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Pittsburgh English

Definition:

Pittsburgh English — affectionately called Pittsburghese by locals — is the distinctive dialect of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding western Pennsylvania region. It is one of America’s most internally consistent and robustly studied local urban dialects, marked by a set of highly salient features: the pronoun “yinz” (meaning you all), the monophthongization of /aw/ (so that “house” sounds like “hase” and “downtown” sounds like “dahntahn”), cot-caught merger, and a distinctive lexical inventory including “redd up,” “nebby,” and “slippy.” Unlike the broad Midland region it sits within, Pittsburgh has developed a strong local dialect identity.

In-Depth Explanation

“Yinz” (second-person plural):

Yinz (also spelled yunz, yins, or y’uns) is the Pittsburgh second-person plural pronoun — equivalent to Southern y’all or NYC youse. It derives from you ones (you + ‘uns where ‘uns = ones), historically used in Scots, Irish, and Scots-Irish dialects and retained in western Pennsylvania. “Yinz guys” is an extended form. The term is so associated with Pittsburgh identity that local Pittsburgh fans are sometimes called Yinzers, and the Pittsburgh fan identity is built partly around the word. “Hey yinz, are y’uns goin dahntahn?” is a stereotypical Pittsburghese sentence.

Monophthongization of /aw/ → /a/:

The defining phonological feature. The diphthong /aw/ (as in “house,” “out,” “down,” “town,” “now,” “couch”) is monophthongized — it loses its second element and becomes a simple /a/ vowel:

  • “house” → “hase” (sounds like “hoss” or “huzze”)
  • “downtown” → “dahntahn”
  • “out” → “aht” (= a monophthong)
  • “couch” → “cahch”

This is sometimes described as a low back /a/ — distinct from the diphthong /aʊ/ that most American English speakers use. It is the most immediately salient feature of Pittsburgh speech to outsiders and the one most associated with the dialect’s identity.

Cot-caught merger:

Pittsburgh has complete merger of the LOT and THOUGHT vowels — “cot” and “caught” are perfect homophones, as are “pot/pought” (nonexistent), “don/dawn,” “hock/hawk.” This merger is common in much of the US (Midwest, West, Canada) but is distinctly absent from nearby Eastern cities (Philadelphia, NYC, Boston), making Pittsburgh acoustically different from those eastern varieties.

Monophthong of /aj/ (variable):

Some Pittsburgh speakers also monophthong /aj/ (the vowel in “wife,” “right,” “night”), though this is less systematic than the /aw/ monophthongization. “/aɪ/ → /a/” is not as defining as /aw/ → /a/.

Lexical inventory (Pittsburghese vocabulary):

  • Redd up — to tidy, clean, or straighten up a space: “Redd up your room before dinner.” From Scots/Scots-Irish redd (to clear, to set in order). Found in Appalachian English as well.
  • Nebby — nosy, inquisitive, intrusive: “Don’t be so nebby about my business.” From dialectal English neb (nose/beak).
  • Slippy — slippery: “The roads are slippy today.”
  • Jagoff — an annoying, contemptible, or foolish person: “That jagoff cut me off on the Parkway.” (Now more widely known outside Pittsburgh.)
  • Stillers — the Pittsburgh Steelers (football team)
  • Dahntahn — downtown Pittsburgh
  • Kennywood’s open — your zipper is undone (reference to Kennywood, a Pittsburgh amusement park)
  • Gumband — rubber band (from German Gummiband)
  • Anymore (positive) — “Anymore, traffic is terrible” (= these days). Shared with Midland variety.

Scott Kiesling’s research:

Linguist Scott Kiesling (University of Pittsburgh) is the leading researcher on Pittsburgh English, studying the sociolinguistic dimensions of the dialect — especially how Pittsburgh features function as identity markers and how they’re distributed across the community. Kiesling’s work shows that Pittsburgh features are not just geographic but are used to signal local identity and working-class solidarity.

Social meaning:

Pittsburgh has an unusually strong folk linguistic identity around its dialect — residents are often proud of Pittsburghese in a way that contrasts with many other regional dialects (which are more stigmatized). “Pittsburghese” merchandise, dictionaries, and media celebrate the dialect. At the same time, features like yinz are stratified by class and neighborhood, with more affluent and educated speakers using fewer marked Pittsburgh features.

Related Terms

Sources

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