Pittsburghese Happened.......

It happened.........my Jersey dialect is still present, and recently my students discovered this 'difference in tongue,' however.......Pittsburghese crept into my mouth this afternoon.

This may be a confusing start for many of you, so I feel that a short explanation is in order. When a person lives somewhere one thing is always present in their language, and that is a dialect. Now true, an Accent may be present, but there is a distinct difference between an Accent and a Dialect. When people hear the term "accent" they often immediately think of three prominent, memorable, and often mimicked accents which is the Southern accent, the New Yorker/Boston, and the British. When I say dialect I do not refer to the sound of a person voice or "twang" in some instances, but what words or terminology are used and associated with that area as well as how some words may be spoken by people in that area.

When it comes to terminology, words that are characteristics of for example the Philly/South Jersey areas, as well as many other areas, are Soda versus Pop, Jimmies versus Sprinkles, contrary to some beliefs, Hoagies versus Subs or Sandwiches (I know some of you may counteract me stating that you eat Hoagies, but you do not, sorry, Hoagies are bought at Wawas, in Jersey you do not order a sub or a hoagie at subway or the pizza place, you order a Hoagie unless you go to subway where it is then a sub, and a sandwich is something you make at home yourself).

When it comes to how words are pronounced, some BIG ones my friends, and now students, have pointed out to me are as follows

- Water (Pronounced sounding like 'WOODER') (This is about half of Jersey, they other half says plain        'wauder'/how you normaly say it)

- Crayon (Pronounced 'CROWN')

- Orange (Pronounced 'AAAAARANGE')

Like I said, it is not a different word, but more of how we pronounce it but not like an accent

PITTSBURGHESE however is a different story......because it is a different language in many characteristics. For example, wash, as in 'to wash the car,' is pronounced "WARSH," and I learned that many people say GUMBAND versus Rubberband, STILLERS versus Steelers (Yes, their football team name),SLIPPY versus Slippery, BUGGY versus Shopping Cart, and my all time favorite, YINZ or Y'ALL versus you all. The final one is where I slipped, no pun intended, and it completely shocked me.

The story goes like this........

A friend and I were on a horseback riding trail ride, she on her trusty Draft Cross who is around 10 years old I believe, and me on an adorable and gorgeous jet black 3 year old. Now the 3 year old I was riding is in training, for those who do not know horses and feel that the 'training aspect' is a bit important or else you will think I am insane, and just like talking to a young child when you are teaching them to swim or ride a bike, you constantly speak to them and encourage them as well as tell them that they are alright. Well this friend and I are riding through the woods and the whole time I am, out loud, speaking to the horse I am riding telling him that he's such a "good boy, you're doing a fantastic job Loxely! Look at you all big and grown up on a trail ride. I'm so proud of you, you're doing so good because you know you're okay, yes you are you're okay," and so on. As this is going on during our short trail ride, his one foot slipped forward a little. Now amazingly enough he was able to control his balance and my own (non horsey people, an untrained horse does not know how to work completely with their balance let alone another's until they are taught, just like a child) and so I told him, "It's okay baby! Just a little Slippy no big deal! Just a little Slippy..........." and then it hit me......I SAID SLIPPY! NOT SLIPPERY, SLIPPY! I was in shock, I couldn't believe my own ears let alone my own voice, I did not properly enunciate the the proper pronunciation of Slippery, and I was at a cross road in my mind. Now this may seem like an over reaction, but it was more of a shocking moment then a reaction. I was not disgusted with what I said or upset or angered by my own words, just in shock.

This brought me back to my classroom where my students were snickering during my class discussion and I had no idea until it hit me, Wooder, I say Wooder, and they don't know what I am saying which of course I let them have five minutes to laugh it out and move on, but it's the shock of it all. Cultural shock is a real thing that can be experienced by anyone anywhere. You may experience it because you travel over seas to Europe or Asia, or because you simply move 7 hours from home, but either way you may experience it all the same. True I didn't know what a YIN was nor a GUMBAND, and people are confused when I order a WOODER or walk into a Pizza Parlor and ask for a Pie, but I never thought that I would simply 'Slip' into this dialect, and here I was riding a 3 year old horse and out came SLIPPY........2 times, not noticing until the 2nd time, none the less it occurred, and still it baffles me, but it also makes me curious as to what other Pittsburghese terminology and dialects I will pick up out here, I just hope that I do not lose my 'Jersey Born Dialect' that in some aspects is just as Unique as Pittsburghese, it just doesn't have a fancy name to compete against Pittsburghese.