Talking like a Mainer (Millinocket, Machias: house, rich, farmers)

[markcornell53]

I'm a writer and I want to know how people in Maine really talk. I love the state and I love the people and I visit often, but visiting right now is impossible. I know all the standard speak, but I recently heard someone from Maine say something I've never heard before I wanted clarification. Do people from Maine ever exchange the word "were" for "was" in a sentence? For example:

Do Mainers say...

I was cold in my house today.

or

I were cold in my house today.

Another example:

She was pretty.

or

She were pretty.

And are there any other unusual word choices such as this?

Thanks.

Mark

[msina]

No
//www.city-data.com/forum/maine...ine-lingo.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/maine...e-sayings.html

[fxtrader]

Originally Posted by markcornell53

I'm a writer and I want to know how people in Maine really talk. I love the state and I love the people and I visit often, but visiting right now is impossible. I know all the standard speak, but I recently heard someone from Maine say something I've never heard before I wanted clarification. Do people from Maine ever exchange the word "were" for "was" in a sentence? For example:

Do Mainers say...

I was cold in my house today.

or

I were cold in my house today.

Another example:

She was pretty.

or

She were pretty.

And are there any other unusual word choices such as this?

Thanks.

Mark

It was a tad nippy in my house today.
She was cunnin'.

[BacktoNE]

For the most part, unless one suffers from Tim Sample-itis, we speak the same English as the rest of the northeast. That whole "Murder She Wrote" thing was hideous.


I don't personally know anyone who mixes up "was" and "were".

[BrokenTap]

In my opinion, no writer will be able to capture the Maine Accent well enough to be put into print. That is because when my ex-in-laws talked down in the Bremen area, they had a "funny accent" to my way of thinking. And so is it with my friends in the Machias area. Millinockette has their own unique sound as does the farmers like myself here in Waldo County.

The fact is, a lot of old timers can tell where you are from just by how you talk. Its still Maine accent, but so regionalized that if you write or act in a movie with a Waldo County Maine accent, everyone outside this area will think its "fake".

There is one rule I tell out of staters, and it is listed as #1...

Never try to impersonate the Maine accent. This state was discovered and settled first and it has taken years and years of hard work to get the dialect perfected. You could never duplicate it. Murder she Wrote learned that the hard way!

[BrokenTap]

When I worked for the railroad in MN the boys would grab me, hold me down and say, "say it Brokentap, say it or will will tickle you." I would squirm and squirm, but after dying of near tickling-death I would fess up and say it:

"okay, okay I will say it. I got in my cah, went around the connah, walked into a bah and had a beah."

They would all laugh and I would be let go. They did this over and over.

Translation: I got in my car, went around the corner, walked into a bar and had a beer.

[retiredtinbender]

I suggest getting as many "Murder She Wrote" videos as you can find and study that master of voice, Tom Bosley. He captured the quintessential character of the language. By far he has proven the best of pronunciation and verbage and the colloquialism that is Downeast Maine. I think all on this forum would agree.

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

I suggest getting as many "Murder She Wrote" videos as you can find and study that master of voice, Tom Bosley. He captured the quintessential character of the language. By far he has proven the best of pronunciation and verbage and the colloquialism that is Downeast Maine. I think all on this forum would agree.

Absolutely! 1.3 million of us sound exactly alike.

Mark, there isn't one accent for the state. Most of us don't sound like Downeasters and some of us even sound like French Canadians. You could fill a book with the differences in our speech.

[peachie_in_maine]

Originally Posted by fxtrader

It was a tad nippy in my house today.
She was cunnin'.

((claps)) Very good~ just what I was thinking.

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

I suggest getting as many "Murder She Wrote" videos as you can find and study that master of voice, Tom Bosley. He captured the quintessential character of the language. By far he has proven the best of pronunciation and verbage and the colloquialism that is Downeast Maine. I think all on this forum would agree.

Or just call retiredtinbender at home~he has a rich Maine drawl.

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

Absolutely! 1.3 million of us sound exactly alike.

Mark, there isn't one accent for the state. Most of us don't sound like Downeasters and some of us even sound like French Canadians. You could fill a book with the differences in our speech.

I can sound like a rebel yank~
My father is from KY and my mom here.
I was born here in Maine~ brought up in my youner years in KY and returned when I was 6.
I hang to a drawl of both if you put your ear to my lip.

but... it's true. Every part of Maine is different.

[mensaguy]

First thing to do is search the forums. You could even browse the forum. It is only on the third page. It has over 150 replies.

The most recent thread covering Maine talk is:

//www.city-data.com/forum/maine...e-sayings.html