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Western Pennsylvania Lingo, Dialect, and Accent

#65
Yes, my mom wore a babushka. I was born in Pittsburgh and when about twelve my family moved to Harrisburg, where I graduated from high school.

Wally

andysvec said:
ha, this thread takes me back, I was born and raised outside of pittsburgh. Grew up on stuffed cabbage, chipped ham, and pop, said youns and gum bands more times than I can remember. Did anyone else have a mother that wore a babushka?
Click to expand...
 
#67
Alot of those are all over America. But being a pittsburgh boy, myself, I can safely say that alot of those phrases will get you funny looks all over the country. Say "red up" anywhere on this planet besides western PA and everyone around you will be confused except that one guy from PA off to the side of the crowd who actually goes to clean something up.
 
#70
I grew up in western Pa. I didn't really pick up on the dialect because my mother called me out on it every time I'd say up 'ere or dahn 'ere or dahntahn.
My grandmother had it with warshrags and asking us to call the dorg -- I told he we didn't have a dorg. My sister-in-law still has it, so when I have some nostalgia for it I give her a call.

I would agree it's hard to convey with spellings; it's more about how the vowels get twisted.

People who know tell me there are a lot of similarities with Bal'more aka Baltimore as the same immigrant communities arrived at about the same time.
 
#72
Gotta chuckle - as mentioned already, New England, and especially northern NE has a bit of an accent.

When I was in junior high, we moved from NH to Greensburg, PA. After making some friends, one of them said something to the effect that "You sure talk funny." To which I replied, "The hell *I* do!"

We all had a good laugh on that.

For another variant, try the Maritimes in Canada. Love that dialect.
 
#75
For central PA we can't forget mominems (Mom and thems). As in "Mominems are getting something to eat. Want anything?" Another is "flar" which is either floor, flower or flour. And finally if a package is empty it is "all".

I work in Lancaster county, right in the heart of Amish country. The Costco has a place for horse and buggy parking, I kid you not. While I know they speak English, if they are talking amongst themselves it may as well be it's own language.

I affectionately refer to southern Lancaster and York counties as Pennsyltucky because the draw is as thick as any I've heard in the south.
 
#76
I grew up in Pittsburgh, moved to Florida when I was twenty and also have lived in Southern California, DC, Baltimore and Richmond. I lost most of my accent over the years. I moved back to Pittsburgh a little over two years ago and catch myself spouting Pittsburgh-ese from time to time.

A good friend of mine has lived here his whole life. The OP was likely sitting next to him writing it all down. My fince is new to the area and needs an interpeter when we go out with him and his wife.
 
#80
Ah, LOL, this is funny! Grew up and spent the first 22 years of my life in Washington, PA, about 25 miles south of the 'burgh. So many of the OP's phrases and terms are spot on. My parents still say warsh, chipped ham, tagger, and quite a few others. Another one I'll add is 'hamburg', dropping the 'er' off the end of the thing one orders at McDonalds or Burger King, etc.

Oddly enough, when I did move away from western PA and moved to western Kentucky, those nice country folk there heard my Pittsburgh accent and thought I was from either a New York or England (no kidding). Living there, I picked up some nice phrases like 'I reckon' and 'I'm plum full', and of course, 'y'all'. But that's a whole 'nother thread.
 

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