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Tag Archives: General American English (GenAm)
When ‘Price’ and ‘Prize’ Don’t Rhyme
In recent years, I’ve noticed a growing phenomenon among American English speakers. People with otherwise “standard” accents exhibit a “non-standard” pronunciation of words like price, right, and kite. To use right as an example, this results in pronunciations which sound … Continue reading
Just What is General American English?
I’ve spent the last week on vacation with my girlfriend’s extended family. Most of them are from various parts of Pennsylvania, a state noted for its relative diversity of accents. Indeed, this was my experience throughout the week: I heard … Continue reading
The Cloth Set
I remember the first time I learned about the cloth set. It was a boiling summer day in an un-air-conditioned New York workplace. Feeling the heat, I exclaimed to a co-worker, “Man, this is a hot office!” At that moment, … Continue reading
Belated Thoughts on Obama’s Accent
This post is four years late. I admit it. The president’s accent has already been scrutinized ad nauseum, and there have been political controversies about this very topic. But after watching a speech by Obama this morning, and finding his … Continue reading
The Rise of Creaky Voice
Sometimes when I’m writing a post, I stumble upon something intriguing enough that it makes me change topic mid-stream. Today is one of those days. I was going to look at the differences between General American accents among younger vs. … Continue reading
Can You be Bi-Accented?
Continuing yesterday’s discussion of the accents of transplants, I’m mulling over a related question: can someone be bi-accented? Just as there are bilinguals, are there some people who are native speakers of multiple accents? I should clarify. I’m not talking about … Continue reading
“Um” in Different Accents
All dialects of English have “filler” words. Just to name a few: er, ah, um, eh, or the increasingly common like* and you know. We humans are a hesitant bunch, and these words offer brief moments of reflection. What’s interesting … Continue reading
Mom, Mum, Mam: Different words?
I’m reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women right now. Throughout the book, the March sisters refer to their mother as “marmee.” This looks like an odd term of endearment until you remember that Alcott grew up (and set her book … Continue reading
“Dude:” Thoughts on an American Word
I am skeptical about claims that American English is “colonizing” the other Englishes. But I will concede one point: the word dude is entirely our doing. Dude, in America, is a word that lies somewhere between British mate and bloke. … Continue reading
“New Joysey” and “Oirish:” 6 Accent Myths
As per yesterday’s post about the mythological Canadian aboot, I’ve thought of some other myths people harbor about accents and dialects of English. Here are a few common misconceptions: 1.) Myth: People in Shakespeare’s day talked more like Americans than … Continue reading