Boston Brahmin accent
The Boston Brahmin accent is a New England accent associated with the Boston Brahmins and is therefore quite different from the accent associated with most working-class Bostonians.
Examples of people with this accent include Charles Eliot Norton,[1] Henry Cabot Lodge, T. S. Eliot, Leverett Saltonstall, John Brooks Wheelwright,[2] Katharine Hepburn,[3] George C. Homans,[4] Robert Lowell, McGeorge Bundy,[5] Elliot Richardson,[6] William F. Buckley, Jr.,[7] George Plimpton,[8] and John Kerry.[9][10]
In popular culture, use of the accent often denotes stereotypes such as pretentiousness or snobbery. Users of this accent include the characters Charles Emerson Winchester on M*A*S*H, Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island, Walter Gaines on Cheers, Tracks on Transformers, and George Feeny on Boy Meets World. The accent bears some similarities to the Mid-Atlantic accent, as well as a greater New York exaggeration known as Locust Valley lockjaw.
Phonology[edit]
| Pure vowels (Monophthongs) | ||
|---|---|---|
| English diaphoneme | Boston Brahminphoneme | Example words |
| /æ/ | [æ] | act, pal, trap |
| /ɑː/ | [ä] | blah, father,palm, pass, yeah |
| /ɒ/ | [ɒ] | lot, top, wasp,bother, |
| /ɔː/ | [ɒ~ɔː] | all, dog, bought, loss, saw, taught |
| /ɛ/ | [ɛ] | dress, met, bread |
| /ə/ | [ə] | about, syrup, arena |
| /ɪ/ | [ɪ] | hit, skim, tip |
| /iː/ | [iː] | beam, chic, fleet |
| /ɨ/ | [ɪ] | island, gamut, wasted |
| /ʌ/ | [ʌ] | bus, flood, what |
| /ʊ/ | [ʊ] | book, put, should |
| /uː/ | [uː] | food, glue, new |
| Diphthongs | ||
| /äɪ/ | [äɪ] | ride, shine, try |
| /aʊ/ | [äʊ] | now, ouch, scout |
| /eɪ/ | [eɪ] | lake, paid, rein |
| /ɔɪ/ | [ɔɪ] | boy, choice, moist |
| /oʊ/ | [oʊ] | goat, oh, show |
| R-colored vowels | ||
| /ɑr/ | [äː(ɹ] | barn, car, park |
| /ɛər/ | [ɛə(ɹ)] | bare, bear, there |
| /ɜr/ | [ə~ɐ] | burn, first, herd, learn, |
| /ər/ | [ə(ɹ)] | doctor,murder |
| /ɪər/ | [ɪə(ɹ)] | fear, peer, tier |
| /ɔr/ | [ɔː(ɹ)] | horse, war |
| /ɔər/ | [oʊ(ɹ)] | hoarse,score |
| /ʊər/ | [ʊə(ɹ)] | poor,tour |
| /jʊər/ | [jʊə(ɹ)] | cure, Europe, pure |
References[edit]
- ^ Barbara W. Tuchman (31 August 2011). Proud Tower. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-307-79811-4. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ Alan M. Wald (1983). The revolutionary imagination: the poetry and politics of John Wheelwright and Sherry Mangan. UNC Press Books. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8078-1535-9. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ Robert Blumenfeld (1 December 2002). Accents: A Manual for Actors. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-87910-967-7. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ A. Javier Treviño (April 2006). George C. Homans: history, theory, and method. Paradigm Publishers. p. vii. ISBN 978-1-59451-191-2. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ Jacob Heilbrunn (6 January 2009). They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-4000-7620-8. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ William Thaddeus Coleman; Donald T. Bliss (26 October 2010). Counsel for the situation: shaping the law to realize America's promise. Brookings Institution Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8157-0488-1. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ Healy, Patrick (3 September 2009). "A Mannah of Speaking". The New York Times. p. 1.
- ^ Larry Gelbart; Museum of Television and Radio (New York, N.Y.) (1996). Stand-up comedians on television. Harry N. Abrams Publishers. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8109-4467-1. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ Bill Sammon (1 February 2006). Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media. Regnery Publishing. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-59698-002-0. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/03/whats_a_boston_brahmin.html
- Alvarez, Louis; Kolker, Andrew, American Tongues, IMDb.
- Metcalf, Allan (2002). How We Talk: American Regional; English Today. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-618-04362-0.
External links[edit]
- Two Boston Brahmins converse, from the documentary American Tongues
- Boston Brahmin Accent Sample: "Park your car in Harvard Yard"
- Boston Brahmin Accent Sample: "The law is very formal and strict in that regard"
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