Boston Accent
Today I talked to someone about talking — specifically, the way people talk in Boston.
The Boston accent is famous for its misplaced Rs and strange vowels, as well as its well-known speakers. John F. Kennedy, New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Click and Clack from Car Talk, the character Cliff Clavin on Cheers, and even The Simpsons’ Mayor Quimby have all have brought variations on the Boston Accent to the world stage.
It’s a dialect I hear every day, but almost all most people know about it is encapsulated in the phrase “Let’s pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd,” but that isn’t really the way people talk here. To do a little better, I went to someone who could give us the real deal:
MJ Connolly grew up just outside of Boston, and is now a professor of linguistics at Boston College. He’s listened to — and spoken with — the Boston Accent his whole life, so I went to him to tell us what it is.
It’s true…we all travel around more and are so mobile these days…accents are less noticable in certain areas. But different parts of this country certainly do have differences that are unique. I enjoy the differences, don’t you? It’s really to bad that our newscasters have learned to take out the regional quality in their delivery.
Your segment was fun. I don’t hear you as having an accent. Only a linguist would know….. I’d love to hear about some of the guesses.