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Not faw nuthin, buuut... Rhode Island IS tiny, yet the dialects are not just four or five but many! When I lived in West Warwick back in the day, each village had a little different dialect. Arctic, Jericho, Crompton, Anthony, Phenix, Clyde, Natick, and so on. All in a town only a few miles across. Im from South County (which actually there is no South County, it's Washington Councty but no one ever says that), and have maw of a swampuh accent, when Im talking to my swampuh buddies from back in the day. There is the deep old providence accent "BottL", just watch "Caught in Providence" Local court TV, and listen to Judge Caprio for the classic prov accent.
I don't think class has anything to do with the Rhode Island accent, most people here are low class. To me, the accent does not sound like a Bostonian accent, it sounds stupid. For example, when a native says, "I'm sorry," they pronounce it I'm Saahry, if they pronounce the word "historic" they pronounce it "histaric". Coffee become courffeee. And anyone who lives in Coventry, pronounces it "Caahventry," It's hideous. In many cases Rhode Islanders actually sound more like there from Brooklyn. Arguably, with some words it may not even be considered an accent, but sheer laziness.
But, accents can be pretty bad in other parts of the country as well, like all these out of staters that insist on embracing that letter "R" like there's no tomorrow. If you listen to the British speak, they don't over-emphasize those "R's" the way they do in other parts of this country. The southern accent is the worst! "Y'all"--Oh, does that sound stupid! The Bostonians speak English closest to the way the British speak it---the way it was meant to be spoken.
Are you a professional speaker? That is the most stupid thing I have ever heard. I grew up on Coventry and yes, what you call hideous is how you pronounce Coventry unless you are in England...then it is Cuventry. In addition, to say RI has a low class of people is one of the most incorrect statments...apparently by someone whom has no clue. Just to make you feel better...I think Texas, Southern, Minnasota, and midwest accents sound studpid. where are you from?
I don't get or see how a RI accent is different from a Boston accent.
They're both New England so close to one another it defies logic there would be anymore than a slight difference.
The Rhode Island accent.. more commonly referred to as the SE New England accent is more closely akin to New York/LI/NJ than it is to a Boston accent or Northern New England.
And.. the accent is not that old. My grandmother was born (1888) and raised in RI. Her accent was more like you hear in movies from the 30's.
My father and aunt......(b 1915 and 1913) no accents at all. My cousins (born in the late 30's).....one developed a Boston Brahmin accent after attending Boston Latin school... the other.....well she started with no accent, but after marrying and moving to SC........jeesh........what an accent!
My accent, as I've been told by my old linguistics prof.......mid-atlantic... meaning it's not so much as how I pronounce words, but my cadence of speech.
Anyone remember Sen Pell's speech in Congress, when those transcripting the notes.. wrote "chowdah".......it was supposed to be "charter".
It would be pretty boring if we all sounded alike.
This has been very interesting. I lived in Pawcatuck CT until I was 6 yo and then moved to outside of Hartford and went into speech therapy to learn to say my Rs. However, I still say tomarra instead of tomorrow and put an R into soda. Guess it is that Rhode Island R.
I have never heard anyone from Rhode Island talk, so I am not sure.
My mom has friends in Ohio (also I have some friends/co-workers from there) and she has friends from Pennsylvania, New York and relatives in Michigan and they surely sound different from the folks here in Tennessee.
I've definitly noticed difference between Newport, Providence, and Boston accents. People in MA and CT in the Connecticut River valley sound more like an upstate New York accent. They accentuate their r's where as Eastern NE they are gone.
A Roh Dighland accent?! No suh! You kiddin? I need a drink from da bubbla befowa I think some mowa bout dis. Weah naught from Boston, dat's fa shuh. Mowa like New Yawk. I'll ask my bruddah Pooawlie bout dis.
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