Everything about New England English totally explained
Several
dialects of American English are spoken in
New England. These include Eastern New England dialect, most famously typified by the
Boston accent, the Rhode Island accent and the Western New England accent, including Vermont English.
Features
Eastern New England and Rhode Island are both historically
non-rhotic accents, while Western New England is historically rhotic. Eastern New England possesses the so-called
caught-cot merger; Rhode Island doesn't possess the merger; and Western New England exhibits a continuum from full merger in northern
Vermont to full distinction in western
Connecticut. The Western New England accent is closely related to the
Inland North accent which prevails further west.
Regional Variances
Within New England English exists a number of dialects particular to individual states and regions. These include the dialects of Eastern New England, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Boston and Rhode Island.
Boston English
Maine-New Hampshire English
Maine-New Hampshire English refers to the speech patterns found mainly in the northern New England states of
New Hampshire and
Maine. This dialect is more common in more rural parts of each state. It somewhat resembles the
Boston accent (which does take precedence in areas of New Hampshire where there has been large scale immigration from Massachusetts, such as
Hillsborough County), and is known for being
non-rhotic in most words ending in R. "Car" often turns into "cah"
/kaː/ and "lobster" becomes "lobstah"
/lɑbstə/. The practice of
G-dropping is also common. For example,
working changes to
workin. Also, in words that end in "a", an "r" is added. For example, "soder" instead of soda, "idear" instead of idea, etc.
Perhaps some of the more notable practitioners of this dialect include New Hampshire celebrity
Fritz Wetherbee, Maine
senator Olympia Snowe, Maine comedian
Tim Sample (although it's common knowledge that his accent is very exaggerated), and another Maine comedian,
Bob Marley, most famous for his role as Detective Greenley in
Boondock Saints.
The dialect tends to vary from region to region. For example, in the western part of New Hampshire, the dialect may resemble certain aspects of Western New England or Vermont speech, which is known to have a generally muffled sound. In the southern part of the state and in cities such as
Nashua and
Manchester, the Maine-New Hampshire vernacular is nearly non-existent, and most speech patterns resemble the General American or Boston dialects.
In addition, speakers with the accent tend to use some terms from British English which are uncommon in General American English, such as "cellar" for "basement" and "supper" (or "suppah"
/sʌpə/) for "dinner." However, for most words which vary between British and American English, the American version is retained, such as "gasoline," not "petrol," and "elevator," not "lift."
Maine Variation
In Maine, the accent is sometimes referred to as the Downeast Accent, and it's more closely preserved near the coast. Residents of coastal fishing towns are noted for their strong accents. The accent of inland Maine, as opposed to the Maine seacoast, has speech patterns resembling some elements of
Canadian English. Some towns, such as
Augusta and
Bangor, are "transitional." Generally speaking, residents of those areas who were born before 1970 maintain the accent, whereas those born later are more likely to speak with a General American dialect. It is used by dialect comedians like
Tim Sample and
Bob Marley. Like most New England dialects, Maine English is usually non-rhotic.
Generally, the dropped 'r' pronunciations once became stronger the further north and east. Currently, as in many other areas, the local dialects are shifting to a more accent-neutral form, similar to the general U.S. broadcast language standard. Possibly because of its more remote setting, northern Maine's dialects are not changing as rapidly.
Vermont English
Further Information
Get more info on 'New England English'.
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