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Pitt-Bonics
By Joni Pun
A few months ago, the ACAP Newsletter ran an article on y'all-bonics highlighting Southern regional speech idiosyncracies. Not to be undone, I proudly present Pitt-Bonics (a.k.a. Pittsburghese) from my hometown.
| 1. |
Yunz - our answer for the plural of “you” as in “Did yunz go to the show last night? If you really want to sound authentic, instead of going up at the end of a question, you go down. (can also be yunzes and yunz guys if you really want to make an emphasis! |
| 2. |
D'jeet jet? No, jew? Not a reflection on anyone's ethic group, but rather a simple question as to whether the other person has nourished himself yet. The other person answers in the negative and tosses the question back. |
| 3. |
Waited on - of course it's used in a restaurant, but I am referring to another use as in “I waited on the bus for half an hour and it never came so I took a taxi.” |
| 4. |
Redd up - Something often said to a teenager, as in “You'd better redd up your room right away. It's a mess!” |
| 5. |
Nouns such as “gumband, jumbo, babushka” known in other parts as rubber band, baloney, and a head scarf generally worn by old grandmothers who came from the “Ole Country”, |
| 6. |
Steel, still, steal - homophones with different meanings according to the sentence, as in “still mill” (something that Pittsburgh used to have many of before they all went to Japan). Other homophones are “we'll, will and wheel” and “cot and caught.” |
| 7. |
Wouln't, couln't and din't we like to get rid of letters we don't need, for instance, the “d” |
| 8. |
Needs painted or needs cut more shortcuts. Other parts of the country may need to put an infinitive or a gerund after the word “needs” but we do just fine without the extras, thank you. |
| 9. |
Nebby, neb nose, neb sh… -- various words to describe someone who tends to poke his or her nose in what doesn't concern them. |
| 10. |
And finally, let's put in some extra words, as in “Who all did you see at the dance?” “What all did you buy downtown?” (We want a complete count, it would seem.) |
Some people say that our accent comes from the fact that there were so many immigrants a hundred years ago especially the German, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Irish, and Russians who mainly learned their English from books and so, never got a lot of the vowels correct.
So, how about some contributions from other parts of the U.S. and Canada, so we know what others are saying when we travel?
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