Is The Baltimore Accent Southern or Northern To You? (2013, credit)

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by SirGreenDown

THANK YOU. That's always the weak argument on here with certain Baltimore posters. I'm shocked no one has said "Well Baltimore has row homes like cities in the north..so their accents are the same too!"

I've said it several times, you'd never mistake someone from Baltimore as someone from Philly or NY. Though to the untrained ear some may confuse the Philly and NY accent, though they are not identical either. Philly and NYC have large influence from Italians, it carries over to their accents. Balmer Murrrrlin has a very distinct accent, unique to Maryland I suppose? Those "Tew" (Two/Too) "Dew" (Do) "Blew" (Blue) etc..as soon as I hear it, I know that's Baltimore/Maryland/Somewhere down there. Again, I don't think its 'dirty south' southern, but its.."twangy"

South Philly Italians sound similar to Italians in the NYC metro. Jewish people in the far northeast sound like Jewish people in some parts of the NY metro. The rest sound more like people from Baltimore than anywhere else. Blew, tew, dew are said in Philly as well. In Baltimore they go to the ocean & in Philly they go don the shoah. Big deal. If someone is referring to the state of Merlin, they are from Bawl'mer or Fluffya. Where else would someone wish you a Murray Christmas?

[Nomad443]

To me, the Baltimore accent sounds like a mixture of a Philly accent combined with some southern Chesapeake/Tidewater influences along with some Appalachian influences. But I don't consider it a "southern" accent per se. It is its own distinct accent. It definitely has some similarities with the Philly accent, but the two are different enough that anyone who is very familiar with them both can easily tell them apart.

What defines a "northern accent" anyway? I think there is a tendency for some to take the New York accent as the "model" or standard for what a northeastern accent is supposed to be. And then, any accent with traits that deviate from the NY accent are then considered "southern" somehow. But there is no one northeastern accent. Each region in the northeast has its own accent. The Boston accent sounds different from the accent in the Connecticut cities; which in turn sound different from the NY accent, which is different from the Philly accent, which in turn is different from the Baltimore accent.

I think that some of you are not familiar with REAL southern accents. I've lived down in the South and spent much time in the Georgia and South Carolina areas. I also spent time in the military with friends from all over the South. Most folks down in the South would consider all of the above accents as completely foreign to them. Many of them can't even tell them apart--including the Baltimore accent. They'll just hear either one of them and ask if you're from "up North" somewhere.

[Nomad443]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

South Philly Italians sound similar to Italians in the NYC metro. Jewish people in the far northeast sound like Jewish people in some parts of the NY metro. The rest sound more like people from Baltimore than anywhere else. Blew, tew, dew are said in Philly as well. In Baltimore they go to the ocean & in Philly they go don the shoah. Big deal. If someone is referring to the state of Merlin, they are from Bawl'mer or Fluffya. Where else would someone wish you a Murray Christmas?

People in Philly do not say blew, tew, dew, etc. Those are pronunciations that are unique to Baltimore. Philly people also do not pronounce Maryland as Merlin (unless the person is originally from Maryland, like my dad). People in Philly typically pronounce Maryland as "Mari-lynn." In fact, one of the easiest ways to tell the difference between the two is by their different pronunciations of words with an "r" syllable in the middle. People in Baltimore do not enunciate the full "r" sound. So in Philly it would be Mur-ry Christmas, in Baltimore it would be something like MAAr Christmas (I can't really spell how it sounds).

Baltimore also has different words for things that I always associated with the South. Baltimorians call athletic footwear "tennises" or "tennis shoes," the same as down South. In Philly, we say sneakers or sneaks. When I was teaching in Baltimore, some of the kids would refer to that mark teenagers get from sucking on each other's neck as a "passion mark"--the same as my relatives down South. In Philly, we always referred to it as a "hickey." There are others, those are the two that just came to my mind.

[EddieOlSkool]

Italians are a good example to use. Listen to Nancy Pelosi speak then listen to Joey Vento. They sound NOTHING alike.

Next, listen to Mel Kiper jr. speak and then listen to Jim Cramer.

Really, those wanting the Baltimore accent to be like Philly's are wishful thinkers. The fact that the quintessential Northeast ethnic group known as Italians don't sound Northeastern in Baltimore is very telling. If you think Nancy Pelosi sounds like Joey Vento, you need to get your ears checked.

BALTIMORE DOES NOT USE NORTHERN VOWELS.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

The similarity between Philadelphia & New York City are pretty much confined to a couple of ethnic groups. Glide deletion with long "I" shows up occasionally in Bawl'mer & Fluffya such as in farn-gin. Baltimore has some of the "t" dropping too. Bawl'mer, for instance. Where'd that t go? Conversely, the Irish accent in Philly says Baw-tee-more. Both cities say iggles. People in both cities will tell you that Baltimore is in the great state of Merlin. Most of the vowel sounds in both cities are southern. Each city has a few oddities that are theirs alone. It's the MidAtlantic accent. It's not Northern it's not Southern it's both.

No no no no no no no.

I didn't say "t" dropping was Northeastern. I said GLOTTAL STOPS at the t are Northeastern. It's one thing to drop a t and say "balimer" and another to say "mi-en" or "ki-en". Baltimore exhibits none of that. Philly is called the Northernmost Southern city because of its accent, outside of NYC influences. Don't believe me, ask linguistic expert Bill Labov.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

So, what is Northern? I find it humorous that to those from this region North/South only applies to the States along the Atlantic. To you guys the North is only the Northeast with the exception of upstate/eastern New York--a region many seem to forget exists-- and sometimes New Jersey. Delaware also seems to remain off everyone's list for...either.

Isn't Ohio in the North? What about Wisconsin or Montana?

For the sake of argument, to my West Coast ears, the stereotypical Baltimore accent sounds more akin to the stereotypical "Northern" accent of Pittsburgh, and makes just about as much sense.


As for the typical Maryland/DC accent, to me it sounds more upper-Midwest.

Read the post I made where I explained just how not Northern the dialect is. You know what's Northern? Not Baltimore's vowel pronunciation, o fronting, saying "fire" like "farr", adding diphthongs wherever vowel sounds are.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

So, what is Northern? I find it humorous that to those from this region North/South only applies to the States along the Atlantic. To you guys the North is only the Northeast with the exception of upstate/eastern New York--a region many seem to forget exists-- and sometimes New Jersey. Delaware also seems to remain off everyone's list for...either.

Isn't Ohio in the North? What about Wisconsin or Montana?

For the sake of argument, to my West Coast ears, the stereotypical Baltimore accent sounds more akin to the stereotypical "Northern" accent of Pittsburgh, and makes just about as much sense.


As for the typical Maryland/DC accent, to me it sounds more upper-Midwest.

Upper Midwest. You have got to be kidding me.

Baltimore accent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Upper Midwest American English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just freaking read.

Why the hell would they even have a similar sound, considering they don't even have the same history?????

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

No no no no no no no.

I didn't say "t" dropping was Northeastern. I said GLOTTAL STOPS at the t are Northeastern. It's one thing to drop a t and say "balimer" and another to say "mi-en" or "ki-en". Baltimore exhibits none of that. Philly is called the Northernmost Southern city because of its accent, outside of NYC influences. Don't believe me, ask linguistic expert Bill Labov.

I lived in South Jersey for over 40 years & worked in Baltimore County for over 4 yeard & you're telling me no no no no no? ROFLMAO.

Check professor Labov's map. It clearly shows Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore & South Jersey as the MidAtlantic accent.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Nomad443

People in Philly do not say blew, tew, dew, etc. Those are pronunciations that are unique to Baltimore. Philly people also do not pronounce Maryland as Merlin (unless the person is originally from Maryland, like my dad). People in Philly typically pronounce Maryland as "Mari-lynn." In fact, one of the easiest ways to tell the difference between the two is by their different pronunciations of words with an "r" syllable in the middle. People in Baltimore do not enunciate the full "r" sound. So in Philly it would be Mur-ry Christmas, in Baltimore it would be something like MAAr Christmas (I can't really spell how it sounds).

Baltimore also has different words for things that I always associated with the South. Baltimorians call athletic footwear "tennises" or "tennis shoes," the same as down South. In Philly, we say sneakers or sneaks. When I was teaching in Baltimore, some of the kids would refer to that mark teenagers get from sucking on each other's neck as a "passion mark"--the same as my relatives down South. In Philly, we always referred to it as a "hickey." There are others, those are the two that just came to my mind.

Philly has multiple versions of their accent. I have heard Merlin in Philadelphia many, many times, spoken by natives. The majority of natives say blew, dew, tew. Now phone is pronounced differently. I lived in South Jersey for over 40 years, worked in Philly about 30 years, & lived & worked in Baltimore County for over 4 years. That's long enough to know that most natives in & near Baltimore aspire to NYC, not Philadelphia. Depending on who you talk to is how close the similarity is & that includes economics.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

Italians are a good example to use. Listen to Nancy Pelosi speak then listen to Joey Vento. They sound NOTHING alike.

Next, listen to Mel Kiper jr. speak and then listen to Jim Cramer.

Really, those wanting the Baltimore accent to be like Philly's are wishful thinkers. The fact that the quintessential Northeast ethnic group known as Italians don't sound Northeastern in Baltimore is very telling. If you think Nancy Pelosi sounds like Joey Vento, you need to get your ears checked.

BALTIMORE DOES NOT USE NORTHERN VOWELS.

Nancy Pelosi is not from the same class. The accents vary by class, within the same city.

Jim Cramer doesn't sound like Chris Matthews. Both have Philadelphia accents. They have different ethnic accents. You lived in the 2 cities for how long?