Is The Philly Dialect Changing? (Philadelphia, Wyndmoor: school, radio, parking)

[soug]

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

I also noticed from our area is that we don't pronounce the letter "T" as strong in the middle of words. Ex: mittens, kittens, mountain, etc. When I travel outside the region, people tend to notice that in my speech.

We also don't say the t's and d's at the ends of words, or at least say them very quietly: like in can't, won't, etc.

[Raena77]

Many accents are people talking in slang. Not proper English.

I know a guy who went to Spain and spoke proper Spanish. Many people laughed at him because many do not talk like that.

I think the accent is changing because more people from the suburbs are going to Philly for jobs.

My accent I tend to turn it on and off. Depending whom I'm speaking to.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by Raena77

Many accents are people talking in slang. Not proper English.

I know a guy who went to Spain and spoke proper Spanish. Many people laughed at him because many do not talk like that.

I think the accent is changing because more people from the suburbs are going to Philly for jobs.

My accent I tend to turn it on and off. Depending whom I'm speaking to.

Or perhaps vice versa, as I think an increased number of people are going from Philly to the suburbs for jobs in recent times.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

I also noticed from our area is that we don't pronounce the letter "T" as strong in the middle of words. Ex: mittens, kittens, mountain, etc. When I travel outside the region, people tend to notice that in my speech.

I never realized it until now, but I do the same exact thing.

I never really said "wooder." My mom claims she "lost" that part of her DelCo accent when she went to junior college in northern Delaware, but that doesn't really make sense, because Wilmingtonians have the same accent (hell, even Baltimoreans speak very similarly).

[mancat100]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

"yous" in addition to being quite common among the working class in the NYC area is also common in Ireland and parts of Australia - largely amongst cultures who spoke english as a 2nd language.

But the english language doesn't lack a 2nd person plural pronoun - it's been "you" for 1000 years. The 2nd person singular is actually "thou" but people stopped using it because it was considered too familiar a way to speak to someone. "You" was considered more polite so it eventually replaced thou as the 2nd person singular.

It's the same concept in the Spanish of Central America/the Caribbean where "ustedes" has replaced "vosotros" for 2nd person plural.

This is all true, but still, just by the fact that people add other things tells me second plural is lacking. The Northeast adds "guys" as in "you guys " or "Yous guys". Southerners add "all" as in "you all" or "Y'all "

People are adding the second part because just the simple "you" isn't enough.

[mancat100]

Here's a question: have you guys noticed that you can predict somebody's political leanings/worldview at least partially by the depth of their Philly accent?

I have. It's not 100% accurate, but it's right more than it's wrong.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by Antdawg1

I notice in Black communities some have the South Philly sound and some have the standard regular Philly accent. Is this true? Although Philly accent is rhotic I notice non rhoticity snuck in.

I think Black South Philadelphians tend to have that accent (particularly older blacks). They are more strongly Italian-influenced than blacks in West, North or Germantown. They have the most distinct identity of all black Philadelphians, imo.

Then again, I'd say South Philly has the most distinct identity of any part of Philadelphia. It's sort of its own world down there.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mancat100

Here's a question: have you guys noticed that you can predict somebody's political leanings/worldview at least partially by the depth of their Philly accent?

I have. It's not 100% accurate, but it's right more than it's wrong.

It depends. Old Jews are somewhat of a wildcard. WRT other white ethnics, I think it's a more accurate barometer.

[BajanYankee]

I don't think I have much of an accent, btw.

I notice that I don't say "Delaware" with a hard "r" sound. It's rather soft and tends to come out as "Delawayer." Like slurring the last name "Mayer."

I'm thinking really hard but that's about the only thing I can come up with (for now).

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by mancat100

Here's a question: have you guys noticed that you can predict somebody's political leanings/worldview at least partially by the depth of their Philly accent?

I have. It's not 100% accurate, but it's right more than it's wrong.

No. How would you know? I feel like Italians and Irish are not as reliably Democratic as Jews. I encounter some that are liberal Democrats and others with McCain 2008 stickers on their trucks. If you're in Mt. Airy, on the other hand, it's like 1,114% Obama Country.