Baltimorese

Baltimorese (sometimes pseudophonetically written Bawlmerese or Ballimerese) is a dialect of American English in the Mid-Atlantic United States that originated among the white blue-collar residents of South and Southeast Baltimore. Today, it is heard much less, as many people from other parts of the country have settled in the city. The films of John Waters, many of which have been filmed in and around Baltimore, often attempt to portray this Baltimore accent, particularly the early films.

The Baltimore dialect is spoken throughout eastern Baltimore County, particularly in Essex, Middle River, and Dundalk.

Pronunciation

Baltimorese closely resembles blue-collar Philadelphia-area English pronunciation in many ways. These two cities are the only major ports on the Eastern Seaboard to have never developed nonrhotic speech among white speakers; they were greatly influenced in their early development by Hiberno-English, Scottish English, and West Country English. ^[1]Vowels in Baltimorese are flattened and shifted, however, which is more characteristic of Southern American English.^{[citation needed]} Some vowels, as well as certain vernaculars can be traced to Appalachian influences. Also, the "l" sound is "dark", indistinctive or vocalized.

• [f] is often substituted for [θ]
• [eɪ] becomes [i]; bared can rhyme with leered
• [aɪ] as well as the diphthongs [ɔɪ] and [aʊ] become [ɔ]; choir and hire rhyme with war, aisle and boil with ball
• [aɪ] becomes [a] before [ɹ]; fire is pronounced as far
• t's become d's, disappear entirely, or blend with other sounds in a word; 'hunter' becomes 'hunner', 'Baltimore' becomes 'Baldimore' or 'Ballimer'.
• [oʊ] shifts to [eʊ]; one cheers for the Eh-ew's (O's, for the Baltimore Orioles).
• The [ɪŋ](-ing) ending of participle forms is pronounced as [in] as in "They're go-een to the store."
• epenthetic [ɹ]
• elision is common

Notable speakers

• Nancy Pelosi--Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; grew up in Baltimore
• Barbara Mikulski

References

• "The Mid-Atlantic Dialects", Evolution Publishing

External links

• Lexicon of Bawlamarese

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