| 1. | Pittsburghese | ||
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The accent, slang, and verbal shorthand of someone born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of the most annoying dialects on the face of the earth. Pittsburghese comes in part from speaking more quickly than normal, producing slurs such as the infamous "Jeet jet?" Some butcherings of people's names:
Anthony = An-duh-nee Aphrotide = Aff-ur-die-tee or Aff-ur-dyte Barb = Boorb Bonnie = Bwaw-nee Carol = Curl Cheryl = Surl Don = Dawn Jennifer = Jinn-uh-fur Lawrence = Lah-rinse Lemieux (as in the beloved Pittsburgher Mario Lemieux) = Lah-muu Terry = Teary Some butcherings of regular words: Acoustic = Ah-cue-stick Afghan = Af-uh-gahn Aluminum = Al-oo-num-in Arthritis = Arth-er-eye-tis Beautiful = Byew-dee-fuhl Breakfast = Breff-iss Downtown = Dahn-tahn Doughnut = Doe-nit Error = Ear Field = Filld Flexible = Flex-uh-kul Garage = Gaarj Hour = Ahr House = Hahs Ignorant = Ig-nurnt Interesting = In-ur-es-tin Lousy = Lah-see Legal = Liggle Natural = Nachurl Out = Aht Pretty = Priddy Quart = Coort Refridgerator = Frige-dare Regular = Reg-uh-lur Steelers = Stillers Technical = Tet-ni-kal Wash = Worsh You = Yinz Some words that don't exist outside of Pittsburgh: Abeast--Slang for "fat", probably derives from "obese" Allergayney Whitefish--This is what we say when we see a condom floating down any river, particularly the Allegheny Aloose--Untied Ascared--To be afraid of something Babushka--Scarf worn on the head to keep "aht" the cold Bitzle--Dirt particle Bumbershoot--An umbrella Burm--Side, usually of a road Cawnur Lady--Prostitute Chipped-chopped or Chipchop--Very thinly sliced, usually pertaining to meat Cucky or Cucka-cucka--Revolting; can also refer to a gooey substance Flustrated--Not just flustered, not just frustrated, but a happy marriage of the two. Grinny--A chipmunk Gum--Elastic Gummyband or Gumband--Rubber band Gutcheez n'at--Underwear Heinz 57--Mutt dog Hunky-doory--Fine Jaggy--Crazy Jagoff--Jerk Jigunda--Large Jimmies--Sprinkles Nebbynose or Nebnose--A nosy person Slippy--Slippery Sucko--Bad Zaksame--Exactly the same Finally, some phrases: "What kinna birrisat?" = "What kind of beer is that?" "Brinnit dahn a thahsan!" = "Bring it down a thousand!" (meaning "Quiet down") "Kinnywood's open!" = "The fly on your pants is unzipped." "Oh mi-lawndry" = "Oh my gosh!" "A whole nuther mahl" = "Another mile" "Airyago!" = "There you go." "Yinz guys getcher bess sleep onna Serta? Tony's gawddit!" = "You get your best sleep on a Serta mattress? Tony's got it a local mattress slogan!" "Buy Saym a drink, and gettis dog one too!" = "Wow, what a great goal sports!" "Gawrsh, it's coledoutdair!" = "Gosh, it's cols out there!" |
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| 2. | Pittsburghese | ||
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The Pittsburgh English dialect, or "Pittsburghese," derives from influences from the Scotch-Irish, German, Central European and Eastern European immigrants. The dialect is somewhat similar in tone to other nearby regional dialects (ie, Philadelphia, Baltimore), but is noted for its somewhat staccato rhythms (a result of the Eastern European influence). The lexicon itself contains notable cognates borrowing from Croatian and other Slavic and European languages. Examples include babushka, pierogi, and halushky. Emblematic of Pittsburghese is "yinz" as the plural of "you", with "yunz" as a variant. Locals who speak the Pittsburgh dialect are often referred to as "yinzers".
Speakers of the dialect also often compress the pronunciation of words and phrases. For example, "up there" becomes "up er." Speakers also often end a sentence with "and that", pronounced as, "n'at." For example, a local "yinzer" might say, "We went dahntahn to go get some beer n'at." |
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| 3. | Pittsburghese | ||
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The particular speech patterns of a native of Pittsburgh, PA. "J'eet jet?"
"No, j'ew?" "I'm goin' to the Giggle DAHNTAHN tah get some sammiches." "My car needs warshed." "My computer is saying 'I need restarted.'" |
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