Do people in RI know they have accents? (Providence, Warwick: college, live in)

[sue64]

I love New England accents...

[jakedog1]

"Then I looked up this 100 ways you know you are from RI list and I did like half of those listed items regularly. "
Me too. In South County we have a different accent than say Warwick or Cranston. Its more generic , people have said similar to Pennsylvania but I have no idea what that means.

As far as telling out of towners my kids can spot one without them opening their mouths at all. They are 4 and two. They call them TOOOWISTS.
Quick overveiw-
Massachusetts- drive agressively without any idea where they are going. Generally drop doors in your face and cut you in line. Just give them space and they relax a bit.

New York- SPEAK REALLY LOUDLY. LOOK AT ME OVER HERE I AM BUYING PEACHES OVER HERE. Genreally also have no idea of where they are going but more likely to make an illegal U-turn than cut you off. They also dress a bit dramatically for a beach vacation.
CT - these guys are tricky, a bit of NY and Mass and RI all in one. You can spot them because they dress their offspring in Yankees paraphenalia- presumably just to tick people off. In their favor they generally know where they are going.

NJ- look like leftover URI students. One word ENTITLED. They also seem to know where they are going but don't know how to use their directionals. They like to party and they look that way.

Of course thats just a big judgemental post about tourists but its August and they are driving me crazy (literally).

[ProvGuy]

I've always been told the RI accent is closer to NY than Boston. When I went to school in upstate New York, everyone assumed I was from Brooklyn. My grandmother had a thick Brooklynesque accent too, and she grew up in Providence.

You can tell Boston from RI by the way people say "not." Boston says "nawt" and RI just says "not." Also RI says "cawfee", much like NY, whereas Boston says "cahfee."

[Rnrboy]

To be honest ProvGuy, I've heard both the NY and Boston accent in Rhode Islanders. I'd say the most accurate description is probably a combo between the two.

That having been said, even in RI there seem to be different accents. I'd say there's at least four or five. (The most obvious of course being the Craaaaaaanston accent!)

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by GermanSpy

If you want to go on about people sounding dumb because of how they pronounce words I'd suggest the next time you use foreign terms to sound sophisticated at least try to spell them right instead of butchering them.

It would be the nouveaux riches you're talking about.

Good for you, I agree. I grew up on the border of Mass/RI and I have a slight accent from the area. I was just outside walking along the river in downtown Portland and someone asked me if I was from New York. It actually felt good that I still have that part of me from New England, I never want to lose it or my entire accent, even though I live 3000 miles away.

[jcsinpgh]

Ha--my husband lived in RI until he was nine, then moved to NJ... where they promptly put him in speech therapy! No Rhode Island accent anymore for him (which is too bad, as I really like it).

Now his mom, on the other hand... She was telling me a story once about these great boots she saw and wanted and it turned out they were made by "Holly Davidson." And this was really funny for some reason that I just didn't understand. I'd never heard of "Holly Davidson" or had any idea why she thought it was funny that a nice quiet middle-aged lady really wanted "Holly Davidson" boots. Then I figured it out...

[mikewu9900]

Originally Posted by telephony

I was just wondering if the people in RI actually know they have different accents? I ask this because of tv and movies where people talk with normal US accents. I mean you don't hear most celebrities say things like "get in the caaa, go to the storWAA, and buy a QwatA milk." I visited RI from CA and people knew I was not from there. Even this cop on the beach heard my voice and then commented to the other cop about all the out of towners. You guys have to know you have these accents, right?

i find it funny, now that i live in Florida, how much i notice the accent when i talk to friends and family back home in providence.

but this has got me thinking. if RI and the other new england states were the first settled here in America, then doesn't that mean we are using the correct American accent and everyone else has some knockoff of it? i mean, no one here sounds like there from europe/england right?

all my new friends here, think its funny how i say " you's " i probly said that forever and never noticed. but i did notice many people saying it when i went back to RI for a visit. ex. what are you's doin???

[bluecountry]

What exactly is the RI accent?

How does it vary from a Boston accent?

Why does it sound similar to a New York accent in some spots...Italian?

Does Eastern CT have any kind of accent like RI...or is it right over state line?

[nate14ri]

Originally Posted by bluecountry

What exactly is the RI accent?

How does it vary from a Boston accent?

Why does it sound similar to a New York accent in some spots...Italian?

Does Eastern CT have any kind of accent like RI...or is it right over state line?

you've never heard of a cranston accent? ever watch family guy? And no CT does not have the accent.

[bluecountry]

Family Guy is a Cranston accent?

Is the RI accent the same or vary by part of RI?