Philadelphia English
Philadelphian Accent - Indexing and Ideologies (PhillyTawk: Da Accent inna Media)
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Philadelphian and self-proclaimed “accent nerd” Sean Monahan makes Youtube videos about the accents in the Mid-Atlantic region. In this video he talks about representations of the Philadelphian accent in movies and TV (or lack thereof), then it cuts to a montage of Philadelphians speaking to hear the difference between actors and native speakers. This video is a great example of indexicality and language ideologies at play. Sean is very proud of the accent that indexes him as a Philadelphian but aware that the lack of accurate representations of the dialect makes it hard for outsiders to recognize it. In the beginning of the video he even mentions people on the west coast though he had a speech impediment – this reveals a language ideology they have about how English “should” sound.
Revolutionary War - SNL
Play videoSNL skit about the differences in the ideologies of Philadelphians and New Englanders and it also shows the differences in their accents.
Jawn - It's the new 'Yo'
A profile of the slang term "jawn," unique to Philadelphia, which is used in a the new Rocky movie. [Published on 12-01-2015]
Where Yinz At
An in-depth look at dialect diversity in Pennsylvania, with a particular focus on the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia dialects and an overview of their features, with comments from Barbara Johnstone and William Labov. [Published on 04-29-2014]
America's Ugliest Accents
The Kroll Comedy Show spooks speakers from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in one sketch, and Gawker calls them "America's ugliest accents."
Highlights from "Wildwood, NJ"
Play videoScenes from a 1994 documentary about Wildwood, NJ that exemplify features of Philadelphia/South Jersey English.
Translating Philly-ese
A 2014 article on the changing Philadelphia dialect.
Philly's Accent is Changing
Play videoA video interviewing William Labov and colleagues about their project on change in Philadelphia English