View source for Eastern New England English

{{Short description|Traditional dialect of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, USA}}
{{IPA notice}}
'''Eastern New England English''', historically known as the '''Yankee dialect''' since at least the 19th century,<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Hendrickson|title=The Facts on File Dictionary of American Regionalisms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXY0yQnvmmUC&pg=PA326|year=2000|publisher=Infobase |page=326|isbn=9781438129921}}</ref><ref>Sletcher, Michael (2004). New England. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 264</ref> is the traditional regional dialect of [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], and the eastern half of [[Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=137}}</ref><ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 130)</ref> Features of this variety once spanned an even larger [[New England English|dialect area of New England]], for example, including the eastern halves of [[Vermont]] and [[Connecticut]] for those born as late as the early twentieth century.<ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 161)</ref> Studies vary as to whether the unique dialect of [[Rhode Island]] technically falls within the Eastern New England dialect region.<ref>See, for example, that Labov's 2006 [[Atlas of North American English]] frequently includes Providence/Rhode Island under this general dialect, yet his 1997 [http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/maps/MapsNE/Map1NE.html Regional Telsur Map] does not.</ref>

Eastern New England English, here including Rhode Island English, is classically associated with sound patterns such as: [[rhoticity in English|non-rhoticity]], or dropping ''r'' when not before a vowel; both variants of [[Canadian raising]], including a fairly [[back vowel|back]] starting position of the {{IPA|/aʊ/}} vowel (as in {{sc2|MOUTH}});<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Nagy|Roberts|2004|p=276}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=154, 227}}</ref> and some variation of the [[father–bother merger|{{sc2|PALM–}}]][[cot-caught merger|{{sc2|LOT–THOUGHT}} vowel distinctions]], the [[Mary-marry-merry merger|marry–merry distinction]], or both.<ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 154)</ref> Eastern New England (excluding Rhode Island) is also nationally recognized for its highly [[Front vowel|front]] {{sc2|PALM/START}} vowel. The most well-known subsets include [[Boston accent]]s, [[Maine accent]]s, and a [[Northeastern elite accent|cultivated or elite accent]], sometimes known as a "[[Boston Brahmin]] accent" within Boston, that was associated with wealthy New England families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="Knight">Knight, Dudley. "Standard Speech". In: Hampton, Marian E. & Barbara Acker (eds.) (1997). ''The Vocal Vision: Views on Voice.'' [[Hal Leonard Corporation]]. pp. 160.</ref>

As of the 21st century, certain traditional characteristics are declining due to many younger Eastern New Englanders [[dialect levelling|avoiding]] them, particularly non-rhoticity and the aforementioned vowel distinctions,<ref>Stanford et al. (2014: 120)</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=226}}</ref> which they tend to perceive as old-fashioned, overly rural-sounding,<ref>Stanford et al. (2012: 160-1)</ref> or even overly urban-sounding with [[Boston accent|regard to Boston]].<ref name="Nagy"/> New Hampshire speakers on the whole are particularly well documented as retreating from these older Eastern New England features since the mid-20th century onwards.<ref name="Platt">Platt, Melanie, "Do you "park your car" or "pahk your cah"?: The Changing Dialect of Southern New Hampshire" (2015). Inquiry Journal 2015. 5. http://scholars.unh.edu/inquiry_2015/5</ref><ref name="Nagy">Nagy, Naomi (2001). " 'Live Free or Die' as a Linguistic Principle". ''American Speech'', Volume 76, Number 1, Spring 2001, pp. 30-41.</ref>

==Overview of phonology==
The sound system of traditional Eastern New England English includes:
*{{anchor|minus-r}}Non-rhoticity: The ''r'' sound may be "dropped" or "silent" if not before a vowel; therefore, in words like ''car'', ''letter'', ''horse'', ''poor'', etc. The feature is retreating and is not found in many younger speakers,<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/is-that-new-england-accent-in-retreat/ |title = Is That New England Accent in Retreat?|date = 15 August 2012}}</ref> for example, in virtually no speakers born since the mid-20th century in southeastern New Hampshire.<ref name="Platt"/>
**{{anchor|plus-r}}[[Linking and intrusive R|Linking and intrusive ''r'']]: The non-rhotic ''r'' may be pronounced after all if it is followed by a vowel, even a vowel that begins the next word in the sentence. Also, any word that ends in /ə/ (as in ''Cuba''), /ɑ/ (as in ''spa''), or /ɔ/ (as in ''law'') can be followed by an unwritten ''r'' sound when followed by a vowel sound in the next word: thus, ''law and public safety'' sounds like ''Lauren public safety''.
*{{anchor|u-backing}}Backing of {{IPA|/u/}}: The vowel of ''goose'', ''rude'', ''coup'', etc. remains pronounced relatively far back in the mouth.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt |Labov |Ash |Boberg |2006 |p=154}}</ref>
*{{anchor|horse}}Possible lack of the [[horse–hoarse merger]]: The vowel of words like ''war'' versus ''wore'', or ''morning'' versus ''mourning'', are mostly produced either very close or the same in Eastern New England; however, as of the early 2000s, such vowels may still be pronounced differently by some Eastern New England speakers, especially in Maine.<ref name="Labov 2006 227">{{Harvcoltxt |Labov |Ash |Boberg |2006 |p=227}}</ref> Conversely, the merger of the vowels is largely complete elsewhere in the United States.
*{{anchor|Canadian}}Full [[Canadian raising]]: The tongue is raised in the first element of the [[diphthong|gliding vowel]] {{Audio-IPA|en-us-eye.ogg|/aɪ/}} as well as {{Audio-IPA|en-us-ow.ogg|/aʊ/}} whenever either appears before a [[voiceless consonant]].<ref name="Boberg">{{cite book|first=Charles |last=Boberg |author-link=Charles Boberg |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=uW2rM_6I3gMC&q=does%20occur%20in%20eastern%20New%20England |title=The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis |year=2010 |page=156|isbn=9781139491440 }}</ref> Therefore, a word like ''house'' {{IPA|/haʊs/}} is often {{IPA|[hɜʊs~hɐʊs]}}.
*{{anchor|au-backing}}Backing of {{IPA|/aʊ/}}: The vowel of ''gouge'', ''loud'', ''town'', ''power'', etc. has a relatively back-of-mouth starting position: thus, something like {{IPA|[ɑ̈ʊ]}}.<ref name="Labov 2006 227"/>
*{{anchor|non-merger}}Possible lack of the [[Mary–marry–merry merger]]s: Before intervocalic {{IPA|/r/}}, the vowels {{IPA|/ɛə/}} ({{IPA|/eɪ/}} in rhotic varieties), {{IPA|/æ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (as in ''Mary'', ''marry'', and ''merry'') are distinguished from one another, particularly in Southeastern New England (namely Rhode Island), which is also true in the New York City area and Britain. However, recent studies have shown that there is an emerging tendency in Northeastern New England (Boston, for example) to merge them, as in most other American accents.<ref name="Labov 2006 227"/>
*{{anchor|short_A}}[[Phonological history of English short A#/æ/ tensing|"Short ''a''" nasal system]]: The "short ''a''" sound {{IPA|/æ/}} may be [[tenseness|tensed]] in various environments, though most severely before a [[nasal consonant]]; therefore, in words like ''man'', ''clam'', ''Annie'', etc.
*{{anchor|ar-fronting}}Fronting of {{sc2|PALM}}/{{sc2|START}}: The vowel of words like ''palm'', ''spa'', ''car'', ''park'', etc. is pronounced farther to the front of the vocal tract than in most other dialects, so that ''car'', for example, is something like {{IPA|[kʰa]}}. This, plus non-rhoticity, is often associated with the [[shibboleth]] "Park the car in Harvard yard." This fronting is seldom reported in Rhode Island, in which ''car'' is more often backed {{IPA|[kʰɑ]}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt |Labov |Ash |Boberg |2006 |p=111}}</ref>
*The [[weak vowel merger]] is traditionally absent. This makes ''Lenin'' {{IPA|/ˈlɛnɪn/}} distinct from ''Lennon'' {{IPA|/ˈlɛnən/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=520}}

==Overview of vocabulary and grammatical features==
{{See also|wikt:Appendix:Glossary of Boston slang}}

<!-- insert reliable citation showing that the term originated in Boston or New England -->
Some words or phrases most famously or strongly associated with Eastern New England are:
*''bang'': to make a sudden or decisive turn while driving; only used in certain phrases: "bang a left", "bang a right", or "bang a [[U-turn|U-ie]]".
*''[[bubbler]]'' or ''water bubbler'': drinking fountain.<ref>{{citation|title=Message 1: Summary of 'bubbler'|url=http://linguist.emich.edu/issues/5/5-1377.html#1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001119180900/http://linguist.emich.edu/issues/5/5-1377.html|archive-date=November 19, 2000|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://csumc.wisc.edu/wep/map.htm |title=Bubbler map - Wisconsin Englishes |publisher=Csumc.wisc.edu |access-date=2012-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722224611/http://csumc.wisc.edu/wep/map.htm |archive-date=2011-07-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This term is also used in [[Wisconsin]] and Australia.
*''[[bulkie]]'': a thick white-bread roll, similar to a [[hamburger bun]] or [[kaiser roll]]
*''frappe'' {{IPA|/fræp/}}: a thick beverage made of milk and ice cream, i.e. a [[milkshake]] in most other places (whereas "milkshake" in Boston traditionally means [[flavored milk]]). A synonym common only in Rhode Island is ''[[coffee cabinet|cabinet]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbheller.com/drinking_a_cabinet__how_to_talk_like_a_new_englander_47756.htm |title=Drinking a Cabinet: How to Talk Like a New Englander |last=Heller |first=Carolyn B. |website=Cbheller.com |publisher=C.B. Heller |access-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219094934/http://www.cbheller.com/drinking_a_cabinet__how_to_talk_like_a_new_englander_47756.htm |archive-date=February 19, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*''hoodsie'': a small disposable cup of ice cream, the kind that comes with a flat wooden spoon (from [[HP Hood]], the dairy that sells them and elsewhere sometimes known as a "dixie cup".)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston-online.com/glossary/hoodsie.html|title=Hoodsie |at=Glossary at Boston-Online.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211161241/http://www.universalhub.com/glossary/hoodsie.html|archive-date=February 11, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A secondary meaning (very offensive slang) is "promiscuous teenaged girl".<ref name="Boston To English Dictionary">[http://www.celebrateboston.com/culture/dictionary.htm Boston To English Dictionary] at CelebrateBoston.com</ref>
*''jimmies'': [[sprinkles]]; to some, particularly chocolate sprinkles.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/travel/escapes/17baccents.html | work=The New York Times | title=Regional Vocabulary | date=2006-03-17 | access-date=2010-04-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/03/13/the_jimmies_story/|title=The Jimmies Story: Can an ice cream topping be racist?|author=Jan Freeman|newspaper=boston.com|date=March 13, 2011|access-date=March 4, 2015}}</ref> The term is also common in the [[Philadelphia accent|Philadelphia]] area.
*''pissa(h)'': "great" or "amazing", either realistically or sarcastically. This is from the word "pisser" with a Boston accent, but used as an adjective. Occasionally combined with "wicked" to yield "wicked pissah".<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Harrison | first1 = Mim | title = Wicked Good Words: From Johnnycakes to Jug Handles, a Roundup of America's Regionalisms | publisher = Penguin | year = 2011 | isbn = 978-1101543399}}<!--| access-date = 2013-05-03 --></ref>
*''[[scrod]]'': any small whitefish, such as cod or haddock, used in cooking<ref>"[https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-history/the-legend-of-the-sacred-cod-or-haddock-or-scrod/ The Legend of the Sacred Cod (Or Is It Scrod?)]". ''Yankee Magazine''. Yankee Publishing, Inc., 2021.</ref>
*''"So don't I"'': "so do I" or "I do too".<ref>"[https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/so-dont-i So Don't I]". ''Yale Grammatical Diversity Project English in North America''. Yale University. 2017.</ref> 
*''spa'': a neighborhood [[convenience store]] that has a [[soda fountain]] and often sells sandwiches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yelp.com/biz/winship-spa-brighton |title=Winship Spa - Brighton, MA |publisher=Yelp.com |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yelp.com/biz/montrose-spa-cambridge |title=Montrose Spa - Porter Square - Cambridge, MA |publisher=Yelp.com |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yelp.com/biz/hillside-spa-cardoza-brothers-boston |title=Hillside Spa Cardoza Brothers - Beacon Hill - Boston, MA |publisher=Yelp.com |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yelp.com/biz/hodgkins-spa-somerville |title=Hodgkin's Spa - Somerville, MA |publisher=Yelp.com |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://maps.google.com/places/us/ma/everett/chelsea-st/178/-sam's-spa-convenience?hl=en |title=Sam's Spa Convenience - About - Google |publisher=Google Maps |access-date=2012-06-18 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''tonic'' {{IPA|/ˈtɒnɪk/}}: any sweet, carbonated [[soft drink]] (chiefly confined to Boston), otherwise known as "soda" in the region or "pop" elsewhere;<ref>[[William Labov|Labov]] et al., ''Atlas of North American English'', p. 289.</ref> not the same as [[tonic water]].
*''whiffle'': a crew cut or male haircut done with electric clippers.<ref name="Boston To English Dictionary"/>
*''wicked'': "very" or "super", used as an adverb or [[intensifier]] (such as "That hockey game was wicked good!" or "Ugh, that guy is wicked slow").
Many words common to Boston are also common throughout New England dialects: ''grinder'' for "[[submarine sandwich]]" (also, ''[[spuccadella|spuckie]]'' or ''spuky'' in [[East Boston]]),<ref>"[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/spuky Spuky]". Dictionary.com, 2022.</ref> ''packie'' (or ''package store'') for "[[liquor store]]",<ref>''Dictionary of American Regional English''</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Gordon | first1 = Heather | title = Newcomer's Handbook For Moving To And Living In Boston: Including Cambridge, Brookline, And Somerville | url = https://archive.org/details/newcomershandboo00heat | url-access = limited | publisher = First Books | year = 2004 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/newcomershandboo00heat/page/14 14] | isbn = 978-0912301549}}<!--| access-date = 2013-05-03 --></ref> ''rotary'' for "[[traffic circle]]" (these full-speed circular intersections being common in [[Greater Boston]]),<ref name="nytimes.com" /> and ''yous'' as the working-class plural form of "you" (a word found throughout the urban Northeast with many spelling variants).<ref name="Vaux">Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder. 2003. [http://dialect.redlog.net/maps.html The Harvard Dialect Survey]. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref> ''Cellar'', whose definition may have slight nuances nationwide, can also be a simple synonym for ''[[basement]]'' in Eastern New England and Massachusetts generally. In this same area, related expressions like ''down the cellar'' or even ''down-cellar'' are distinctive, meaning "down to the basement" or "down in the basement" (as in "She's getting some boxes down-cellar").

==Northeastern New England English==
Northeastern New England English, popularly recognized as a Boston or Maine accent, in addition to all the above phonological features, further includes the [[cot–caught merger|merger of the vowel in ''cot'' and ''caught'']] to {{IPA|[ɒ~ɑ]}}, often with a slightly rounded quality, but a resistance to the [[father–bother merger|merger of the vowels in ''father'' versus ''bother'']], a merger that is otherwise common throughout North America. Also, for speakers born before 1950, the words ''half'' and ''pass'' (and, before World War II, also ''ask'' and ''can't'') are pronounced with a "[[broad a|broad ''a'']]," like in ''spa'': {{IPA|[haf]}} and {{IPA|[pʰas]}}.

===Boston===
{{Main|Boston accent}}
Boston, Massachusetts is the birthplace and most famous site of Eastern New England English. Historically, a Northeastern type of New England English spread from metropolitan Boston into [[Worcester, MA|metropolitan Worcester]], the bulk of [[New Hampshire]], and central and coastal [[Maine]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=225}}</ref> Boston speech also originated many slang and uniquely local terms that have since spread throughout Massachusetts and Eastern New England.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.universalhub.com/glossary/ |title = Wicked Good Guide to Boston English| website=Universal Hub }}</ref> Although mostly non-rhotic, the modern Boston accent typically pronounces the ''r'' sound in the {{sc2|NURSE}} vowel, {{Avoid wrap|{{IPA|/ɜr/}}}}, as in ''bird'', ''learn'', ''turkey'', ''world'', etc.

===Maine===
{{Main|Maine accent}}
A traditional Maine accent, the closest remnant today to a more widespread 19th-century Yankee regional accent, includes the phonology mentioned above, plus the loss of the phonemic status of {{IPA|/ɛə/}} (as in ''there''), {{IPA|/ɪə/}} (as in ''here''), and {{IPA|/oə/}} (as in ''more'') all of which are broken into two syllables ({{IPA|/eɪə, i.ə, oʊə/}}, respectively): ''they-uh'', ''hee-yuh'', and ''moh-uh''; some distinct vocabulary is also used in this accent.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://gonewengland.about.com/od/maine/a/aa-speak-mainer.htm |title= Speak Like a Mainer |last= Fowles |first= Debby |date= 2015 |website= About Travel |publisher= About.com |access-date= 20 May 2015 |archive-date= 18 May 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150518082252/http://gonewengland.about.com/od/maine/a/aa-speak-mainer.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref> Maine is one of the last American regions to resist the [[horse–hoarse merger]]. This continued resistance was verified by some speakers in a 2006 study of Bangor and Portland, Maine,<ref name="Labov 2006 227"/> yet contradicted by a 2013 study that reported the merger as embraced by Portland speakers "of all ages".<ref>Ryland, Alison (2013). "A Phonetic Exploration of the English of Portland, Maine". Swarthmore College.</ref> The horse–hoarse separation means that words like ''war'' and ''wore'' may sound different: ''war'' {{IPA|/wɒ/}} rhyming with ''law'' {{IPA|/lɒ/}}, and ''wore'' {{IPA|/ˈwoʊə/}} rhyming with ''boa'' {{IPA|/ˈboʊə/}}. Unlike the Boston accent, this traditional Maine accent may be non-rhotic entirely: even in the pronunciation of {{IPA|/ɜr/}} as {{IPA|[ɜ]}}.

===Notable speakers===
* [[Ken Beatrice]]&nbsp;– "... the New England native with the pronounced Boston accent"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shapiro|first1=Leonard|title=Top 10: Dialing up the best in Washington sports radio|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/02/AR2010060202754.html|access-date=January 18, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 2, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Bill Burr]]&nbsp;– "the comic's wicked Boston accent"<ref>Miller, Gregory E. (2018) "[https://nypost.com/2018/11/01/bill-burr-vows-to-never-become-an-old-cornball/ Bill Burr vows to never become an ‘old cornball’]". ''New York Post''. NYP Holdings, Inc.</ref>
* [[Lenny Clarke]]&nbsp;– "a Cambridge-raised verbal machine gun with a raspy Boston accent"<ref>{{cite news|title=Lenny Clarke Deftly Handles Nightschtick|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|author=Sullivan, Jim|date=2001-04-18}}</ref>
* [[Calvin Coolidge]]&nbsp;– "r-less New Englander"<ref name="Metcalf">Metcalf, A. (2004). ''Presidential Voices. Speaking Styles from George Washington to George W. Bush''. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 150.</ref>
* [[Nick Di Paolo]]&nbsp;– "thick Boston accent"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/theater/n_10107/|title=Did You Hear The One About The @&%#! Comic?|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|author=Calhoun, Ada|date=2004-03-29|access-date=2009-03-17}}</ref>
* [[Marty Engstrom]]&nbsp;– "With a Maine accent so thick some viewers thought it must be fake"<ref>{{cite news|last=Routhier|first=Ray|date=January 5, 2024|title=Marty Engstrom, Maine's reluctant celebrity TV weatherman, dies at 86|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2024/01/05/marty-engstrom-maines-reluctant-celebrity-tv-weatherman-dies-at-86/|newspaper=Portland Press Herald|publisher=Maine Trust for Local News|access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>
* [[John F. Kennedy]]&nbsp;– "his [[wikt:tony|tony]] [[Harvard]] accent"<ref name="JFK">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/314791/John-F-Kennedy/3868/Presidential-candidate-and-president|title=John F. Kennedy|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|year=2009}}</ref>
* [[Robert F. Kennedy]]&nbsp;– "his Boston twang"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Evan |title=Robert Kennedy: His Life |date=2000 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=26}}</ref>
* [[Ted Kennedy]]&nbsp;– "No one else from Boston, or anywhere in New England, has imprinted the regional accent on the national consciousness as Senator Kennedy did."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/fashion/03accent.html|title=A Mannah of Speaking|newspaper=The New York Times|author=Healy, Patrick|date=2009-09-02|access-date=2009-10-18}}</ref>
* [[Mel King]]&nbsp;– "he has the soft Rs of a deep Boston accent"<ref>{{cite news|title=Mel's Vision|last=Concannon|first=Jim|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=May 12, 2009|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/12/mels_vision/}}</ref>
* [[Lyndon LaRouche]]&nbsp;– "a cultivated New England accent"<ref>{{Cite book | last = King | first = Dennis | title = Lyndon LaRouche and the New American Fascism | publisher = Doubleday | year = 1989 | location = New York | page = 306 | url =https://archive.org/stream/LyndonLaroucheAndTheNewAmericanFascism/LLNAF#page/n305/}}</ref>
* [[Bob Marley (comedian)]]&nbsp;– "his thick Maine accent"<ref>{{cite web|last=Jameson|first=Arlen|date=January 28, 2021|title=Bob Marley's 'Tom Brady Therapy Session'|url=https://z1073.com/bob-marleys-tom-brady-therapy-session/|website=[[WBZN|Z107.3]]|location=Old Town, Maine|publisher=Townsquare Media|access-date=April 16, 2025}}</ref>
* [[Christy Mihos]]&nbsp;– "speaks unpretentiously in a variation of a Boston accent, and drops the 'g' in words like talking or running."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/19/the_nonpolitician_who_would_be_governor/|title=The nonpolitician who would be governor|newspaper=The Boston Globe|author=Mooney, Brian C.|date=2006-02-19|access-date=2009-02-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224318/https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/19/the_nonpolitician_who_would_be_governor/|archive-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>
* [[Brian Moran|Brian]] and [[Jim Moran]]&nbsp;– "The Moran brothers share an unmistakable Massachusetts accent"<ref name="family">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/02/10/ST2009021004032.html|title=A Time to Reevaluate Family Ties|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Gardner, Amy|date=2009-02-11|access-date=2009-02-27}}</ref>
* [[Edmund Muskie]]&nbsp;– "had a classic [[Down East]] accent, though his father had emigrated from Poland"<ref>{{cite news|last=Apple|first=R. W. Jr.|author-link=R. W. Apple Jr.|date=March 27, 1996|title=Edmund S. Muskie, 81, Dies; Maine Senator and a Power on the National Scene|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/27/us/edmund-s-muskie-81-dies-maine-senator-and-a-power-on-the-national-scene.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>
* [[Tim Sample]]&nbsp;– "with a thick down east accent"<ref>{{cite web|last=Caldwell|first=Rob|date=November 28, 2018|title=How do you make a living as a Maine humorist for 40 years? Ask Tim Sample|url=https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207-interviews/how-do-you-make-a-living-as-a-maine-humorist-for-40-years-ask-tim-sample/97-618458268|website=newscentermaine.com|publisher=Tegna|access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>
* [[Tom Silva]]&nbsp;– "New England accent"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.sacmag.com/Sacramento-Magazine/February-2007/Mr-Fix-It/|title=Mr. Fix-It|magazine=[[Sacramento Magazine]]|author=Bizjak, Marybeth|date=February 2007|access-date=2009-03-17|archive-date=2016-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319174607/http://www.sacmag.com/Sacramento-Magazine/February-2007/Mr-Fix-It/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Jermaine Wiggins]]&nbsp;– "skin as thick as his East Boston accent"<ref name="Jensen, Sean">{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-125717347.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611052758/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-125717347.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-06-11|title=Despite his unlikely build, Vikings' Wiggins gets it done at tight end.|newspaper=[[Saint Paul Pioneer Press]]|author=Jensen, Sean|date=2004-12-03|access-date=2009-02-26}}</ref>
<!-- The Wahlberg brothers, Matt Damon, and the Affleck brothers, though all capable of imitating the accent (to varying degrees, according to some critics), are not primary or lifelong speakers of the accent. Listing [[JFK]] has also been controversial in the past, due to his educated/cultivated accent. -->

==Rhode Island English==
{{anchor|Rhode Island accent}}
The traditional English-language accent of Southeastern New England, popularly known as a Rhode Island accent, is spoken in [[Rhode Island]] and the western half of [[Bristol County, Massachusetts]].<ref name="Johnson"/> In addition to all the features mentioned under the phonology section above, the Rhode Island accent also includes a sharp distinction in the vowels of ''Mary'', ''marry'', and ''merry'' and in the vowels in ''cot'' {{IPA|[ɑ]}} versus ''caught'' {{IPA|[oə]}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=43|title=Guide to Rhode Island Language Stuff|access-date=May 30, 2007|publisher=Quahog.org|archive-date=July 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714083823/http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=43|url-status=dead}}</ref> plus the pronunciation of {{IPA|/ɑr/}}, as in ''car'', far back in the mouth as {{IPA|[ɑ~ɑə]}}—these three features making this New England accent noticeably similar to a [[New York accent]].<ref>"[http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/Atlas_chapters/Ch16_2nd.rev.pdf This phonemic and phonetic arrangement of the low back vowels makes Rhode Island more similar to New York City than to the rest of New England]".{{Harvcoltxt|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=226}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Boberg |first=Charles |year=2001 |title=The Phonological Status of Western New England |journal=American Speech |volume=76 |issue=1 |pages=28, 3–29 |doi= 10.1215/00031283-76-1-3|s2cid=143486914 }}</ref> These features are often unlike the modern Northeastern New England (NENE) dialect of Boston, as is Rhode Island's feature of a completed [[father–bother merger]], shared with the rest of the country outside of NENE.<ref name="Johnson">Johnson, Daniel Ezra (2010). "[http://www.danielezrajohnson.com/johnson_2010.pdf Stability and Change Along a Dialect Boundary: The Low Vowels of Southeastern New England]". American Dialect Society 95. p. 100.</ref> A few terms are unique to this area, such as the word ''cabinet'' to mean "[[milkshake]]" (particularly, [[coffee cabinet]]s),<ref name="dialect.redlog.net">Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder. 2003. "[http://dialect.redlog.net/staticmaps/q_63.html What do you call the drink made with milk and ice cream?]." The Harvard Dialect Survey. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref> ''pizza strips'' ([[Italian tomato pie]] strips served cold without cheese), and ''[[coffee milk]]''.<ref>Musto, Marisa (2018). "[https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/food-dining/food-near-me-famed-rhode-island-foods/ Famed Rhode Island Foods]". AAA Northeast.</ref>

===Notable lifelong native speakers===
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2025}}
*[[Gregg Amore]]&nbsp;– "A lifelong Rhode Islander with the accent to prove it"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Berry|first1=Deborah Barfield|last2=Collins|first2=Terry|last3=Kochi|first3=Sudiksha|last4=Weintraub|first4=Karen|date=July 3, 2024|title=Here's what the work of democracy looks like|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/07/03/people-working-preserving-democracy/74138235007/|work=USA Today|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Gannett|access-date=March 24, 2025}}</ref>
*[[Frank Caprio]]&nbsp;– "thick New England accent"<ref>{{cite web|last=Gutelle|first=Sam|date=August 22, 2025|title=Have you heard? Deestroying gets a sideline gig, Anna Sitar acts, and Skibidi's in the dictionary|url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2025/08/22/roundup-deestroying-nfl-anna-sitar-skibidi/amp/|website=Tubefilter|access-date=August 23, 2025}}</ref>
*[[John Chafee]]&nbsp;– a non-rhotic "New England accent"<ref>{{cite web|last=Brady|first=James|title=Don't Spend Any Time Trying to Detonate John Chafee|publisher=[[Advertising Age]]|year=1997|url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-magazines-the-alist/spend-time-detonate-john-chafee/70185/}}</ref>
*[[Buddy Cianci]]&nbsp;– "his [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] accent"<ref>{{cite news|last=Comberg|first=Ella|date=April 4, 2019|title=Rhode Island is Famous for You|url=https://www.theindy.org/article/1714|work=The College Hill Independent|location=Providence, R.I.|access-date=April 16, 2025}}</ref>
*[[Pauly D|"Pauly D" DelVecchio]]&nbsp;– "the thickest Rhode Island accent"<ref>{{cite web|title=Raffert Meets the Press|url=http://sites.jcu.edu/magazine/2010/08/12/jcus-rafferty-meets-the-press/|year=2011|publisher=[[John Carroll University]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023190816/http://sites.jcu.edu/magazine/2010/08/12/jcus-rafferty-meets-the-press/|archive-date=23 October 2010|quote='Pauly D has the thickest Rhode Island accent I've ever heard,' [[Brian Williams|[Brian] Williams]] told us.}}</ref>
*[[Henry Giroux]]
*[[Spalding Gray]]&nbsp;– "his demeanor is as flat as his Rhode Island accent"<ref>{{cite news|last=De Vries|first=Hilary|year=1990|title=Spalding Gray: His New Favorite Subject--Him|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-11-ca-6300-story.html}}</ref>
*[[Chris Herren]]&nbsp;– "with a [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]] accent he bellows"<ref>Barboza, Scott (2011). [https://www.espn.com/boston/columns/story?columnist=barboza_scott&id=6584856 The rise, fall and recovery of a phenom]". ''ESPN''.</ref>
*[[Emeril Lagasse]]&nbsp;– "With a Fall River accent that is definitely not [[Southern American English|Southern]]"<ref>{{cite news|last=Sampey|first=Kathleen|date=August 4, 1998|title='Emeril Live' is really cooking|url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/entertainment/local/1998/08/04/emeril-live-is-really/50552640007/|work=[[The Standard-Times (New Bedford)|The Standard-Times]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>
*[[Daniel McKee]]&nbsp;– governor of Rhode Island
*[[John Pastore]]
*[[Jerry Remy]]&nbsp;– "his familiar broad accent (some would say closer to Rhode Island than Boston)"<ref>{{cite web|last=Ryan|first=H.R.|date=October 30, 2023<!-- date from page source -->|title=Jerry Remy|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jerry-remy/|website=Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>
*[[Arlene Violet]]&nbsp;– "her thick accent&nbsp;... a reminder of her blue-collar home 'toif' [turf] in [[South Providence]]"<ref>{{cite news|last=Larmer|first=Brook|date=March 26, 1986|title=Rhode Island's legal crusader.Former nun pledges to scrub state's image clean|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1986/0326/aviol-f.html|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|location=Providence, R.I.|access-date=August 9, 2025}}</ref>

==French-American Manchester English==
An ethnic local accent has been documented among self-identifying [[French Americans]] in [[Manchester, New Hampshire]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Nagy|Roberts|2004|p=278}}</ref> The accent's most prominent pronunciation features are [[th-stopping|''th''-stopping]] (pronouncing ''thin'' like ''tin'' and ''there'' like ''dare'') and, variably, word-initial [[H-dropping|''h''-dropping]] (so that ''hair'' may sound like ''air'').<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Nagy|Roberts|2004|p=296}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Accent (sociolinguistics)]]
*[[Boston accent]]
*[[Maine accent]]
*[[Western New England English]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|3}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation
|last1=Labov
|first1=William
|author-link=William Labov
|last2=Ash
|first2=Sharon
|last3=Boberg
|first3=Charles
|year=2006
|title=The Atlas of North American English
|location=Berlin
|publisher=Mouton-de Gruyter
|isbn=3-11-016746-8
}}
* {{Citation
 | first1 = Naomi
 | last1 = Nagy
 | first2 = Juli
 | last2 = Roberts
 | editor-last = B.
 | editor-first = Kortmann
 |editor2-first= E. W.
 |editor2-last=Schneider
 | editor3-last = Burridge
 | editor3-first = K.
 | editor4-last = Mesthrie
 | editor4-first = R.
 | editor5-last = Upton
 | editor5-first = C.
 | contribution = New England phonology
 | contribution-url = http://projects.chass.utoronto.ca/ngn/pdf/NagyRoberts.pdf
 | title = Handbook of Varieties of English
 | volume = 1
 | year = 2004
 | pages = 270–281
 | place = Berlin/New York
 | publisher =  Mouton de Gruyter
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210185208/http://projects.chass.utoronto.ca/ngn/pdf/NagyRoberts.pdf
 |archive-date=2015-12-10}}
* Stanford, James N.; Leddy-Cecere, Thomas A.; Baclawski Jr., Kenneth P. "Farewell To The Founders: Major Dialect Changes Along The East-West New England Border." ''American Speech'' 87.2 (2012): pp.&nbsp;126–169. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
*Stanford, James N.; Severance, Nathan A.; Baclawski Jr., Kenneth P. "Multiple vectors of unidirectional dialect change in eastern New England." ''Language Variation and Change'' (2014) Vol.26 (1), pp.&nbsp;103–140.
* Stanford, James. 2019. New England English: Large-scale acoustic sociophonetics and dialectology. Oxford University Press. 367 pages.
* {{Accents of English|hide1=yes|hide2=yes}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|first=Rebecca|last=Rule|title=Headin' for the Rhubarb!: A New Hampshire Dictionary (Well, Kinda)|publisher=Islandport Press|location=[[Yarmouth, Maine]]|year=2010|isbn=978-1-93403-144-5}}

{{English dialects by continent}}

[[Category:Dialects of English]]
[[Category:American English]]
[[Category:Culture of Maine]]
[[Category:Culture of New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Culture of Massachusetts]]