Yes I have an accent.  I grew up in Elizabeth, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh.  My family speaks with an accent that we proudly refer to as Pittsburghese.

Pittsburghese is a regional dialect from the Pittsburgh, PA area.  Southwestern, PA to be exact.   The dialect has its own vocabulary, grammar, and sound system rules.

Grammar “rules” of my dialect Pittsburghese:

  • When using the verbs WANT and NEED we omit the “to be”.  For example, we would say:
    • “The car needs washed.”  Instead of saying ‘the car needs to be washed.’
    • “She wants helped.”  Instead of saying ‘she wants to be helped.’
  • Instead of using the plural pronoun you, we would say YINZ.  For example, we would say:
    • “Do yinz want to go with me?”  Instead of saying ‘Do you all want to go with me?’

Sound “rules” of my dialect Pittsburghese:

  • We say short a instead of the long OW.  For instance, I would say dahn tahn instead of down town.
  • We say the short i instead of the long E in some words.  For instance, I would say “My uncles worked in the still mill.”  Instead of saying, “My uncles worked in a steel mill.”  We would also say “I shop at Giant Igle” (a grocery store) instead of “I shop at Giant Eagle.”

Some vocabulary:

  • I use a BUGGY at the grocery store instead of a cart.
  • GUMBANDS are used instead of rubber bands.
  • We eat JUMBO instead of bologna.
  • If the house is messy, we REDD UP, instead of tidy up.
  • When it is icy, we say it is SLIPPY, not slippery.