Western New England English refers to the
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of
New England English
New England English is, collectively, the various distinct dialects and varieties of American English originating in the New England area. Most of eastern and central New England once spoke the " Yankee dialect", some of whose accent features st ...
native to
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, and the western half of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
;
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
's
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
(from
Albany to
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...
) also aligns to this classification. Sound patterns historically associated with Western New England English include the features of
rhoticity (full pronunciation of all ''r'' sounds), the
horse–hoarse merger
In English, many vowel shifts affect only vowels followed by in rhotic dialects, or vowels that were historically followed by that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of vowel distinctions and so fewer vow ...
, and the
father–bother merger
The phonology of the open back vowels of the English language has undergone changes both overall and with regional variations, through Old and Middle English to the present. The sounds heard in modern English were significantly influenced by the ...
, none of which are features traditionally shared in neighboring
Eastern New England English
Eastern New England English, historically known as the Yankee dialect since at least the 19th century, is the traditional regional dialect of Maine, New Hampshire, and the eastern half of Massachusetts. Features of this variety once spanned an eve ...
. The status of the
cot–caught merger
The ''cot''–''caught'' merger or merger, formally known in linguistics as the low back merger, is a sound change present in some dialects of English where speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in "cot" and "caught". "Cot" and "caug ...
in Western New England is inconsistent, being complete in the north of this dialect region (Vermont), but incomplete or absent in the south (southern Connecticut), with a "cot–caught approximation" in the middle area (primarily, western Massachusetts).
Western New England English is relatively difficult for most American laypersons and even dialectologists to identify by any "distinct" accent when compared to its popularly recognized neighbors (
Eastern New England English
Eastern New England English, historically known as the Yankee dialect since at least the 19th century, is the traditional regional dialect of Maine, New Hampshire, and the eastern half of Massachusetts. Features of this variety once spanned an eve ...
,
New York City English
New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...
, and
Inland Northern U.S. English), meaning that its accents are typically perceived as
unmarked
In linguistics and social sciences, markedness is the state of standing out as nontypical or divergent as opposed to regular or common. In a marked–unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one. The dominant defau ...
"
General American
General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
" varieties. Linguistic research, however, reveals that Western New England English is not simply one single or uniform dialect. Linguist
Charles Boberg proposes that it be most generally divided into a Northwestern New England English (a standalone "Vermont" accent) and a Southwestern New England English (a
less advanced subdialect of
Inland Northern English);
[Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (1997)]
"Dialects of the United States"
''A National Map of The Regional Dialects of American English''. University of Pennsylvania. however, even Boberg lists the possibilities of several distinct accent divisions of Western New England.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary features that predominate in Western New England English include ''grinder'' for ''
sub'' (''submarine sandwich''), and ''tag sale'' for ''
garage sale
A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale," "basement sale," "rummage sale," "thrift sale," "patio sale," "lawn sale," and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...
'' (predominant in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts).
Overview of phonology
Some Western New England speakers show the "generating conditions"
for the
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of U ...
(or NCVS: the defining feature of the
Great Lakes region
The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...
's
modern dialect) in backing of (to ), possible fronting of to , and
tensing all instances of to something like . Though actually variable, these features occur among Western New England speakers just enough to suggest that they may be the "pivot conditions" that influenced the NCVS in the Inland North, likely beginning in the early twentieth century.
The English of Western New England in fact shows many sharp differences throughout rather than one uniform accent. In 2001,
Charles Boberg, discussing that Western New England English was a likely direct influence on the Inland Northern English of the Great Lakes region, still identified as many as four or five English sub-regional accents within Western New England itself, based on data from the late 1990s:
*Northwestern Vermont (centered on
Burlington) shows no raising of (except before nasal consonants), and therefore stays back in the mouth, leading to a cot–caught merger to
� this whole process consistently follows the logic of the
Canadian Shift of Standard
Canadian English.
*Southwestern Vermont (centered on
Rutland) shows a universal raising to and fronting to , but then oversteps and defies the logical direction of the
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of U ...
by producing a cot–caught merger to
�̈
*Western Massachusetts (centered on
Springfield) shows a universal raising to and fronting to , following the logic of the
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of U ...
, except that it tends towards a cot–caught merger to , which is especially completed among younger speakers.
*Central Connecticut (centered on
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
) shows a universal raising to and fronting to , and thus avoiding the cot–caught merger; this whole process consistently follows the logic of the
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of U ...
.
*Coastal Connecticut (centered on
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
), in the above respects, appears to have more in common with
New York City English
New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...
, including a clear absence of the cot–caught merger.
Charles Boberg argues that Northwestern New England (Vermont) English, due to its
cot–caught merger
The ''cot''–''caught'' merger or merger, formally known in linguistics as the low back merger, is a sound change present in some dialects of English where speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in "cot" and "caught". "Cot" and "caug ...
but failure to demonstrate other features of the Eastern New England dialect, must be considered as its own separate dialect. On the other hand, in discussing Southwestern New England English as its own unique dialect, he instead proposed that it be regarded as a "subtype" of the
Inland North
Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of U ...
dialect, based on the aforementioned commonalities, even if variable, such as the universal raising of the short ''a'' and no cot–caught merger. However, some younger Southwestern New England speakers have diverged away from both of these features, which Boberg at least partly foresaw; such variables are discussed in greater detail below.
Northwestern New England English
Northwestern New England English, sometimes labeled as a Vermont accent, is the most complete or advanced Western New England English variety in terms of the
cot–caught merger
The ''cot''–''caught'' merger or merger, formally known in linguistics as the low back merger, is a sound change present in some dialects of English where speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in "cot" and "caught". "Cot" and "caug ...
, occurring largely everywhere north of
Northampton, Massachusetts, towards . Today, speakers documented in Burlington (northwestern Vermont) and Rutland (southwestern Vermont) show consistent fronting of before , therefore towards , in words like ''car'' or ''barn''. The first element of (e.g. in "goat") is similar to with a low and lax first element, and sometimes with no glide as
monophthong
A monophthong ( ; , ) is a pure vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation. The monophthongs can be contrasted with diphthongs, wh ...
al .
Burlington
Northwestern Vermont (centered on
Burlington) shows no raising of (except before nasal consonants), and therefore stays back in the mouth, leading to a cot–caught merger to
� this whole process follows the logic of the
Canadian Shift of Standard
Canadian English.
Rural Vermont
Since the mid-twentieth century, Vermont speakers have largely avoided stigmatized local features, and now follow the rhotic ''r'' of the rest of Western New England. However, before this time, the eastern edge of Vermont spoke
Eastern New England English
Eastern New England English, historically known as the Yankee dialect since at least the 19th century, is the traditional regional dialect of Maine, New Hampshire, and the eastern half of Massachusetts. Features of this variety once spanned an eve ...
, even
dropping the ''r'' sound everywhere except before vowels, just like in traditional Boston or Maine accents.
These speakers may retain vestigial elements of Eastern New England's
trap-bath split, backing and lowering in certain environments.
Today, a dwindling, generally rural, older, and male segment of the northern Vermont population, best studied in the
Northeast Kingdom
The Northeast Kingdom (also, locally, "The Kingdom" and abbreviated NEK) is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, approximately comprising Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties and having a population at the 2010 census of 64,764. ...
, uniquely pronounces with a raised starting point as (e.g. in "cows"; ) and (e.g. in "lie") with a backer, raised, or somewhat more rounded starting point as . A deep
retroflex approximant
The voiced retroflex approximant is a type of consonant used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r\`. The IPA symbol is a turned lowercase lett ...
for "r" may be noted among rural northern speakers, perhaps inherited from
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
or
Scots-Irish ancestors,
due to such immigrants largely settling in western New England (though not as much in eastern New England).
One notable lifelong native speaker of the rural Vermont accent was
Fred Tuttle
Frederick Herman Tuttle (July 18, 1919 – October 4, 2003) was an American dairy farmer, actor, United States Army veteran of World War II, and Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Vermont in 1998. He lived in Tunbridge all ...
.
Rutland
Southwestern Vermont (centered on
Rutland) shows a universal raising to and fronting to , but then oversteps and defies the logical direction of the
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
Inland Northern (American) English, also known in American linguistics as the Inland North or Great Lakes dialect, is an American English dialect spoken primarily by White Americans in a geographic band reaching from the major urban areas of U ...
by producing a cot–caught merger to . The universal raising is most consistently recorded in speakers born before 1950; those born since 1960 show somewhat less raising.
Southwestern New England English
Southwestern New England English is centered primarily around
Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA. Its older speakers show more instances of universal tensing of the short ''a'' , while younger speakers show the more General American feature of tensing this vowel only before
nasal consonant
In phonetics, a nasal, also called a nasal occlusive or nasal stop in contrast with an oral stop or nasalized consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast major ...
s. ''
The Atlas of North American English
''The Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change'' (abbreviated ANAE; formerly, the ''Phonological Atlas of North America'') is an overview of the pronunciation patterns ( accents) in all the major regional dia ...
'' confirms that this
raising phenomenon is highly variable in the region, though studies agree that raising always occurs strongest before nasal consonants.
Regarding the
cot–caught merger
The ''cot''–''caught'' merger or merger, formally known in linguistics as the low back merger, is a sound change present in some dialects of English where speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in "cot" and "caught". "Cot" and "caug ...
, Southwestern New England speech has historically lacked the merger, before entering a transitional state of the merger in the mid-1900s. A "cot–caught approximation" now prevails especially in Springfield and western Massachusetts, but is variable from one speaker to the next with no apparent age-based correlation, except that the youngest speakers now are tending to demonstrate a full merger. Local, especially working-class speakers of southwestern Connecticut (especially Greater Bridgeport and New Haven) and the Albany area of New York State, strongly influenced by nearby
New York City dialect, continue to resist the cot–caught merger.
Hudson Valley
Though not belonging geographically to New England,
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
's Hudson Valley speaks a sub-type of Southwestern New England English (best studied in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
), demonstrating additional influence from
New York City English
New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...
. Albany English shows Southwestern New England English's slight backing of (to ) and possible fronting of to , but New York City's ''caught'' vowel and, though having a continuous short-''a'' system, still shows influence from New York City's
short-''a'' split system. Also, Albany starts fairly back and somewhat forward in the mouth .
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{English dialects by continent
American English
Connecticut culture
Massachusetts culture
New York (state) culture
Vermont culture
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...