Monthly Archives: June 2011

Did Yiddish Shape the New York Accent?

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Ben

One of the first dialect anecdotes I heard was from the director of my high school production of Guy’s and Dolls. “The Brooklyn accent is dying out,” she said. “There isn’t as much of a Jewish presence there anymore.” This … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Multicultural London English is not “Jafaican”

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Ben

The Telegraph’s Ed West recently published an editorial titled Jafaican may be cool but it sounds ridiculous, that I find appalling.  I respect West for having politics different from my own, but that’s no excuse for slandering a legitimate dialect … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Accent Humor: Pittsburghese

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Ben

Accent humor is often mean-spirited and stereotypical. But  I can’t resist sharing this loving parody of the Pittsburghese (created by comedians who grew up in the area): The actors are exaggerating this accent a bit, but the salient features of … Continue reading →

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Posted in American English | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

Estuary English in the 21st Century

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Ben

I’ve used the term  Estuary English quite a bit on this site.  For the dialect novices out there, I’d like to explain what this phrase means, and my personal take on it. Estuary English is a hard concept to define.  Sometimes … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Is the Welsh Accent “Foreign?”

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Ben

The Welsh accent is a mystery on American shores.  Numerous Welsh celebrities have made the US their home: your Hopkinses, Burtonses, Zeta-Joneses, and just plain Joneses.  Yet Americans have few of the preconceptions about Welsh English that we do for … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 25 Comments