Audrey's "Philly Speak"

I've recently moved to Virginia and have gotten a few comments on my accent, which inspired this video. I also lived in South Jersey for a few years before moving down here so i'm sure that has also influenced the way I speak.

The article i'm reading from is located here: http://www.citypaper.net/articles/081497/article008.shtml

ETA 8/3/2010: The variety of responses since this video was first uploaded has been interesting. For every comment I get saying I don't have a Philly accent, I get three saying how they are from Philly and I found just like them. Let me clear some things up:

1. My family has been in Philadelphia since they came over from Italy over 100 years ago. I was born and raised two blocks from the Italian Market. Yes, I do have a Philadelphia accent, however both of my parents are educated so I am sure that influences my speech. There are also variations within accents so it is possible to have a Philly accent yet sound somewhat different from me.

2. If you view my channel, you can see additional videos from my childhood in which my accent is more pronounced.

3. Please read the article linked above, and pay attention to the vowels in particular. I provided this video for general public viewing in hopes that it would be of interest to people interested in linguistics who would be able to spot such subtleties. I didn't make the video to have an accent pissing contest with bored people... ;p

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• philadelphia
• accent
• philly
• speak

[hateraide]

lmfao you do NOT have a south philly accent im 28 and my family and I been here our whole life. EPIC FAIL.

[vonheston]

@hateraide Did you read the other comments where this was addressed? Sorry dude, my fam has been in Philly over a century and it is where I was born and raised. Just because my accent is not the same exact accent as your family's doesn't mean I don't have a Philly accent. My vowels alone make that obvious. If you are interested in dialects you should read a book on linguistics, or check out this article for Philly specifically: citypaper . net / articles / 081497/ article008 . shtml

[buckr02]

south jersey != philly

[vonheston]

@buckr02 I only lived in NJ for a few years between PA and VA. ;) I was born in Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and raised in South Philadelphia. See my other videos of my childhood home.

[buckr02]

@vonheston ah, good. that is acceptable. it's kind of annoying when south jersey folk call themselves philadelphians.

[vonheston]

@buckr02 I've never met such a person but i'm sure they exist. Do remember though that there was some kind of mass exodus of Italian Americans from Philly to South Jersey over the past two decades, so it's possible some older Jersey folk might have been brought up in the city and still consider it home. ;) I don't blame them, South Jersey is a horrible place! (Sorry, it is!)

[ihavebig]

lol I also moved from philadelphia to northern VA To go to college and got a job in Va. People comment on my accent all the time. I got some weird looks when I asked an ice cream shop for jimmies on my ice cream. LOL hahahaha. man I got the munchies. i could really go for a hoagie.

[SleepWhenIamDead]

...interesting vid....I'm from Bucks County...and while I'm familiar with the Phila accent we don't have it up here, nor do we have the NY...we are in between...I'd say it is more Mainline or even a bit more British, definitely not an urban dialect...

[amindformelodrama]

You sound almost exactly like my friend who lives in Aston...it's actually pretty eerie.

[dexelpreP]

@310Sole westcoast accents sound normal to you because you live with them, and they sound normal to other English speakers because most actors in television shows and movies try to mimic cali and certain canadian accents (depending on how they speak normally), people get used to hearing it so it sounds normal. there is no proper accent, people just speak the way they speak.

[dallasluce]

sounds normal to me

[bzes10]

you legit have a philly accent. no exaggeration, this is how we "tawk"

[Lyriapersiana]

Is the Philadelphia accent similar to the urban Southern one? Your accent sounds somewhat similar to what I hear daily. Not exact, but similar.

[NewYorkFlavour]

Sorry, you don't have much of an accent at all. You sound like you could have come from anywhere in the Northeast.

Chris Matthews is an example of a REAL Philly accent.

[scottbaioisdead]

@hateraide if you were from philly you wouldn't be able to pick up a philly accent, i'm from north jersey, the real new jersey and i can blatantly hear her philly accent

[je2796]

I lived in Phill bawl for 21 years. I say everything right. I get mad when I'm told that I say water wrong. I say jawn 12 times a minute, and I'm proud.

[Rofocowboy84]

The weird part is, this sounds completely normal. I never even knew there was such a thing as a Philly Accent until I researched it, I always thought everyone else just had an accent, lol...