Pittsburgh English

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Pittsburgh is the linguistic center of a dialect region within Midland American English, covering most of western Pennsylvania as well as parts of northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and a small area of western Maryland. Pittsburgh English is closely related to the Central Pennsylvania accent.

The Pittsburgh dialect, often referred to as Pittsburghese (or Yinzbonics), contains substrates reflecting the ethnic heritage of the region: Scotch-Irish, German, and most prominently, Slavic. The distinctive features of the dialect emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a large influx of immigrants arrived and found work in the booming steel industry. There are still vibrant ethnic communities in Pittsburgh, composed of both recent immigrants and third- or fourth-generation Americans, particularly in the South Side and Squirrel Hill, where it is not uncommon to hear people speaking Polish, Russian, and Serbo-Croatian. There are many heritage speakers of Eastern European languages, and some exclamations and babytalk expressions are common even among those who have otherwise been totally assimilated. There has also been significant influence, in the speech of younger Pittsburghers, from African American Vernacular English, especially in syntax.

With the advent of mass media, along with an influx of technology industry workers, certain localized vocabulary items are becoming less common, though still definitely noticeable; continuation and even some innovation are present among young people who feel a strong sense of local pride. Regional features in speech are heavily class-marked; working class Pittsburghers use far more local features than the upper middle class. Geographically, frequency of regional features is highest in the south and north, weakest in the center and east. Such generalizations are hard to make, however, due to the vast number of neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, their insular character, and irregular distribution, with some of the most conservative dialectic regions abutting the most deregionalized.

(A note on terminology: Pittsburgh English is the proper name of the dialect. The term Pittsburghese, though in common use, is considered derogatory, and is most commonly used by Pittsburghers who eschew regional linguistic features; much to their chagrin, these people are quite likely to use the forms they stigmatize themselves.)

The dialect is defined by idiosyncrasies of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

1 Pronunciation
2 Dialectal terms
- 2.1 Older idioms not used much among younger generations
3 Grammar
4 References
5 External links

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Pronunciation

The vowels [[English-language vowel changes before historic l#Full-fool merger|Template:IPA and Template:IPA are merged before Template:IPA]], so that pairs like full/fool and pull/pool become homophonous as Template:IPA and Template:IPA respectively (Labov, Ash, and Boberg 2006: 69–70).
Unlike other Midland dialects, [[Phonological history of the low back vowels#Cot-caught merger|Template:IPA and Template:IPA are merged as Template:IPA]]; cot and caught are homophones (Labov, Ash, and Boberg 2006: 59–60, 271).
The first stress in a word often becomes the primary one: pro'nunci,ation.Template:Fact
Syllabic r as in hurt is a rhotacized mid front vowel, rather than a rhotacized mid central vowel in General American.Template:Fact
Vocalic nuclei are rarely rounded.Template:Fact
General American Template:IPA and Template:IPA often monophthongize to Template:IPA, and Template:IPA to Template:IPA, especially in relaxed speech: Downtown becomes Template:IPA. Recent research by Carnegie Mellon University's Barbara Johnstone (Johnstone et al 2002) has shown that this feature is receding among Pittsburghers born after 1950.
When not monophthongized, the nuclei of diphthongs shift toward [æ], especially in enunciated speech: Template:IPA This appears to be on the increase, used by young people proud of their local heritage.Template:Fact
As in many dialects of American English, [æ] before [n] [m] or Template:IPA and Template:IPA before [ɹ]}} or [l] standardly change to a diphthong Template:IPA. This new phoneme often merges into [æ], especially among younger Pittsburghers. This second merger creates a new set of homonyms such as pal and pale.Template:Fact
[l] is "dark" (i.e. velarized), and sometimes purely velar, postvocalically and often in other positions.Template:Fact
Stops, including nasal stops, are flapped and voiced noninitially before vowels in rapid speech.Template:Fact
Epenthetic r occurs after vowels in a small number of words, e.g. wash becomes Template:IPA.Template:Fact
The h is commonly dropped from the beginning of many words, e.g. here/ear hear/ear.Template:Fact

Further information can be found in chapter 19 of Labov et al. (2006).

For information on IPA symbols used, see International Phonetic Alphabet for English.

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Dialectal terms

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Ahrn n. Abbreviated form of Iron City, a beer produced by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company.
aht v. out "Get aht of here!"
babushka (accent on the second syllable) n. bandana or headscarf. Occasionally refers to an elderly woman or your grandmother, based on the commonality of wearing a headscarf.
buggy n. shopping cart
cahch n. couch
chimbley n. a chimney. From Scots English.
chipped ham (pronounced "chipp'tam") or chip-chopped ham n. very thinly sliced ham for use on sandwiches.
chya mean what do you mean
city chicken n. a breaded pork dish (ironically, it does not contain chicken)
cue-pons n. coupons
da 'burgh n. Pittsburgh.
dahn n. down
dahntahn n. downtown
dippy eggs n. eggs over easy which are not fully cooked, so that the yolk is still runny
food shoppin v. going to the supermarket to purchase groceries
guchies n. underwear, as in, "Always wear clean guchies n'at, 'cause what if yinz'er in an accident?"
gumband n. a rubber band.
hoagie n. a submarine sandwich, always served toasted.
ignernt adj. means ignorant. Often precedes the word "jagoff". Ex: Yinz guys are a bunch of ignernt jagoffs goin' dahn ta Chauncey's at dis hahr."
jag-off n., vulgar an asshole; an extremely disagreeable person; jackoff
jagger bush n. any shrub with thorns
jag around v. 1) to waste time; 2) to mess with someone in a non-serious fashion
jaggin yer wires phrase expression with the same meaning as "pulling your leg" or "kidding with you". Ex: "Hey Tommy, der ain't no monster under da Smithfield St. Bridge, I'm just jaggin' yer wires."
jimmies n. candy flecks put on ice cream or cupcakes; sprinkles
jumbo n. synonym for bologna lunchmeat. Isaly's, a local chain of delis, sells a popular variety known as square jumbo
Kennywood's open interj., indicates that the zipper of one's pants is open. Kennywood is a popular amusement park that is only open during the summer months.
kolbassi n. kielbasa
Kuter n. Slang term for vagina
like'at and like'iss contraction "like that" and "like this". Ex: "What're yinz doin' goin' dahn 'er dressed like'at.?" or "I ain't goin' ta no Donny Iris concert lookin' like'iss!"
n'at contraction "and that". Means, "along with some other stuff", as in, "Yinz wanna go dahn ta Isaly's n'get sommadat square jumbo n'at?" (Do you all want to go down to Isaly's and get some of that square baloney, and a few other things?)
neb v. to investigate or take interest in things which are none of one's business. He was nebbin' around in my business.
nebby adj. Given to prying into the affairs of others; nosy.
nebshit n., vulgar An individual who persistently or habitually cannot mind their own business.
nuh-uh interj. No way. Opposite of yuh-huh
pal n. a pile.
pierogie (often shortened to progie) n. a Polish pasta product usually filled with mashed potatoes and cheese. See Pierogi.
Pixburgh n. Pittsburgh.
pronounciation n. pronunciation
redd up v. intermediate step between tidying and cleaning ' Yinz better redd up this room ' From Scots English.
SaSide n. The South Side (Pittsburgh) district of Pittsburgh, more over known for its bars and arts, most of the Pittsburgh Steelers parties occur here along with the restaurant Primanti Bros. in the Strip District (Pittsburgh).
soda n. refers strictly to only unflavored carbonated water (NOT THE SAME AS POP Ie: Pepsi, Coke)
Sliberty n. the East Liberty district of Pittsburgh
slippy adj. slippery
stickie notes n. Post-It notes.
Stillers n. the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.
Strip The Strip District (Pittsburgh) district of Pittsburgh where specialty foods and groceries are bought.
sweeper n. a vacuum cleaner
tado ? to receive oral sex
Tazzy n. Cops, task force
tennies n. tennis shoes
terlet n. The toilet itself, or the name of the restroom proper.
the tube or tubes n. either the Fort Pitt or Liberty Tubes, tunnels drilled through Mt. Washington which separate the South Side from the South Hills
up Mike's 'n down Jake's n. fictitious location used when one is asked where one is going and does not wish to answer or doesn't know
you guys'es used to address more than one person as in "You guys'es house is real nice."
yuh-huh interj. Yes, absolutely. Opposite of nuh-uh
yinz or yunz pr. Second person plural pronoun; losing some ground to both you guys and yall.
W'Sliberty n. a major avenue going through the South Hills area of greater Pittsburgh.

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Older idioms not used much among younger generations

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Jiminey Christmas! interjection of amazement or surprise.
Kiss my ass under Kaufmann's Clock! "Go to hell!" Refers to an ornate clock on a busy streetcorner in downtown Pittsburgh attached to the Kaufmann's department store.
hale hell (e.g., "hale no", "go to hale", etc.)
n'ya mean? "Do you know what I mean?"
mar-farker motherfucker
sucker taffy

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Grammar

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Dependent verbs containing "to be" in standard English lack it in Pittsburgh English thus ASE "the cat wants to be let in" corresponds to Pittsburgh "the cat wants let in" or "the cat wants in" and standard "the car needs to be washed/the car needs washing" to "the car needs washed." This grammatical structure is a calque from Scots Gaelic, which historically had major linguistic influence in the region.
The adverb "down" is frequently used in expressions with "to go" and the preposition "to" is removed; Pittsburgh English "I'm going down the Benches" [the benches outside the Squirrel Hill post office, a popular hangout for teenagers] corresponds to standard English "I'm going to the Benches."
Zero auxilary in the perfect, and therefore merger of perfect with simple past: PE I seen it for ASE I saw it and I've seen it.
Related to the above, merging of pluperfect into simple past and of future perfect into simple future.
Pittsburgh English also contains the "positive anymore" construction. While in Standard English anymore must be used as a negative polarity item (NPI), Pittsburgh English does not have this restriction. When not used as an NPI, anymore means approximately the same as "these days". For instance, a Pittsburgher may say "It seems I always wear these shoes anymore."

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