Mikey Does

Boston English

Definition:

Boston English — more precisely, Eastern New England English — is the variety of American English spoken in the metropolitan Boston area and the eastern portions of New England (coastal Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and to a lesser extent adjacent parts of Connecticut and Maine). It is one of the most widely recognized American regional accents, famous for its non-rhoticity (r-dropping after vowels), its highly distinctive short-a system, and the intensifier “wicked.” Boston English has significant prestige within New England itself, and complex social stratification — certain features are increasing, others declining, and rhoticity vs. non-rhoticity has been a major social marker for generations.

In-Depth Explanation

Non-rhoticity (r-dropping): The defining feature in popular awareness. Post-vocalic /r/ — r that follows a vowel in the same syllable — is deleted or vocalized:

  • “park” → “pahk”
  • “car” → “cah”
  • “Harvard” → “Hahvahd”
  • “butter” → “buttah”

This gives the characteristic “bahstin” or “pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd” quality. Eastern New England non-rhoticity is historically prestigious — it was the prestige form in Boston through the mid-20th century, associated with old New England elite culture — and only began declining as rhotic speech became dominant in American broadcasting and national prestige. Today, non-rhoticity in Boston is variable by age, class, and neighborhood: older, working-class communities (South Boston, East Boston) tend toward more non-rhoticity; younger, college-educated speakers tend toward rhoticity.

Linking and intrusive r: A feature that accompanies non-rhoticity: r is inserted before a following vowel. “Cuba” + “is” → “Cubar is.” “Idea” alone = “idear” before a vowel. This is the flip-side of r-dropping — in non-rhotic dialects, /r/ and the following vowel context are connected.

Short-a raising: Boston English has a distinct short-a system — but it differs from NYC’s in being more pervasive: short /æ/ (as in TRAP, BACK) is systematically raised and tensed before nasals AND before voiceless fricatives AND before front voiced fricatives. “Plan,” “man,” “bad,” “pass” can be raised. The system is complex and sub-regionalized within New England.

Wicked: The regional intensifier wicked (= very, extremely) is strongly associated with Massachusetts and New England: “That’s wicked good,” “it was wicked cold.” It functions exactly as “really” or “very” but is distinctly regional.

Vocabulary:

  • Bubblah — drinking fountain (eastern Massachusetts)
  • Frappe — a milkshake with ice cream (what the rest of the US calls a milkshake; a “milkshake” in Boston has no ice cream)
  • Packie — package store (liquor store)
  • Pissa (or pissah) — excellent, great; derived from “pisser”
  • Wicked pissah — extremely good
  • Rotary — traffic circle/roundabout
  • Quahog — hard-shell clam (from Narragansett)

LOT vowel: In Boston English, the vowel in words like “lot,” “hot,” “body” can be noticeably fronted and rounded — producing a sound that approximates a British RP vowel. This is distinct from most American English, which has this vowel unrounded.

The caught-cot distinction: Historically, Boston English maintained a distinction between CAUGHT (raised, slightly rounded /ɔ/) and COT (unrounded /ɑ/). This distinction is weakening in younger speakers. The THOUGHT/LOT split is still audible in many Boston speakers when compared to merged Midwestern varieties.

Sub-varieties:

  • Providence, Rhode Island English: Shares many features with Boston but has its own localisms; strong r-dropping tradition; cabinet for milkshake
  • Portsmouth/New Hampshire English: Shares features but less extreme r-dropping
  • Maine English: Shares non-rhoticity tradition; additional distinctive vowel features; famous for “ayuh” (yes)

Related Terms

Sources

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