Wicked Good Guides / Wicked Good Guide to Boston English /

So don't I

An example of the Massachusetts negative positive. Used like this:

"I just love the food at Kelly's."
"Oh, so don't I!"

Comments

if i owed a hadwrench for every time i heard something of this magnitude, i'd be diggin' my own grave by now.

Sappy on December 1, 2003 03:57 PM.

I'm a student at Harvard from down near Providence and I'm doing a paper about this phrase!!

Erica on December 6, 2003 06:43 PM.

See this thread for more discussion of "so don't I:"

http://www.wickedgood.info/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=23493

adamg on December 11, 2003 11:11 AM.

Dude...I say "so don't I" all the time.

Emily on March 13, 2004 06:42 PM.

eeek so dont i! although its really pronounced "so dunn-eye"

Dan on March 17, 2004 04:22 PM.

wait... so is it good as in "so do I," or is it bad as in "I don't like it either"???

Michael on March 22, 2004 03:50 PM.

"So Don't I" that'd drive me crazy if I heard that all the time!

Seanna on April 2, 2004 04:44 PM.

when I moved from mass me and my buddy to Va we noticed how different we sounded check it out

help it oout instead of out

viser caad - visa card
christiner - christina
what'z upbuddy - what's up buddy - say real fast

blar on May 19, 2004 12:27 AM.

another is down in va they call the store by the name but in mass we might say
supa maakit or the growcez

bruce on May 19, 2004 12:29 AM.

I like the way you set up that your info is the homepage, nicely done. Thanks! bilder

bilder on July 15, 2004 08:00 AM.

I am from MA and live in Virginia and two things that when I say it people said "what?!"
Elastic: apparently people call these things rubber bands and they did not know what an elastic was!
Jimmies (on ice cream): people call these sprinkes and did not know what jimmies were.
Am I alone here ;-)

lisa on July 24, 2004 01:30 AM.

I am a black guy who loves hockey.
GO BRUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jake on July 28, 2004 11:45 PM.

my whole family is from boston and now we are living in va. we call the remote control for the tv 'the clickah' and people here call it a remote. when I ask for the clickah I get funny looks.

justin on August 17, 2004 11:52 PM.

I am flying to Boston tomorrow, from Toronto, CA. Thanks for the quick heads up on the lingo, I'll let you know in a week what I thought of it all. Cheers

Griff on August 18, 2004 09:35 AM.

Am I the only one that's heard this expression's first cousin, "So ain't I"? As in, "Um goin' to the cahnivuhl tuhnite"..."So ain't I!"" Oh and the previous poster is NOT alone...When I lived on the west coast, I was told that "elastic is a quality, not an item.." yah, right. I also got weird looks asking for jimmies and about making a "packie run"

val on August 20, 2004 06:09 PM.

this drives my wife crazy when I use it.... I'm a lifelong MA resident.... she is a New York transplant

Steve on August 24, 2004 06:32 PM.

i grew up in Boston. i know all about packie runs "yo, you want en'in?" nah, imstr8." "grab up a deuce deuce though, dry as shit!"

i live outside the country now so i live on my memories. but its funny, cuz i work on the phones and get to listen back on previous calls. my Boston accent is so pronounced.

what really makes me proud though is when i am on the phone and people recognise my accent as being from Boston. i think that's the best feeling in the world....

liz on September 14, 2004 07:43 PM.

So if your name is Bob and you are married to Barb, how do you know when people in Boston are calling your name?

Max on September 28, 2004 07:57 PM.

My family (from California) visited another family in Weymouth in the 60s, and even they were confused ... we had a "Barbie" and they had a "Bobby." We were in stitches listening to them, but they were totally convinced that they talked just like Huntley & Brinkley!

Jane on October 2, 2004 09:13 PM.

I'm from GA and I'll be in Boston this weekend until next wed. It should be interesting to how southern "redneck" and Boston lingo go together. It's probably gonna be confusing for all of us. I can't wait. Go Sox!!! I hate the Yankess. Later, CAV

Vaughan on October 7, 2004 04:33 PM.

People of Massachusetts who moved to my state, I feel you.

I'm from VA and recently visited Mass. Expected "Boston" to follow some derivative of the ar-ah rule... but talked to some people and they were like "so how do you like it at Buwaustn?"

It was quite great... But my question is how the heck to you get along with no "yoll"? It's vital!

Jay on October 9, 2004 05:20 PM.

when i was a kid i used to say " so dont i" all the time , ive lost it now but i was laughin when i read this cuz it brought me back,,

but what in the hell is up with all these people from Mass, livin down in VA

labreck on October 29, 2004 07:08 PM.

This is cool - stumbled across this site looking for anything about the Boston accent - certain words, etc. and the pronunciation of them.

I am from Lynn (City of Sin......) and now live in New York......and get picked on all the time!!

Sheryl on November 17, 2004 01:43 PM.

im from MA and am currently goin to school in CT, i said "so ahhn't i" and now after i was made fun of i realized i and are don't even go together? and i cant stand their accent is Bawwston, no BAHHHHston!
~ and yes i love my accent cause everyone knows im from MA and wants to have the accent

Justin on November 22, 2004 01:10 AM.

Hey, lifelong Boston resident now living in Phoenix, AZ of all things, and ohmigawd, I get ragged on all the time..."WHAT? What did you say??" I went in the store and said "throw it on my cahd" WHAT? What's a CAHD? Aw, jeez...at least I can find a place to pahk the cah heah hehe, but I wicked miss the way we talk back home :(

Eileen on November 24, 2004 12:03 AM.

As a native Bostonian, i used to get blank stares from friends when, on days we might want to get some beer, I'd suggest a trip to the "packy"

oh and they all made fun of my accent whenever I said I had an idea. (Idear)

Mark on November 25, 2004 11:33 PM.

While I was living in Allston (Ipswich Native, now in Worcester), my roomates had some friends from jersey, who did not know, that you drink water from a bubblah, I had to tell them you only throw coins in a fountain.

Chris on November 30, 2004 03:34 PM.

I am in Chicago and can't stand the way Chicagoan's pronounce the middle o vowel which Bostonians don't have (example the vowel that would make the diffence between Bob and Barb. To get even with these mid-westerners, I always have them pronounce (after writing them down) Mary, marry and merry. Inevitably they will pronounce them all the same, while Bostonians will have a distinct vowel for each. Who says our English is weahd?

Peter on November 30, 2004 04:01 PM.

I am a Bostonian living in South Florida, people think I talk a little funny, so I throw in a couple of youze guyz, and tell them I am from Providence.I tell the rednecks here that youze guyz is northern for y'all. Some of them actually believe me, and others don't know what I am talking about, but want to know if I ever met a Kennedy.

Russ on December 1, 2004 09:59 PM.

A real good ear can hear the difference between an accent from Medfed vs. an accent from Sto'tin" A true native can hear distinct accents that differ from town to town. A Lynn accent is dramatically different than from Somerville accent; and a Southie accent is the REAL Boston lingo. 351 towns in the Commonwealth, probably 352 different takes on it.

Jack on December 19, 2004 11:09 PM.

Confused about the Bob/Barb thing.
Around here ( Boston area) it would be Bawb and Bahb. Is someone calling Bobby Bahbie?

It's funny, I learned to talk while living in Cambridge and moved to a NW burb when I was very young and still retain a very heavy Boston accent, my kid's accents are very diluted though and I often hear my youngest actually saying ( gulp) CAR not cah

J on January 1, 2005 07:59 PM.

and of course when you drop the 'r' from a word it must be added somewhere
else.

ex. "My girlfriend worked in a lawr
office"

and living now in CA I asked for directions and the gal at Circle K said
take a U-ey at the light. I knew she
was from Boston!

Billy on January 4, 2005 05:02 PM.

I haven't heard anyone say this yet, so I've been wondering ... is the emphasis on "Don't" or "I"? When I say "So do I," I think I usually put it on the "I," but I wasn't sure if it's the same.

Katia on January 5, 2005 11:44 AM.

My CA-raised daughter makes fun of the way I say Are-inge for the citrus fruit and fahr-est for a large group of trees. I just tell her that anyone who can't say "Mary is merry that she's married" and have anyone know who did what doesn't have any right to complain.

david on January 10, 2005 11:43 PM.

I do need to come to Boston and check this out. I am an Australian living in London and from what you're saying the Boston accent has some similarities with - gasp - the Australian accent.

Adam Forster on January 13, 2005 07:30 PM.

OMG, my cousins from Michigan think I'm a riot. Funny thing is, I grew up in MI and moved to MA around age 7. I used to get reemed for the mid-west accent so I dropped that pretty quick and picked up a wicked thick Lowell accent. (yes, it is a bit differnt from Boston but sounds the same to an outsider). Does anyone remember "No Sah... Yes Sah..."? I had a boyfriend who lived in England and he flipped out when I said I was heading to the packy. Apparently, in England, packy is a derogitory term for Pakistani people. Go figure!

Sandra on January 14, 2005 02:56 PM.

So how would David (1/10) pronounce the surname of Adam (1/13), and distinguish him from Foster? But Aussie is pretty consistently right behind the nose, while BosTalk (or whatever) bounces back and forth between the throat, the nose and the outstretched lips, much like Parisian French. Remember when the young Bee Gees (fresh from a dozen years in Oz) sang "awluva sudden I sore a new morning"? No wonder they also offered a hat-tip to "Massachusetts"!

Ron on January 22, 2005 03:26 AM.

I now live in Florida originally from Dorchester. The best one I have ever heard was told to me by my nephews wife. She was attending art school in Florida two guys from Boston are in her class and one yells out to the other" I need a "Darka Marka"

bob donovan on February 4, 2005 08:37 AM.

Help me on this one- I grew up on the South Shore and call pepsi, coke... "soda". A friend from Dawchesta calls is "tonic"---- Is this regional???

Laurie on February 11, 2005 10:55 AM.

dude, you'd be surprised. people in the south call it "coke" even if its sprite or dr. pepper. and in the pac.northwest, and in the midwest its "pop" I've never heard tonic before, unless you're talking about the shit you put with gin.

anna on February 14, 2005 06:35 PM.

Yeah- we also called it "coke" even if it was ginger ale......

Laurie on February 22, 2005 12:47 PM.

I grew up just north of Concord NH. We called soft drinks "tonic".

My father was from PA. To us kids, a "cah" was something you drove. To him it was an animal that gave milk.

Dianne on February 27, 2005 10:14 PM.

Tonic is from the days when Pespsi, Coke etc. had drugs in them, sold in drug stores, and and were used as pick me up's.

Gerry on March 4, 2005 05:06 PM.

My sister and I (ages 40 & 43)grew up in Dorchester and always said "tonic".
Fa cryin out loud, it was right up there on the menu in the "spuckie" shop!
Here are sumoah:
Toozdeez & Thursdeez we always had pa-day-duhs and roast beef on a boo-key roll.
My father called taxi cabs "nickle chasers"
Mah would scream out the window
"Get up the house!"
when she was really mad and wanted us in.

Andrea on March 15, 2005 09:45 PM.

"Jimmies (on ice cream): people call these sprinkes and did not know what jimmies were.
Am I alone here "

Oh, thank God, I'm not the only one!! I lived in Taunton (ok, so not quite Boston) until I was nine, then transplanted to Illinois. Not one person here knows what the heck I'm talking about when I ask for jimmies on ice cream!! Used to get them on sundaes at Friendly's.

Reading this has brought on all kinds of warm fuzzies remembering that delicious dialect. =) Wish it hadn't been drilled out of me!

Jennifer on March 19, 2005 05:26 AM.

If you're arguing with someone and you want to say "you better not do that" it's "ya beddanot!"

Also, I get lots of phone messages that go a little something like this.... "Hi Christiner, it's mum..."

And a great story: I was in NY at the closest Dunkies (40 miles away!! I was suffering severe "withdrawral") and I asked for a jimmie donut. The guy looked confused, but pretended he knew what I was talking about and turned to the donunts like he was going to get it. He just stood there for 10 seconds and finally turned back and goes, "a what?"

Chris on April 3, 2005 12:15 AM.

"So don't I" was something I always said without giving it a second thought until I was an adult and somebody pointed out to me how weird it really sounds. I also said (say) "So ahn't I" (So aren't I") instead of "So am I".

For instance, "I'm goin' up Brighton Center (senna) ta do some shoppin'."..."So ahn't I."

Brightonjohn on April 10, 2005 02:23 PM.

Also we say RUM instead of ROOM. My freinds from Ny always laugh when i say " i'm tired, i'm about to go slepe in my Rum"

Sian on April 21, 2005 02:08 PM.

I can answer the "Bob" "Barb" question if no one else has. "Barb" is pronounced "Bahb" and "Bob" is pronounced "Bawb" Totally different and even an outsidah can tell the difference.
Most people don't realize that in the New England dialect, the way the "o" is pronounced is as distinctive as the way "r"'s are. (Or aren't, depending on how you look at it.)
Jess

Jessica on May 19, 2005 06:44 PM.

Rum (room) is a Jersey thing, but okay.

Beth on May 24, 2005 05:32 PM.

My mom and I were living in Holliston (Hallstin) but we moved out to ChicAAHgo 43 yrs ago... she still pronounces my name MAAAAAAHHK.... it's a pretty resilient ole accent.

When we came out here on summuh vay-cay to see our rel's, that's when I first heard the word "tonic"... we called it "pop" and I thought it was pretty weird, tonic was what guys put in their hay-ah.

I've been back here since 88, and have finally started the "heah an' theah" and "he's wikkit smaaaht". I'm not doing the "I sawr a great movie" thing though (yet)...

I still say, "My folks live near ROWT Eight outside Chicago..." but here in Natick, "the traffic is always a mess on ROOT Nine." It's two different ways, depending where the street is I'm talking about...

Finally, I remember reading a little story in Reader's Digest years ago: a lady was at a family reunion and was talking to a doctor from Boston. She noticed he was looking at her very closely and she asked "What's wrong?" He said "I notice you have PSDS." She got pretty freaked out until she realized he was saying "You have pierced ears".

mark

Mark on May 24, 2005 06:02 PM.

if u've missed the boston accent, u can listen to NPR's cartalk they got this thick accent, or u can google car talk and lisen to it online.

Aht on June 29, 2005 01:15 AM.

The man in my life grew up near Boston. I grew up in the midwest. He often says, "So don't I," and even thought I've known him for three years, yesterday was the first time he ever said "Bang a left" while I was driving! We are going to Boston next week, and I can't wait!!

Suzie on July 10, 2005 09:23 PM.

Wait, people don't say this elsewhere? Ya learn sumthin' new e'ry day.

former Saugonian on July 13, 2005 02:43 PM.

I'm originaly from the Boston area as were both of my parents and my two siblings. We lived in Maine for some time and then moved to Iowa. Talk about culture shock. In Iowa, nobody understood a thing I said for the first two years and they told me I had an attitude. They said I talked too fast and I told them they listen too slowly.

It's been over 20 years now and to this day I still use "Wicked" and "so don't I." As for "Bang a left," I'm guilty as chahged on that one too. The accent is extremely hahd to lose. I speak fluent Ioweegian now but when I am with the family the Bostonian accent (with hints of Maine mixed in) is what comes out of my mouth. It doesn't hurt to go to a family reunion back home every so often to keep up the native tongue. As for my parents, they never lost a bit of the accent.

Oh and as for "wicked being a New England thing, people from Maine say "wicked" too. I listed to them do it for ten years.

Matt on July 21, 2005 01:30 AM.

I moved to Boston from GA almost 3 yrs ago.

I honestly did not understand what some people were saying as they were speaking to me...

I have 2 children, the first day of school I was walking my 5 yr. old in and the Principle walked over and asked me if my child was a "keendagahdnir." I did not know how to reply since I did not know what he thought my child was... :)

Also, at the grocery store I young man walked up to me & my "non-toddler" children & asked me if would like a "carriage." I looked around for a parent with an infant, did see one, gave the guy a strange look and walked past him without speaking! We had "buggies" or "carts" in GA..

I hated my southern accent & dropped it as a teenager. As pretentious as this sounds... growing up in the south I thought accents were a sign of ignorance, for not understanding how to speak properly..
Since living here, loving Boston & the accent I now embrace my new, ever so slight accent with pride!!!

Ren�e on August 30, 2005 11:08 AM.

After Katrina, everyone was talking about Bi"lux"i. I'm thinking, that's an o in there, not a u.

It would be Bi LOCKS ee to us Bostonians

J on October 14, 2005 01:40 PM.

I went to Germany for three months and everyone wanted to hear my boston accent. GERMANS!! (my name may be German but i lived mah hol life in da Bahsten ahyah) Saying Go swox dah got me a lot of attention. Unfortunitly, they didn't realize I was from Brookline so my accent was slight. One day I will move to Southie and get a real accent.

andreas on October 14, 2005 10:40 PM.

So Don't I. My husband who grew up in Puerto Rico was fascinated when he first heard me say that. I have always said and did not realize till recently that it is a Bawstin expression.

Eileen on October 14, 2005 11:16 PM.

This is cool!
Love the site, Complimenti ;)
Seb from Paris :)

www.net-ster.com

Seb on October 28, 2005 12:50 PM.

Helloo! You should be surprized getting my note here: I am a 60-yr old French guy who was so lucky to have been "around Mass" for two "grand' weeks"! I wish some Mass intellectual would plan to write a "Mass-Americanenglish-French" dictionary! Would be a hit (yes, but where?) Just to let you know that I did not understand 98.23% of the highly sophisticated explanations given by your local linguists regarding Mass(media)dialect but I toroughly enjoyed my total lack of understanding: such a thrill in such a boring world (you should come over here: pure compact dreariness.. Wish were not here but there in Mass! (French) Love to all of you Mass natives and forgive any error/stupidity due to my weak English.. (the latter has been "picked up" with people coming from at least 21 different states of the Union while working for the US military in Europe.. so it could explain my language poverty.. Alain Ilan Braun

Ilan on October 29, 2005 04:31 PM.

Jeeez..I'm all confused now!
I grew up in the burbs of NYC then moved to the finger lakes region of central NY.
I thought I'd heard it all!
I thought "so don't I" was from the hillbillies of central NY...they use it in all forms: "so wouldn't I" "so didn't I"
"so can't I"
Do folks in Boston also use "over to" and "seen" in the same remarkable way? Like:
"I seen Bawb over to the packie!"

Chris on November 17, 2005 02:46 PM.

This is hallarious, another thing with the rearragning of the r's is " Drawr on the boahd." And "vaniller icecream" I also had a problem when dating a guy named carl if i ever had to "call caahl from the cah"

And, if any southerner can figure out what the packey is he definetly won't know what to get when you ask for a 30 rack. Probly thinks you gotta go out hunting or something stupid.

Meg on November 17, 2005 06:49 PM.

isn't "jimmy" a derogative word for blacks? i mean i grew up in MA all my life and i always say jimmies for the black sprinkles and the colored sprinkles are sprinkles but i can see how its derogatory...is this true?

KP on November 25, 2005 02:38 PM.

I grew up in Cambridge and now live in northern VA. When I was growing up, Jimmies were Jimmies regardless of the color.

I see from some of the posts there are a lot of yanks living here in VA. This is a good thing!!!!!

sandra on November 27, 2005 11:54 PM.

I grew up in Mattapan and was always proud of my Boston accent, though I lost some of it now by necessity. The first tme I was in N. Carolina, asked a question, and got "Sure Don't!" for an answer, it stopped me in my tracks. We always answered " Sure DO!" - so I was expecting the opposite when I heard the "Sure...".

edie on December 13, 2005 07:20 PM.

I spent some time living in New Mexico, working with a bunch of guys from Texas. Anyway, while I was out there, I told my boss (whowas from CT) that I was leaving early to go to the dealer and get my new car. One of the Texans over heard this and became rather confused. The conversation went something like this:

[mike] hey hair, i gotta leave urli? i'm goin ta'tha dealahz ta pickup mi nu cah.

[harry] shur dude, needa ride?

[jim] ur gunnah dew wot, myk?

[mike] i'm goin ta'tha dealahz ta pickup mi nu cah.

[jim] a newker? iz'at sum kynda draug?

[mike] no nawt'ta drawg dealah, ah cah dealah! i'm getin a nu cah afta werk.

[jim] o, u mean a caher deal'er.

[mike] duh! thats waht i jus sed, cah dealah!

[jim] noh myk, itz caher. see. ay. areh. caher!

[mike] yaeh je'um, thats waht i sed, cah. see. ay. ah. cah!

[mike] (wispering to harry) hairy, watz wit thiz guy, sum kinda retahd?

(Note: I try to be polite and pronounce people's names the way they pronounce them. So Jim from Texas is je'um, as opposed to my friend gym from re'veah.)

Mike on December 15, 2005 07:20 AM.

I grew up in MA, until I was 18, and when I moved away (and NO, it was NOT to VA!)I was constantly corrected for my "incorrect" grammar when I would say things like "so don't I." I stopped saying it, not realizing that it was part of my unique Boston accent. I wish now that I had never learned to drop it, because I've tried re-using it, and even though I am back in MA, it just doesn't feel right to me anymore. Guess I'm still subconsciously waiting for someone to correct me (I'm an English teacher, to boot!).
Also, I recall drinking "tonic" as a kid, just like my parents did, but I've noticed that over the past 40 years, somehow we've all started drinking "soda." I believe we (the younger generations) are making linguistic history, and "tonic" as we once knew it will eventually become obsolete.
Thanks for this site!
Go Bruins!

Dawna on December 29, 2005 09:31 PM.

I love this website!!! I moved from Michigan to Milton, MA; the South Showah, where I started 7th grade. What a culture shock! I heard "he's a wicked good kid" meaning he's really nice, and "She's so queeyah!", meaning, she's an embarrassment. Kids hung out at the "quawries" near Cunningham Pahk after getting someone's big brother to go to the "packie" in the "squayah". Also, I heard "Mum" used for "Mom" and of course, "Nana" for "Grandma". To top it off, in 8th grade my English teacher poked fun at accents that weren't from Boston. We learned the Gettysburg Address that year and I carefully memorized it in Bostonese so as not to get made fun of:... "Fowah scowah and seven yeeyahs ago, ahoowa fahthuz broahht foahth apoahn this coahntinent a new nation, conceived in libidy and dedicated to the proahpuzishon that oall men ahh greated equal...". I've since moved back to Michigan and learned to be fond of this Bostonian speech as it is so real, authentic and rare. I think a lot of it originated in Doahchestah and Southie. Is this the case? Does anyone know?

Hilary on January 30, 2006 08:46 AM.

Okay, I am from Central Mass.. which all of you's Boston people think is western Ma, but trust me it's not (we have 'lectricity and cahs, not Hosses and buggies) and If you really wanna heah the best accents you gotta go to Worcester Ma, pronounced "wistah" out here. Not wooostah, no O sound. you will be hard pressed to find an R in pronunciation.
Also I have noticed (especially on a trip to visit my sis in VA- yah what is it with locals movin' to VA?) that we swear a helluva lot up here! here it's like nothin to say "frig this" (slang for f*ck) and Hell is a staple all the little childrens use! In fact if you don't swear people start to think you are a real religous fanatic or sumptin'. I got myself into so much trouble! whoops!
also the phrase "so don't I" as in "me too!" is used very much. And it's Soda, and a steak and cheese grinder. unless you want it on a bulkie. and ice cream with jimmies.

Marne on February 5, 2006 11:37 AM.

What's a hadwrench? Why would you dig a grave with it?

I'm mad at Rowling and her Harry Potter movies for stealing "wicked!"

"Tonic" was used because the first soft drinks were sold as "health tonics" Soda was first sold as health food!

C Daniels on February 26, 2006 09:04 AM.

I'm from orange county, california...okay the OC haha I'm applying to boston University, that is why i stumbled upon this website....It's so interesting to me! A lot of my family lives in CT or NY and whenever I visit them every summer I get made fun of all the time for my "accent" I dont' believe i have one! okay so maybe i say like and dude a lot like the majority of southern californias but come on that's expected ;) and i don't even notice when i say it, over here you can say "dude" and the other person will know exactly what you mean, it's awesome. it jsut depends on how you say it. Anyways, if i go to BU (crossing my fingers) i'm not sure if i'll survive haha. okay peace out.

Elizabeth on March 9, 2006 05:07 PM.

Hey OC chickie! I just moved here from there, and I'll tell ya to "go ahead" and settle in. You have to listen REALLY hard sometimes. I've been here 6 months and I'm still not sure what a "packy" is. I was originally from suburban NY, so some of the accent is familiah. But, being a New Yauka, I have to watch it...I think I'll add on to that that I hate the Yankees, always have, and I'm looking forward to opening day at Fenway. I'll take my 9 year son there this summer, I hope, and he can see some REAL fans!

Oh, and hey, we got off easy this winter with the weather, so don't forget to pack a heavy coat when you come..

Karen

Karen on March 17, 2006 10:39 AM.

I moved to the Napa Valley (CA) from MA 4 yrs. ago and found this site while planning a trip back home--My CA husband always tries to speak "bostonian" afta bein around my famly (which nevah sounds quite right). I can't wait to go back home and see my fatha and my grampa Cahl (who both call me Eambah)! I can todally relate to all the comments above and I'm sad that I only get my accent back when I'm around my fam--this trip'll be a wicked good remindah!

amber on March 22, 2006 11:26 PM.

dude, what's with all the Mass-holes in VA? I'm from NH and go to school in VA and all I see down here are mass-holes. It's ok though, I trained my roommate to scream "Mass-hole!" whenever one drives by us. Freaked her mother out the first time...

brittni on April 27, 2006 03:13 PM.

A "Mass-Hole" is what we dig to capture all the "Freak'in" jerks from NH when they try to cross the border!

At least your sisters will feel safer!

Jim on May 22, 2006 08:55 PM.

I moved to Boston from CT when I was 5, but even after 15 years the Boston accent could still result in communications problems. The worst was when I was about 20, during a medical exam. The doctor, who had a heavy Boston accent, asked if both my parents were alive. I told him no, my father had died, and he asked the cause.

"He was shot," I said.

"Oh, and you're so tall!" came the puzzling reply. It took me a minute or two to realize he thought I'd told him my father was, somehow, fatally SHORT!

michele on June 23, 2006 06:39 AM.

a mass-hole is to catch all the NH people crossing into mass? why would we wanna go to that dump? To buy stuff we could buy here cheaper? It's you guys who are crossin our boarders to go shoppin tax-free and buy some fireworks and beer on sundays and stuff... getcha facts straight...

brittni on July 6, 2006 02:07 AM.

I am also in VA... get weird looks/laughs when I say negative positives, i.e., "so don't I," "let's see if we can't get."

And also "clickah," "wicked," "down cellah," "directional," "Portagee" "a regulah (as in, coffee)" etc. etc.

tm on October 30, 2006 11:01 AM.

I just love this site! I was at a staff meeting this past week and my Irish Catholic boss from Malden had me in stitches as I took notes phonetically spelling what she was saying for that very long hour. This is public schools in Mass....teachah, cuhrsif(long hand)school fayah, suppoet fah stellah whook, we need to raise the bah, owha students disuhv mowha,get moah softwayah and a good chayah, put it on rekahd to be shoowah, it's impoetant to pooit fawth effit, nawit pahshul but togethah, find a pahtnah and don't staht without the ahtist, put a bookmahk in it awin thusdi

betsy on November 4, 2006 09:29 PM.

This site is wikid pissa!!

I was born and raised for 18 years in the Merrimack Valley (Lawrence, MA.) which we lovingly call the Mingya Valley. After living four years in central NY and the last 14 years in eastern PA, I have lost most signs of my accent.

But I still drink wata from a bubbla, call my soft drinks Tonic, enjoy Jimmies on my frappe, my favorite card game is Forty-Fives, like my Dunkie's (or Double D's) coffee regula, wear dungarees, keep my tools down cella, change channels with my clicka, use a carriage at the supermarket, and keep a box of elastics in desk draw.

And when I drive to the Packie I always use my directional, before I bang a left after the rotary. If I happen to make a mistake I will just bang a u-ey and try again.

Thanks for a great site, I feel like I am home again.

John Santamaria on November 7, 2006 07:14 PM.

I live in MA, but I call tonic like tonic water, but never for soda... tonic water being um... sparkling water

Katla on November 24, 2006 10:21 PM.

I recently moved from Kansas to Virginia. I have two best friends in Kansas who are going to fly out here for the summer. When they come we do short remakes of movies. I get the script online and print off the parts I want to film. For one of the movies I have to have a Boston accent so I have been researching on that accent which is how I found this website. We start filming in June 2007 so I want to get the accent right before then. It's just a movie that friends and family see but it means a lot to us to make it profeshional. I just wanted to say thanks everyone for sharing your storys! Its been a real fun learning experiance!

POTCjedi on December 6, 2006 10:45 PM.

I lived in eastin (eastern, not Easton) MA until 1987, and sevral yeahz laduh I was workin a compuda job in UT, (in a two-man cubicle - the other guy was native UT). There was a problem with my program and I said: "I cahn't find the era (error)." My cube mate said; "Say what?" I replied, "An era". "What's an era?" "You know, a mistake, a problem". "Oh, you mean error". "Right! That's what I said - era." He kinda gave me a funny look.

To this day, I have to force myself to put an ahh (r) where it belorngs. I, too, am really sorry that I've not nurtschid my Bahstin accent. Thanks for this web site - it brings back many fond memriez.

Joe on January 8, 2007 06:02 PM.

I was always fascinated by Boston. When I was in college I would listen to WBZ (with Larry Glick) at night, Maynard in the Morning, and subscribed to Yankee for two years.

I was lucky: my neighbors across the street were from Boston (Hyde Park) and for forty years we heard the wonderful accent as addressed to the couple's seven children:

"Bayuhst'ds!"
"Getch' ahss in heah!"
"This is myun! Getch' own!"
"Ugly squalluh!"
"Gawdda Hell!"
"Who fahted?"

I never though anything about the accent; because I grew up listening to it. (And I live 20 minutes from Baltimore.)
To further reinforce matters,
I became friends with the neighbor's relatives and spent four summers visiting them in Massachussetts.
My best childhood friend and her family was from Boston - an Irish houshold.
Between them and my neighbors,
when I go to Boston now, it feels like...home??

diane riccobene on February 5, 2007 02:06 PM.

I grew up in Upstate New York and the phrases "so don't I" and "wicked" have been used for at least 35 years. I think the challenge for me moving to the Boston area has been distinguishing between the "o" and "ar" pronuniciation (i.e.; Bobby and Barbie, shot and short, lodge and large, etc.) Jimmies, carriages, elastics, bubblers, etc. are all new lingo to me as well.

Patti on February 10, 2007 11:01 AM.

I am just north of boston and have a wicked strong accent.I get made fun of when I have a few cocktails because it gets way worse. I decided to do my new years invites as follows:
New Yeah's Eve Pahdee...Bring in da New yeah...enjoy a night of eatin', boozin', dancin', and reckless behaviah to follow...Maybe gettah fiaah goin' in da pit--weth-ah pahmittin

christina on February 28, 2007 10:27 PM.

I would like to add that I live in vegas. I have been here for 3 years, straight outta boston.. And NO ONE knows what sneakers are.. or as we say sneakas.. and apparently they are not carriages at the groceries store, they are carts. and talk about shit when you say wicked...

gina on March 17, 2007 06:13 PM.

I hate to say this but after I moved to Colorado from North Central MA, I fought to lose my accent because I was made fun of all the time. And now I am sad because I don't have the accent anymore (well, it has been 14 years)...see I even spell without an accent. :( People don't have an accent here unless they've come from the Dakotas where they say WARSH (what you do with your clothes). But things that people are confused about out here are thigns like hamburg (duh, it the stuff you make hamburgers out of), and they have no idea what a bureau is. I actually had to discribe it to them. No imagination in these people. I do use "so don't I" a lot, but lately I have been catching myself saying that and something else too, and now I am selfconscience. I haven't been back to MA since I moved out here (in 93) and I miss it (a lot). I have one friend here who is from the RI/MA border and all we do is talk about the Pats and the Sox (FUN!!) There a whole completely different feeling you get from New England (especially Massachusetts) that you can get no place else.
I loved reading all of this! Thanks.

Jen on March 28, 2007 04:58 PM.

RE: JIMMIES

If you live in Bawstun or the surroundin arie-uhs, then you know that when you go to an ice cream stoah, a frappe (propahly prahnounced frap NOT frap-pay)is a shake, youah choice of cones ah wafah o'h sugah and jimmies ah chahcahlit sprinkles. what most people fohget is that tha word jimmy comes frahm a derrogitahry term used to describe people of african american descent. I've been working in Bawstun areah ice cream shops for the past ten yeahs and sometimes people who know this will get offended when you say "you want jimmies with that?" but a habit is a hahd thing to break. Even still, the people of Bawstun use the term jimmies very freely, and so don't I.

on a side note:If you evuh go away from bawstun on a long trip, as soon as you get back turn on your local weathuh repowht... tha foahcastuhs all have really wicked bad bawstun accents (not so much the newscastuhs who ah moah pawlished and prawpuh)

Amanduh on March 31, 2007 01:36 AM.

I was born and brought up in Jamaica Plain and Charlestown, and moved to San Jose, CA. when I was 40, and have been out here on the left coast for about 15 years. Love this site. I had forgotten about, "so don't I" and tonic. Brings back great memories. My accent really comes out when I'm either excited or tired, and especially in certain combinations of words. The worst, (best), time was, as a security operations manager, I needed to get some information on Security Officer guard cards, (which are required in CA), and to make sure that the Officers were carrying hard copies of their cards. I needed to get the info from an admin person across the room, and shouted over to him to get me a list of Officers with " HAHD GAHD CAHDS" ! There was a couple of moments of absolute silence from the other 3 people in the room, and then everyone burst out in hysterical laughter. It's been about 6 months since then, and I still hear about it. I really love being unique.

Mike on April 4, 2007 03:02 PM.

I've got a strong Boston accent and some of you have it wrong. There is no "r" in Lawyer (Loy-yah). We don't insert "R" in the wrong spots usually, that's something the Kennedy's did but you don't really hear it. i.e., it would be "Cubah" not "Cuber".

Bobby and Barbie would be "wicked easy" to tell apart (a-paht). Bobby is "Bauby", like "auburn" or a Bauble, and Barbie is "Bahhby", like what a sheep would say. We're very good at telling those sounds apart.

"So don't I!" means "I do too!", "So ahn't I!" means "Me as well."

It's not a directional, it's a blinkah! I say Tonic meaning Coke, Pepsi, etc. "Pop" is just bizarre, but "Soda" wouldn't seem weird. It's a clicka, down cella, and the cops on 93 are Troopas. A packy is a package store.. a place to buy liquor or beer (interestingly, beer is not "beyuh" but more like beeer with a barely audiable r)

"The Departed" is a horrible example of badly faked accents.

Jason on May 23, 2007 04:54 PM.

I lived in Boston all my life and it seems all of eastern MA has it. My friend Matt who lives in leominster cant speak like a bostonian. He said "Harvard Yard" witha strong R. I think there's a difference between dialects in Western and Eastern MA

Christina on July 22, 2007 03:07 PM.

Does anyone else break up the word "another". I spent my first 16 years in Mattapan and often say, "That's a whole 'nother story" (for "that's another whole story"). It occurs to me that I've never heard anyone else here in Ct say it and am wondering if it's only a Boston thing.

edie on August 16, 2007 12:03 AM.

edie on August 16, 2007 12:04 AM.

Ain't this wicked decent!

I'm a Pohtland, Mainah, and just about everything describin' the Boston area-r accent also applies to much of the loah hahf of the State 'a Maine, deah!

Don't forget that if you're wicked angry, at least in Maine, "ya get ya'self some ugly about it."

Ayuh!

al on November 26, 2007 03:29 PM.

Born and raised in Southie I'm in college now in colorado and people here think i'm retarded. I was with my roommate and said "we should go to the pakey and come back and get wicked frikin shatared." she looked at me like i had to heads. then the other day i was talking about my pop and she thought i was talking about my coke. when it was my dad and i say ma not mom, and pappy not grandpa and mam not grandma. also i say bang a left, and hang a right, and i whipped that ball at her head. people ask me to say "cah" and my boyfriend tells me i talk to fash and mush all my words together. like i told him one day "yousgotpitchonyacah" he was like what? i said "yous got pitch on ya car."
he looked at me like i was a chowdahead and i said "sap, you have sap on your car."
thats onother thing they don't say stuff like wicked retarted and 'the light dawned on marblehead' or chowda head here.
we were at a resturant one time and i said this 'chowda is wicked pissa' my roommate actually spit her food at me and said what? they put piss in your soup?
i can't wait to go back home where people don't think i'm crazy
apparantly so don't i and so ahn't i are not accepted vanacular in colorado or anywhere else and everyone says ya'll here what the hell is up with that where i'm from it's yous

ashley on December 28, 2007 05:03 AM.

i forgot to add that the first time i told my roommate to "chill yah livah." she freaked on me. i guess out here in colorado where everyone is from california and ohio and anywhere but colorado they say chill out. and i also ask for jimmie donuts and jimmie ice cream nobody knows why i'm talking about. depending on who i'm talking to i say "coke" when i'm talking about any drink or i'll say tonic but that's only around my mam and pappy. i heard somene ordering a sody pop the other day and couldn't stop laughing. and people don't know what a yupie or a townie is here either its kind of sad no matter what they will not break my accent they've already told me that i can't type "funny" on papers so i've learned in the past two years not to "use slang" and sound more "educated" but i refuse to loose my bahston accent when i speak because i love it and i know i'm "smaht."

ashley on December 28, 2007 05:20 AM.

I remember back in "66 when I moved from Cambridge to VA, some people would make fun of my accent. After my telling those hayseeds to kiss my arse a few times, they quit.

sandra on December 29, 2007 08:59 PM.

Wow, I don't even have enough energy to read all the comments on this one! But I read several.

I grew up in Westwood, after living in West Roxbury and Auburndale before the age of 6. I've traveled around the country, and everyone I meet makes me say "park your car in Harvard Yard."

Then they say I don't sound like I'm from Boston.

Then I take an online quiz on pronounciation which tells me I'm from New England, possibly Boston.
Interesting.

My mother (from Newton), best friend (from Braintree), cousin (from Newton) and ex husband (from west of Worcester) have discernable Boston accents to the point of someone telling my parents, when *they* were traveling - I know she's from Boston; where are you from? (my father was born in Roxbury and grew up in JP)

I don't know what it is, but I've never had the accent (I'm wondering if it's a working class thing?) although I do call that thing you put your clothes in a bureau and the things you pull out of it, draws.
My mother was a prime example of saving up her Rs to use in other places - like the name of my friend Linder. (Linda)

I may not drop my R's but:
I grew up drinking tonic, sitting on a couch in the parlor, under the puff (comforter) and carrying my money in my pocketbook (is this bostonian?)

I feel very sad that, in order for people to understand what the heck I mean, I have to lost my regionalisms.

I tried watching some episodes of Spenser for Hire, but lost track of the plot while trying to figure out where the scenes were shot (I worked in Boston for John Hancock at the Berkeley Bldg for 6 years in the 80's - now I send packages from work in FL to a Wachovia bank in that very building. It's quite odd.

And now I'm going back to finish (or maybe start - I got distracted early) watching Boston Legal.

-- Homesick for 6 years in TampaBay

Pam from Boston on December 30, 2007 12:27 AM.

PS - I find it very amusing that the facade they use for a "courthouse" on BL is the Boston Public Library.

Pam from Boston on December 30, 2007 12:30 AM.

In reponse to the comment about "tonic" and "soda" from the person who lived on the South Shore. I was born and raised on the South Shore and never heard anyone in the Boston area call it soda unless they were an implant. Calling Pepsi and Coke "tonic" has caused me problems while traveling. Thank heavens I don't drink tonic that often.

Rene on January 22, 2008 11:54 AM.

Transplanted New Yorker here. We have our own problems with our 'Cawfee Tawk' down in NYC. And "here," "hair" and "hear" sound exactly alike in the Bronx.

But being here in Boston for eight years and being a counselor for five, I had to learn to coat-change. Sometimes I forget to take off the coat, though. I went home for a picnic at a park named after a former President and told my New York sisters to meet me at the 'Eff Dee Ah State Pak'?!?! They laughed at me for days!

I listen to rap music regularly so I dont lose my native tongue.

I had to learn:
"All Set"
"The T"
"The Pru"
"Mass-ave"
"MassPike"
"Comm-ave"
"The Garden" (the one that isnt on 33rd between 7th and 8th Avenues)

Go Pats!

ChezNiki on January 23, 2008 05:33 PM.

I am from South Africa, and spent a yer in Bostin, when i first got ther, and my natrual pronousiation would have been something like "Hraved Yrad", even after a while I could not tell the diffence for certain words, esp something like work/walk/rock.

Hilary on February 11, 2008 11:45 AM.

i grew up and have lived all my life in los angeles, ca. and have been to boston to visit relatives several times (nahthend, to be exact). whenever i would go out in public i could talk to people because they could tell i wasn't from the area and so they would tone it down for me. when i would pass people talking to each other, however, i practically needed subtitles to get it. here in l.a. we have a very definite accent ourselves that i get teased for alot in other states (not eve dude!, whaddup wit tha' shit, ya don' godda bail jess yet, bitchin', wherezat fool goin', todally gnarly, fuckin' a, perdy frickin' gay etc.) i must agree that in addition to all the cool historical stuff one of the best parts about visiting boston is the accent. they say the media and tv are starting to erode local dialects and i only pray it ain't true.

Alex on April 5, 2008 02:25 PM.

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