Baltimorese, sometimes phonetically written Bawlmerese, is a dialect of American English which originated among the white blue-collar residents of southern Baltimore. Today, it is heard throughout the city and in some areas of central Maryland, in the Mid-Atlantic United States. While considered a Northern Midland patois, it shares many characteristics of Southern speech, as might befit a port city of a border state. The films of John Waters, all of which have been filmed in and around Baltimore, usually feature actors and actresses with thick Baltimore accents, particularly in his early films.

1 Pronunciation
2 Dialectic terms
3 References
4 External links

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Pronunciation

Baltimorese resembles Philadelphia-area English pronunciation in several ways. These two cities are the only ports on the Eastern Seaboard to retain rhotic speech, which was greatly influenced by Hiberno-English, Scottish English, and West Country English. Also, the "l" sound is "dark," indistinctive or vocalized. Vowels in Baltimorese are flattened and shifted, however, which is more characteristic of Southern American English. Some vowels, as well as certain vernaculars can be traced to Appalachian influences.

[f] is often substituted for [θ]
[eɪ] becomes [i]; bared can rhyme with leered
[aɪ] as well as the diphthongs [ɔɪ] and [aʊ] become [ɔ]; choir and hire rhyme with war, aisle and boil with ball
[aɪ] becomes [a] before [ɹ]; fire is pronounced as far
[oʊ] shifts to [eʊ]; one cheers for the Eh-ew's (O's, for the Baltimore Orioles).
The [ɪŋ](-ing) ending of participle forms is pronounced as [in] as in "They're go-een to the store."
epenthetic [ɹ]
elision is common

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Dialectic terms

Annie Runnel (Canny) - Anne Arundel County
Merlin - Maryland
arnjuice - orange juice (an example of the widespread use of elision)
downey ayshin (down the ocean) - at the beach (spent sum'r weekends downey ayshin). 'At' or 'to' is implied, but not a part of the elision.
hon - a universal name used for greeting (in extreme instances, pronounced in two syllables, "huh-in")
shar - (rhymes with care) shower
youse - plural of you, similar to the Southern y'all
right smart - a not insubstantial amount (a right smart snayfall (snowfall)). An early use of right smart can be found in the short story "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed" by Mark Twain, who was arguably a serious student of American dialects. In this story, written in 1885 but set in 1861 during the American Civil War, he recounts a Confederate private from Eastern Tennessee who announces he is going back home by saying: "Well, I hain't b'en there for a right smart while, and I'd like to see how things is comin' on." (Quoted passage verbatim from Twain).