Fading accents
Different New England accents:
Northeastern (NENE), Northwestern (NWNE), Southwestern (SWNE), and Southeastern (SENE) New England English, as mapped by the Atlas of North American English, based on data from major cities.
Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com
Prof. James Stanford, a linguist at Dartmouth College, has written about how old New England accents are declining, particularly in and around Boston, as the region’s population mix changes. If that means the demise of the harsh local accent in places like South Boston, and in the crime movies that try to mimic it, it’s music to our ears. But I hope that the soft, drawling Downeast accent stays, even as represented in the over-the-top Bert & I routines.
Hit these links:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/new-england-english-9780190625658?cc=us&lang=en&#
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCtOZF14nTc