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, 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
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| 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
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- ↑ http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/03/whats_a_boston_brahmin.html
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External links
- 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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