Tag Archives: Pittsburghese

Accent Prejudice Isn’t “Prejudice Lite”

I’m hesitant to respond to Gawker‘s “Ugliest Accent” tournament. For those who haven’t read it, the piece is a “March-Madness-style” competition to determine America’s “ugliest” regional English. (Pittsburg was crowned the winner last week.) I’m clearly no fan, but Josef Fruehwald offers great critiques … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged | 32 Comments

Bowling or Boeing?

I’ve spent the past few days in Pennsylvania. Accents in the Southern half (or so) of the state tend to feature l-vocalization, the process by which /l/ at the end of a word or syllable becomes a vowel (usually some … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged | 14 Comments

Accent Humor: Pittsburghese

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