Re: New Englishisms

Brian Betty wrote:

> Well! While we're on the topic of regionalisms, let me make some
> observations about New English speech (New Englanders ... )
>
> 1. clip everything. I say ev'ry, ev'rything, p'sition (not position, but
> pzishin). This often leads to a weird vowel harmony thingie when you get
> this really long word with all the vowels collapsed /klaepst/ to /i/ or
> /@/. Prescription /pr@skripshn/. Elimination /ilimineyshn/. Christmas
> /krismis/. Et cetera.
> 2. Intervocalic -d-, -t- become flaps. Sweater sounds like /swerR/; even
> 'sudden' is almost /sar-n/. My favorite, though, is when I actually make a
> dental stop into a rolled r: this happens most often with: "What are you
> doing?" > /'(h)warryu 'du:ing?/. Really. I get quite a roll into it without
> even noticing it.
Very interesting, I don't think it's just New England.  My family is from
New Jersey/Pennsylvania and I speak pretty much the same way you
do as you describe it.  Especially the trilled r in "What are you doing!"
(very apparent when I'm mad and not bothering to enunciate : )

> 5. I claim to recognise the audible difference between Mary, marry, and
> merry, which to my Oregonian roommate is all /meri:/ (here r = American r)
> and to me is /maeri:/, /mae:ri:/ and /meri:/, respectively.
Hmm, both Mary and marry come out with the first syllable rhyming with
"bear" for me ( /mE@ri/, I guess) but I say married, /m&: rid/.  Merry is
always very distinct,
 /mEri/.

Re: vowel harmony, do you say sinnimin /'sIn Im ,In/ for "cinnamon?"

>
> 6. many New Englanders don't have ahs (rs), as is probably familiar to many
> people on this list. Others, like myself, overcompensate and have rs coiled
> up like a little ball of rubber bands. Uberrhotic, I reckon.
LOL.  I'm guilty of "uberrhoticism" myself.  Something I learned from my
family who like to draw a sharp distinction between themselves and residents
of New York City. (to say "New Joisey" or "New Yawk" would have been
an admission of heresy and my grandparents would have sent the transgressor
straight to church for confession ; )