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Author Archives: Ben
The Rise of ‘Be Like’
We dialect nuts scrutinize features of individual dialects, while perhaps ignoring features emerging in many dialects simultaneously. One of these is the meteoric rise of the phrase ‘be like‘ in many types of English. You may not recognize what these … Continue reading
American Ash
It’s time for us to talk about ash. ‘Ash’ refers not to the product of burnt charcoal, but rather the ‘short-a’ vowel symbolized by æ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. In both the British Received Pronunciation and General American dialects of English, this … Continue reading
‘Son’ in African American English
I don’t have time for a lengthy post today, so I’d like to briefly mention a dialect curiosity that has befuddled me for over a decade: the use of the word ‘son’ in African American Vernacular English. The word is … Continue reading
An Amish dialect?
I spent last week in southeastern Pennsylvania, near the heartland of the Amish, an isolated religious group which shuns modern dress and lifestyle. This resulted in the strange experience of spotting teenage girls in a local mall clad in clothing … Continue reading
A Lexical Beef: ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘Girlfriend’
I have been away from this blog for several days, due to a single reason (no pun intended): I got married yesterday. Since my single life has come to an end, I’d like to take a brief pause from discussing … Continue reading
Marry, Merry, Mary
[Ed. Note: In an earlier version of this article, I suggested I pronounce ‘marry,’ ‘merry’ and ‘Mary’ differently. The opposite is true. I pronounce them alike.] Do you pronounce ‘marry,’ ‘merry,’ and ‘Mary’ the same? I do, which makes me a … Continue reading
Accents at the Renaissance Faire
Yesterday I went to the Renaissance Faire. For those unfamiliar with this tradition, the Ren Faire is a type of festival set in a milieu vaguely indicative of the Renaissance, with jousts, fortune tellers, mead, period music, and Elizabethan costumes. … Continue reading
Why Geordie is Hard to Understand
Of the many wonderful sections of the British Library site, one of my favorites is this fabulous dissection of the Geordie dialect of English (i.e. the dialect spoken in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne). It presents, in immaculate detail, all of the salient phonological … Continue reading
American Dialects: A Red State/Blue State Divide?
In a brief piece in Time this week, famed linguist William Labov suggested that American dialects are getting more distinct rather than less. The article is extremely short, but I was nevertheless intrigued by Labov’s comment on the connection between accents and … Continue reading
Anna Karenina … in a British Accent?
This week, British actress Keira Knightley revealed that the upcoming film adaptation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina will feature British accents instead of Russian. Quoth Knightley: “It’s going to be an English accent. It’s always very tricky when you are doing something that is … Continue reading