Boston Proper, Boston Strong

Linda Burton posting from Boston, Massachusetts – If you want to be considered a proper Bostonian, you have to understand Boston English. “Don’t worry about the poor lost New England “r’s” I learned; “we stick them onto the end of certain other words.” Some “r’s” take on an “ah” sound; you can make any Bostonian groan and roll their eyes when you cite the example “Hah-vahd Yahd.” But to a non-Boston ear like mine, that’s what I hear. It’s hard (hahd) for most visitors for the first few days, but Boston tour guides plunge forward (fah-wahd) with their dialogue and the tour buses roll on. I dug a little deeper into how it works and found this rhyme: Ah final ahs just disappeah, but wheah they go we’ve no idear. Yes, those floating “r’s” grab onto words such as “idea” and stick there; I can almost hear John Kennedy’s voice ringing in from the past. I even found instructions on “How to Talk Like Kennedy” – so that vigor becomes vigah, and Cuba becomes Cuber. » read more