Con Pianta. Ediz. Inglese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0sQ5UzkiQUC&pg=PA52|year=2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74179-178-5|page=52}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/08/25/blame-harvard-for-this-annoying-boston-accent-test/rvyip8zcAnwNmj1qpHtZqM/story.html|title=Blame Harvard for this annoying Boston accent test|author=Randall, Eric|date=August 25, 2015|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> The ''r'' in ''car'' would usually be pronounced in this case, because the Boston accent possesses both [[linking R|linking R and intrusive R]]: an {{IPA|/r/}} will not be lost at the end of a word if the next word begins with a vowel, and an {{IPA|/r/}} will be inserted after a word ending with a central or low vowel if the next word begins with a vowel: ''the tuner is'' and ''the tuna is'' are both {{IPA|/ðə ˈtunər‿ɪz/}}. This example has been used since at least 1946, to the point where some locals find requests to say the phrase annoying.<ref name="Wickedpedia">{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/wickedpedia/2024/01/02/could-you-ever-actually-park-your-car-in-harvard-yard/ |title=Wickedpedia: Could you ever actually 'pahk yah cah in Hahvahd Yahd'? |author=Abby Patkin |date=January 2, 2024 |publisher=[[Boston.com]]}}</ref> Actual parking in Harvard Yard is prohibited, except by permission in rare cases for loading and unloading, contractors, or people needing accessible transport directly to [[Harvard Memorial Church]].<ref name="Wickedpedia" />

A feature that Boston speakers once shared with Britain's [[Received Pronunciation]], though now uncommon in Boston, is the [[Broad A|"broad ''a''"]] of the {{Sc|BATH}} [[lexical set]] of words, making a distinction from the {{sc|TRAP}} set ({{crossref|see [[Trap–bath split]]}}). In particular words that in other American accents have the "short ''a''" pronounced as {{IPA|/æ/}}, that vowel was replaced in the nineteenth century (if not earlier and often sporadically by speakers as far back as the late eighteenth century)<ref>Wood, 2010, p. 138.</ref> with {{IPA|/a/}}: thus, ''half'' as {{IPA|/haf/}} and ''bath'' as {{IPA|/baθ/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=523}} Fewer words have the broad ''a'' in Boston English than in the London accents, and fewer and fewer Boston speakers maintain the broad ''a'' system as time goes on, with its transition into a decline first occurring in speakers born from about 1930 to 1950 (and first documented as a decline in 1977).<ref name="Wood, 2010, p. 139"/> Boston speakers born before about 1930 used this broad ''a'' in the words ''after'', ''ask'', ''aunt'', ''bath'', ''calf'', ''can't'', ''glass'', ''half'', ''laugh'', ''pasture'', ''path'', and perhaps other words, andwhile those born from about 1930 to 1950 normally use it only in ''aunt'', ''calf'', ''half'', ''laugh'', and ''pass''. Speakers born since 1950 typically have no broad ''a'' whatsoever and, instead, slight [[æ-tensing|/æ/ raising]] (i.e. {{IPA|[ɛə]}}), for example, in ''craft'', ''bad'', ''math'', etc.){{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=523}} with this same set of words and, variably, other instances of short ''a'' too.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=523}} Only ''aunt'' maintains the broad ''a'' sound in even the youngest speakers, though this one word is a common exception throughout all of the Northeastern U.S. Broad ''a'' in ''aunt'' is also heard by occasional speakers throughout Anglophone North America; it is quite commonly heard in African American speech as well.

Being conspicuous and easily identifiable as regional, Boston accents are routinely featured by actors in films set in Boston, particularly for working-class white characters, such as in ''[[Good Will Hunting]]'', ''[[Mystic River (film)|Mystic River]]'', ''[[The Departed]]'', ''[[Manchester by the Sea (film)|Manchester by the Sea]]'', ''[[The Town (2010 film)|The Town]]'', ''[[Ted (film)|Ted]]'', ''[[The Fighter]]'', and ''[[Black Mass (film)|Black Mass]]''.<ref name="Gottlieb">Gottlieb, Jeremy (February 3, 2017). ''[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/02/03/hollywood-has-a-boston-problem/?noredirect=on Hollywood has a Boston problem]". ''The Washington Post''.</ref><ref>Mostue, Anne. "[https://www.npr.org/2014/08/27/343419500/setting-your-movie-in-boston-bettah-get-the-accent-right Setting Your Movie in Boston? Bettah Get the Accent Right]". ''[[NPR]]''. August 27, 2014.</ref> Television series based within a Boston setting such as ''[[Boston Public]]'' and ''[[Cheers]]'' have featured the accent. ''[[The Simpsons|Simpsons]]'' character [[Joe Quimby|Mayor Quimby]] talks with an exaggerated Boston accent as a reference to the former US Senator [[Ted Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite news | first = John Robbie | last = Brown | title = Kennedy backs city's 'Simpsons Movie' campaign | date = 2 July 2007 | publisher = NY Times Co. | work = Boston.com }}</ref> Television [[comedy sketch]]es have featured the accent, including "[[The Boston Teens]]" and "Dunkin Donuts" on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', as well as "Boston Accent Trailer" on ''[[Late Night with Seth Meyers]]''.<ref name="Gottlieb"/>

In ''[[The Heat (film)|The Heat]]'', the family members of Shannon Mullins all speak with the Boston accent, and confusion arises from the pronunciation of the word ''narc'' as ''nahk'' {{IPA|/nak/}}. In the video game ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', the character Scout, who is himself a Boston native, talks with a distinct Boston accent, although it sometimes lapses into a Brooklyn accent.

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* [[Bill Burr]] &mdash;– "the comic's wicked Boston accent"<ref>Miller, Gregory E. (11-1-2018) "[https://nypost.com/2018/11/01/bill-burr-vows-to-never-become-an-old-cornball/ Bill Burr vows to never become an ‘old'old cornball’cornball']". ''New York Post''. NYP Holdings, Inc.</ref>

* [[Chick Corea]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=15351|title=Chick Corea|author= Cumbie, Ty|magazine=[[All About Jazz]]|date=2004-10-30|access-date=2009-03-17}}</ref> – "his speech still carries more than a trace of a Boston accent"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/02/29/a_banjo_a_piano_and_two_willing_masters/|title=A banjo, a piano, and two willing masters|newspaper=The Boston Globe|author=Mitter, Siddhartha|date=2008-02-29|access-date=2009-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924003912/http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/02/29/a_banjo_a_piano_and_two_willing_masters/|archive-date=2015-09-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [[Don Kent (meteorologist)|Don Kent]] -– "With his inimitable Boston accent" <ref>Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, 'Don Kent,' ca. 2010 https://www.massbroadcastershof.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-2007/don-kent/</ref>

* [[Mel King]] – "he has the soft R's of a deep Boston accent"<ref>{{cite news|title=Mel's Vision|last=Concannon|first=Jim|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=May 12, 2009|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/12/mels_vision/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923220029/https://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/12/mels_vision/|archive-date=2015-09-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [[Tom Magliozzi|Tom]] and [[Ray Magliozzi]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/070608/marquee_20080706005.shtml|title=Radio's 'Car Talk' guys reluctantly tackle TV|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=2008-07-01|author=Littlefield, Kinney|access-date=2009-02-26}}</ref> – "like drunk raccoons with Boston accents"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301694.html|title=Oh, Brother: 'Car Talk' Guy Puts Mouth in Gear|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=2005-05-04|author=Leibovich, Mark|access-date=2009-02-26}}</ref>

* [[Joey McIntyre]] – "his authentic Boston accent"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-mccarthys-joey-mcintyre-on-the-show-and-new-kids-on-the-block/|title=Joey McIntyre on appeal of "The McCarthys," future of NKOTB|work=[[CBS]] News|author=Moraski, Lauren|date=2014-10-30}}</ref>

* [[Thomas Menino]] – "strong traces of the Boston dialect"<ref name="Baker, Billy">{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/17/boston-accent-strong-mayor-elect-walsh/AFouySIXDXFVE58IMsJGwI/story.html|title=In Walsh, students of Bostonese have found their avatah|newspaper=The Boston Globe|author=Baker, Billy|date=2013-11-17|access-date=2015-06-15}}</ref>

* [[Christy Mihos]] – "speaks unpretentiously in a variation of a Boston accent, and drops the 'g' in words like talking or running."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/19/the_nonpolitician_who_would_be_governor/|title=The nonpolitician who would be governor|newspaper=The Boston Globe|author=Mooney, Brian C.|date=2006-02-19|access-date=2009-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924144830/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/19/the_nonpolitician_who_would_be_governor/|archive-date=2015-09-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [[Alex Rocco]] – "grew up in blue-collar Cambridge"<ref name="Allis, Sam">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2004/01/25/its_tough_to_talk_like_a_true_bostonian/|title=It's tough to talk like a true Bostonian|newspaper=The Boston Globe|author=Allis, Sam|date=2004-01-25|access-date=2009-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230152/http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2004/01/25/its_tough_to_talk_like_a_true_bostonian/|archive-date=2015-09-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [[Tom Silva]] – "New England accent"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.sacmag.com/Sacramento-Magazine/February-2007/Mr-Fix-It/|title=Mr. Fix-It|magazine=[[Sacramento Magazine]]|author=Bizjak, Marybeth|date=February 2007|access-date=2009-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319174607/http://www.sacmag.com/Sacramento-Magazine/February-2007/Mr-Fix-It/|archive-date=2016-03-19|url-status=live}}</ref>

* [[Marty Walsh]] – "he demonstrates what many believe to be the strongest Boston dialect in the city’scity's mayoral history."<ref name="Baker, Billy"/>

|chapter-url=httphttps://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/amphonology/article/viewFileview/3653/3370

* [http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaabrowse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=79 37-year-old female]

* [http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaabrowse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=142139 7318-year-old malefemale]