(OT) Hey Yenz Guys...Merry Christmas!

[COPANUT]

I'm just glad my Mother made sure none of us ever said Yenz. It may be fun to say every now and then, but to me it shows lack of education.

...and don't get me started on "I seen".

 

[FreddyE1977]

My mom was an English major who always worked hard to break us of saying "yinz"
(even though she was a serial offender on "redd up your room"!). Did not really take
with my sister though.

My wife is a native of the Great White North, and it took a number of years living in
the Burgh before she stopped saying "eh?" at the end of every other sentence.

 

[COPANUT]

My mom was an English major who always worked hard to break us of saying "yinz"
(even though she was a serial offender on "redd up your room"!). Did not really take
with my sister though.

My wife is a native of the Great White North, and it took a number of years living in
the Burgh before she stopped saying "eh?" at the end of every other sentence.

Nothing wrong with saying redd up your room.


The root of "redd" (which by itself means "to clear or clean") seems to be a combination of the Middle English and Scots dialectical word "redden" (meaning "to free or clear an area") with another Middle English word, "reden," meaning "to rescue or free from." The same tangle of roots gave us the word "rid," and is closely related to the word "ready." And none of this, by the way, has anything to do with the color "red."

 

[Parttimer]

And none of this, by the way, has anything to do with the color "red."

Or with radio.

 

[Talk_Dude]

And none of this, by the way, has anything to do with the color "red."

Or with radio.

Yeah, what could any discussion of the Pittsburgh regional dialect and accent have to do with a mass communication medium in Pittsburgh? Yinz might think that radio personalities in Pittsburgh should talk like yinzers, anat. No one on Pittsburgh radio wants to know hows come we talk like that. Just do what you're apposed to do, anat.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Which brings up the great linguistic conundrum that was Myron Cope.
One of the absolute masters of the written word, a man who really loved
the language. But as far as his accent? I don't know if I'd call it
"Pittsburghese" in the purest sense of the word....can't recall him
ever uttering the word "yinz"....but but it sure was local, and not very
radio friendly. As he was told when he accepted the job, "We think
we see a trend in this business towards lousy voices".

 

[Talk_Dude]

Which brings up the great linguistic conundrum that was Myron Cope.
One of the absolute masters of the written word, a man who really loved
the language. But as far as his accent? I don't know if I'd call it
"Pittsburghese" in the purest sense of the word....can't recall him
ever uttering the word "yinz"....but but it sure was local, and not very
radio friendly. As he was told when he accepted the job, "We think
we see a trend in this business towards lousy voices".

According to people who know far more about such things as me, Myron had an incredibly thick Pittsburgh accent, but didn't tend to use words from the Pittsburgh dialect. The words of "Pittsburghese" are what makes up the dialect. That includes vocabulary like "redd up" or "nebby". It is the pronunciation that makes up the accent. Pronouncing words with the "ow" sound replaced with the "ah" sound is an example of our accent.

I remember when former mayor Pete Flaherty would speak. The words he used were straight, standard English, with no use of the Pittsburgh dialect. But his pronunciation was pure "yinzer". I think that also describes Myron. When he'd write, all there was on the page were the words themselves. It was only when he spoke that you heard how his accent. I suspect that's true for lots of really good writers who speak with regional accents. I remember that both John and Robert Kennedy wrote very well, in perfect, standard English. But when they spoke, you immediately noticed their Boston accents.

Can anyone imagine how terrible it would sound if someone from outside Pittsburgh was hired to work on local radio and he used all the words and phrases of the Pittsburgh dialect on the air, but without the Pittsburgh accent? Somehow, the dialect sentence, "Yinz are apposed to redd up downtown, anat", spoken with a standard, Midwest accent would sound really stupid.

(Disclaimer - I'm just repeating stuff I read somewhere. I'm not an expert on this subject, but I recall what the experts have said.)

 

[FreddyE1977]

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