According to Hofmann: A rose by any other name n’at
In my early days as a newspaper reporter, I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Powter.
For those who may not know who she is, she无毛视频檚 a television personality, a motivational speaker, a nutritionist and an author of several books in the 1990s to the 2000s.
For those who still don无毛视频檛 know who she is, she无毛视频檚 the lady with blonde crew-cut hair whose catchphrase was 无毛视频淪top the insanity!无毛视频� and after I tell people that, they go, 无毛视频淥h, yeah, her!无毛视频�
Anyway, she was driving to the area to promote her latest book, so her publicist contacted the newspaper to have a phone interview with her while she was en route to the bookstore event.
During the interview, when I asked her a lengthy question, she stopped and said, 无毛视频淚 really like your accent.无毛视频�
Upon hearing that, I knew the woman had just fallen madly in love with me, and I was puzzled that she thought I had an accent. I wasn无毛视频檛 unaware that there无毛视频檚 a certain noticeable twang (maybe 无毛视频渢wungz无毛视频�) to us in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but I certainly didn无毛视频檛 think I laid it on thick by any means.
无毛视频淥h, that无毛视频檚 nothing,无毛视频� I said to her. 无毛视频淵ou should hear the things we say.无毛视频�
Of course, I was referring to Pittsburghese, aka Pittsburgh English, aka N无毛视频檃t.
It无毛视频檚 a beautiful mix of the regional accent and words that, well, are unknown in other areas west of the Mississippi 无毛视频� and north, south and some 无毛视频� well, a lot 无毛视频� east.
Words and phrases like pop, chipped ham, redd-up, gum-band, hoagie, jumbo, Kennywood无毛视频檚 open, nebby and yinz, which is the southern 无毛视频測无毛视频檃ll无毛视频� but rusty.
Well, it seems like a recent poll from the folks at Writing Tips Institute (writingtips.org) shows that 57% of folks want to make what they无毛视频檙e calling 无毛视频淧ennsylvanian无毛视频� an official dialect.
First, there无毛视频檚 an issue with having a 无毛视频淧ennsylvanian无毛视频� dialect, and it无毛视频檚 as clear as the state无毛视频檚 two major cities, Pittsburgh and Cheesesteak Town.
My brother lives near Philadelphia, so I visit there a few times a year. While I have no animosity toward that city, I must say most dialects and accents seem to have trickled down from New York City, making Philly sound more like New York City Jr.
Don无毛视频檛 get me wrong: They have a few words and phrases that they claim as their own, like 无毛视频渨it无毛视频� or 无毛视频渨itout,无毛视频� when you want or don无毛视频檛 want onions on your cheesesteak, chocolate sprinkles are called 无毛视频渏immies无毛视频� and then there无毛视频檚 无毛视频渏awn,无毛视频� which is used as a substitute for specific words 无毛视频� except using it for 无毛视频渨it无毛视频� or 无毛视频渨itout无毛视频� or they无毛视频檒l kick you out of the cheesesteak stand.
The most baffling thing about 无毛视频渏awn无毛视频� is when one Philadelphian says it, the other Philadelphian knows what they无毛视频檙e referencing, like the word is psychic trigger.
无毛视频淗ow无毛视频檚 your jawn?无毛视频�
无毛视频淧retty good, but not as significant as your jawn.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 know exactly what you mean.无毛视频�
I无毛视频檓 sure there are others words, but those are the ones I heard or could find online.
And that无毛视频檚 where you see the problem. The landslide that is Pittsburghese would butt heads with New York City Jr. because Pittsburgh would never order something 无毛视频渨it无毛视频� or 无毛视频渨itou,t无毛视频� as we无毛视频檙e a region that puts fries on salad, and I can无毛视频檛 imagine folks in Philadelphia wanting to adopt our dialect because they无毛视频檙e in a New York state of mind.
The only solution is splitting 无毛视频淧ennsylvanian无毛视频� in two 无毛视频� east and west 无毛视频� and leaving the middle regions free to adopt whatever they want to the letter of the law.
Why the letter of the law? Well, it seems that the folks polled also stated they wanted the dialect protected by law.
How is that enforced?
Would a local grocery store in our area receive a fine if they have a commercial stating their shopping carts no longer have sharp edges doused with a toxin that causes botulism? Does a cop go to the manager and berate them?
无毛视频淪ir, I understand that you used the term 无毛视频榮hopping cart无毛视频� when you should have used 无毛视频榖uggy,无毛视频� and that无毛视频檚 fineable under the N无毛视频檃t Act of 2023 and, on a personal note, scum like you make me sick and that无毛视频檚 why I wake up every morning to do this job.无毛视频�
I have no issues with protecting an area无毛视频檚 culture and language, but languages do tend to be phased out over time as the speakers of the language die off or move away to die off and people from other places arrive and bring their region无毛视频檚 words and phrases with them.
That无毛视频檚 why we have dead languages like Latin, Coptic, Mandan and Sanskrit, to name a few, and the bright side of that dark cloud is the fact that those languages are now studied and have earned a deeper appreciation now that they无毛视频檙e gone.
Don无毛视频檛 feel bad. Just imagine your pride when a couple of philologists centuries from now uncover ancient scrolls of a husband无毛视频檚 to-do list and one says to the other, 无毛视频淲hat无毛视频檚 a 无毛视频榢olbassi?'无毛视频�
无毛视频淓h, just mark it down as 无毛视频榡awn.'无毛视频�
无毛视频淚 know exactly what you mean.无毛视频�
According to Hofmann is written by staff reporter Mark Hofmann of Rostraver Township. His books, 无毛视频淕ood Mourning! A Guide to Biting the Big One无毛视频nd Dying, Too无毛视频� and 无毛视频淪tupid Brain,无毛视频� are available on Amazon.com.