I moved to Massachusetts recently. It's a high tax police state just like good old Jersey, and it's even full of fast and rude people just like home, but the biggest difference between your average Masshole and Jersey guy is the bluntness - the attitude. Boston people can often be smug and holier-than-thou; this high horse is rarely taken in Jersey where we prefer a direct and blunt in-your-face style that gives us our rep, for better or worse, as confrontational and argumentative people. I'm also constantly reminded that I TALK LOUDLY here. Other than that I fit in pretty well
Lived in Jersey my entire life and I swear I don’t have an accent until I travel out of state. People immediately pin me! I feel like my jersey doesn’t come out unless I’m mad. Then I can hear it!
Tara Schumacker Its funny you say that. I was born in Jersey and raised in Fl but people still can tell i’m not from the south and people also told me before my accent comes out when i’m mad. 😂
No. But everyone has an accent regardless of where they are from. I think you believe that your accent isn't thick enough to be distinguished as a "New Jersey" accent
Cool Beans my aunt lives in nc so it's not very south but I don't actually have a nj accent but I like 6 minutes from philly but I want to my aunts and I talk rly fast and they had no idea what I was saying but it was reversed tho they were talking and I was like HURRY UP
I grew up in Middlesex County. When I first moved to Florida my friends kept asking me to say "Chaw-clate" again. Trust me, you almost certainly have some degree of an accent 😀
I lived in South Jersey for 42 years until I moved to Florida. Now I'm living in Central Minnesota and no one can understand me here. I just tell them "imagine how funny you must sound to me!"
I remember I moved from north jersey to south jersey and I ordered a sub ... they got so mad and asked wth hell is a sub ? I was so confused I never will forget it she said "do you mean you want a hoagie" and all I was thinking is ... wth you mean hoagie ? then after I left I remember thinking "I'm not calling a sub a hoagie, who the hell says hoagie, my friends will laugh at me" lol
I’m in south jersey (Cumberland county) and never once called a sub a hoagie 😂. Sometimes we say let’s get sandwiches . According to the map I am in the “sub” area of the map surrounded by the “hoagie “ section. 🤷♂️
When i lived in Jersey City it was a Blimpe after the Blimpe shop. In Utah it's called a subway. Subway is the biggest chain of sandwich shop out here.
I'm from semi-rural areas in North Carolina. I was driving from the north side to the Blue Hole in South Jersey and at some point EVERYTHING AROUND ME CHANGED. There was this sudden shift from things looking "northern" to things looking COMPLETELY indistinguishable from North Carolina. I was walking to the Blue Hole and ran into these guys in a big four-wheel drive truck. They were looking for a gun range and if I didn't know I was in New Jersey and wasn't standing on top of a bunch of sugar sand, I'd have sworn up and down that I was just on some path in a North Carolina park somewhere. They sounded and interacted just like rural North Carolinians and it wasn't until I finally told them that I'm from North Carolina that they realized I was just some out-of-state weirdo with no clue where anything was. Other than not saying "hoagie" I'd probably blend in there disturbingly well.
@@CeLticFire1251 The two places don't even feel like they're on the same planet. It's amazing how you're surrounded by urban stuff and next thing you know you're welcomed to Voorhees.
I’m from south Jersey and I hate when they put us into strictly Philly. I’ve gone to the shore and ppl thought I was from the south like no that’s how we talk 😂. My parents went to Tennessee and they kept being told they sound more southern than they do
Born and raised in North Jersey, my family and I have always swore we never had an accent. Until recently, my sister went to Delaware on a trip - and when she was out at a bar a guy literally pinned her from Jersey because of her accent. He was from Staten Island so she was able to tell where he was from too LOL
Everyone has an "accent". Once you're a human being and know how to speak, you have an accent. And as these people have proved in the video your accent can and will change one way or another depending on the people you surround yourselves with, interact with or the environment you're in. Because a couple of them spoke with a "neutral" American accent till they maybe changed it, to demonstrate the accent of their home state.
I grew up in Passaic in the late Fifties and Sixties. We definitely did say "dawg," "cawfee" and "chawclit." We also said "vanella" for vanilla. The big difference from the New (which we said as "Noo" and not "Nyoo") York accent is that we said our "r's." We didn't say "Noo Yawk," we said "Noo York."
I'm from Clifton ... I notice fellow Cliftonites (raised in 50's & 60's especially) have very nasal A's like can is caaan & married & camera (caaamra) My husband from Bergen County had to have me spell camera when we first got married. He actually could not understand me.
I grew up in Linden. I still say cawffee and chawclit. And tawk. I probably would say Noo Yawk. Had a very hard time spelling the word “definitely” since it sounds deh-fuh-net-ly. Oh yeah, and we also say Howyadoin.
The fact that you said eh, says it all. I lived in New Jersey for a while and I say whatever after most sentences. For example, "I'm going to the mall or whatever." I don't know why, I must have picked it up somewhere.
One time I was in Wal-Mart and I saw this girl with a huge dry erase board. I kid you not. I said, "You goin' to college or somethin'?" I have no idea how that even slipped out of my mouth. It was oddly natural.
A good litmus test for a Philly style South Jersey accent is the "short-A split". Do the words mad, bad and glad rhyme with "sad"? If they don't, you have a Philly style accent. This accent feature also breaks some other rhymes. "Bath"(eə vowel - diphthong) and "wrath"(æ vowel) do not rhyme, and "Mad Lib" does not match "Ad Lib". "meəd" vs "æd" for IPA nerds.
I love people's accents from New Jersey...what's amazing is the size of the state and how much different residents of New Jersey accents can be..this video clearly shows this..interesting. I guess migration and development causes this when people keep relocating to different areas over short periods of time.
It may be a small state but there are over 8 million people here and two huge cities are very close. The state as a whole is very cosmopolitan compared to the rest of the US and the accent diversity represents that.
Oh my God. Cape May here. The South Jersey accent, I never noticed it until now. When the south Jersey guys were talking, I was like, "WHAT ACCENT?" Then I was like, "Oooooooohhhhhh."
I never considered myself having any accent at all until I moved to PA and people kept telling me that I sound like Rocky Balboa. Frustrating! Makes you feel as if they are accusing you of putting on some act.
Same! My internet friend who lives in Connecticut always asks me to say coffee when we end our calls. Apparently I say “cawfee” but I don’t hear it really.
I have a teacher who talks like that and came from paterson. It blew my mind, cause I thought it was staten island accent. The "cawfee" accent seems like a generation accent.
Northern NJ is such a cornucopia of global cultures that going from one town to the next or from one side of one to another part of town can make you feel like you've literally traveled to a different country. Even if you only take people who speak unaccented American English (meaning indistinguishable from a native speaker) who has spent most of their lives in this part of NJ, you will get a huge, and I mean a HUGE, variety. You can try to argue that we should be represented by those who are the most influential in politics or media/music/entertainment... but then that's not very accurate for America at large, either, now is it?
I live in New Jersey. I went on a vacation to Hawaii and met a couple at the beach who immediately told us they knew we were from New Jersey. We have accents we just can’t tell cause we speak it
Grew up in Monmouth County. Lived in five counties in NJ and NC, Seattle and Vermont. People out of state would find out I was from New Jersey and ask me why I didn't sound like Tony Soprano. I had to break the news that not everyone sounds that way. Thanks for the posting this!
Same here. Both my parents were from the city & neither had accents. When I went to Cali the first time all the people I met said I didn’t sound like I was from NJ. The friend I was visiting was originally from Brooklyn, as were both his parents. That’s all they knew about NJ.
There is North Jersey accent and South Jersey accent. South Jersey has more of a Philadelphia lean to it. North Jersey has more of a New York lean to it. Former South Jersey- ite here
I never thought I had an accent until I moved to Florida. I'm from Newark/Elizabeth but to the southern people we're all New York accents because we talk fast. NJ/NY we can tell our differences in accent, but everyone else too damn lazy to tell the difference. 😑 I can agree though the NJ accent is not set in stone because it depends the area you're from.
I’ve heard exactly 3 people talk in an nj accent irl in all my 18 years and I’m in north Jersey (no joke one of them said in a perfect Jersey accent “u got it boss” I think I laughed out loud 😂)
I was born in NJ in the middle 1940s and we moved to CT about 7 years later. From there we moved to FL until after I got married and we came to OH. I'm still here and I never really lost my accent (northern NJ). My whole family always "tawked" this way and, with all the moving I've always done, I needed something to stay the same.
I've heard people say that my accent is a bit weird and I TOTALLY understand why: my mom and her family are New Yorkers BUT my FATHER'S family is from the SOUTH. I was born in NYC but my childhood was in the SOUTH so my accent is a mixture of both Southern and New Yorker accents! I say all of the "southern-ism" with a New Yorker accent. I NEVER really paid attention to it until someone pointed it out me the other day. I said "ya'll want some coffee" and someone asked me if I was from the North or South cause he couldn't figure it out because of the way I talk.
North Jersey accent is from ppl from the 5 boroughs & LI inter-marrying & moving to NJ. The South Jersey accent is split between American Country & American Country mixed w/ Philly immigrant Italian.
Jersey City born and raised. I live in central Jersey now. The Northern population slowly moved south to central NJ. The accent has become closer especially on the coast. Vacationers on the shore over the years have migrated to the beach.
I am originally from Cumberland County which definitely has a distinctive accent. One thing they did not mention which is a difference between South Jersey, Philadelphia, and the REST of the country is "Mary/merry/marry". Most of the country says all three the same way. South Jersey pronounces the first two the same (rhyming with "airy") but the third is different (not sure how I'd spell it phonetically). Philadelphia pronounces all three differently (like my father who pronounces "merry" and "Erin" like A-mur-ica). It is a distinct difference between regions.
My great grandfather was born in Montclair and lived in Newark until he was 8 or 9. Then he moved to DC. Watching this video answered the decade old question of whether he had an accent or not.
I'm from Atlantic City, South Jersey. We (original locals) say "subs" not "hoagies". A lot of South Jersey does also except Wawa who calls them hoagies which is okay because we look at them as low quality subs especially because of the bread. People are constantly saying that it's the opposite in print trying to tell us it's different. The most famous of all down is here is "The White house Sub Shop". Try this, look up locally "sub shops" and then look up "hoagies". Most Hoagie places are chains and/or transplants. Younger people know both versions probably because of Wawa and Philly. We say "subs, sauce and water ice". Hoagies, gravy, and Italian ice hurt our ears.
I think there is a difference between a "reading" accent and an accent in social situations. Listen to these people during an argument with their spouses and that will be a much more interesting sample of their dialect.
All you people saying you don't have a nj accent even though that's where you're from: obviously you don't know cuz you're "immune" to the sound. Go to the South and I guarantee people can distinguish the accents
I worked in Willow Grove, Pa north of Philly, (am from CT)when I heard a co-worker mention "Olejerk" Road. Repeated the word with a question and he answered Old York Road.
This is so true, I'm from North Jersey when I first moved to South Jersey some people accents sounded so much like someone from the Southern states, like NC, GA, and AL.
Born and raised in the water ice area ...And its "WOODER ICE " I haven't lived there in years and about a year ago a lady at home depot asked me what part of Philly I was from. I've lived all over the country and the JERSEY /PHILLY accent shines thru
Yo! So true. To tell you the truth I've always thought of Jersey as having not just three separate dialects (or several as put forth by this video), but also having three distinct cultures as well. The southerners for instance, eat scrapple, while their more northern neighbors either never heard of it or find it simply repulsive. For me just another reason to love my Jerz: Jerzy's like every place - but there's no place like Jerz.
That accent is pretty common in deep south jersey too. It's weird. Can't figure out where it came from, but I assume it's left over from a long time ago since the whole area has never really changed and people don't move away
John - Or he was from the Delmarva peninsula originally, him or his family maybe moved to Jersey? Because the Delmarva peninsula is when Southern accents begin on the east coast, and they’re pretty unique too, left over from those who first settled there. That’s where I’m from. But that guy does not sound like he’s originally from Jersey at all, and I’ve heard people from South Jersey before.
@@connorpusey5912no it’s just a lot of people moved from Virginia to south Jersey during the boom of glass and oysters. We developed a southern accent from that
I lived in New Jersey (20 minutes outside of Philly) and for the longest time I didn't know I had an accent. It wasn't until my dad told me that I sounded like his co - workers that I realized what I sounded like.
I am fascinated by accents and I have a good ear. Went to Brazil last year and can INSTANTLY tell if some one is a Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro. I've lived in Los Angeles for almost 40 years by way of Michigan for college and thought I'd completely affected a neutral Southern California accent (like TV announcers basically). I took a detailed accent quiz and they nailed it. "You are probably from Eastern Bucks County or Western Mercer County." My parents were from Trenton and moved across the river in 1955, before I was born. If I walked 3 blocks I was at the river and could see New Jersey. From the video, Trenton is right on the line of two dialects, and most of my friends, who's parents were from Philly, had a different accent. I didn't think any of us had an accent until I went home from living elsewhere, and heard my first "dahwn da shoah."
Im from Atlantic City and always thought I sounded regular when I speak ( if that makes sense) but I went to Rhode Island and I was told that I have an accent 😂
a few years back ,i was at 92nd and b'way in Manhattan, patrolling with the AuxNYPD . some women approached us with cupcakes. one of the woman ,mentioned my philly accent
Born in Manhattan, grew up in North Jersey from the age of 3. I was raised a 5 minute walk from the GWB and went to school with mostly kids whose parents worked in Manhattan, so I was never exposed to anyone with that North Jersey accent except for maybe a few of the older teachers. Everyone else just sounds like they’re from the city. I only really hear that accent now when I go down the shore, funnily enough
I was about to say "Wait I'm from Warren County NJ and I most certainly don't speak south Jersey like or Pennsylvanian, it's more like the north east" until I saw the part at 1:31 which makes more sense.
My boyfriend came from another country at age 10 didn't speak English and grew up in North Jersey I grew up in South Jersey. When I met him he sounded hardcore North Jersey accent with a tinge of his first language ..
i live in central jersey and there are a few words that we pronounce kinda odd but most of the people who have that heavy italian/new york accent are people who moved from staten island to NJ
I agree with that one gentleman that was from what Woodstown and the rodeo that area they do talk like they're from the south like maybe South Carolina or Virginia or somewhere down south I agree with him 100% I'm from South Jersey not as South is that gentleman was I'm from near Cherry Hill so we lot of people think I talk like I'm from North Jersey but I'm not South Jersey
The fellow from Woodstown sounds like folks from Cecil County, MD. My Cousins from near Elkton, MD sound very much like him. It is the vowel in South that probably sounded Southern to the folks He met in Massachusetts.
Ha! My grandmother from Philly's name was Dorothy and two of her sons are my father, Gary, and Uncle Paul (named for their father). She only settled in Jersey after they had grown though.
lol that dad joke at the end XD good one I feel jipped :( I want to hear people's accents from all the counties in NJ now I live in NJ but I think I only have an accent on certain words or when I talk really fast
I loved this as a Staten Island, NY born -> Matawan, NJ bred -> Rutgers U. linguistics grad... I have to say very well done. your thesis is great, that the NY accent is the strongest in Long Island and traces of it can be found as far as Ocean and Monmouth counties. But is NJ really the most diverse linguistically? It sounds like there's just, as you stated, two accents. I wonder if a place like California or Alaska (or Texas) has stronger diversity. also a big Brian Donohue fan! that guy knows no bounds and has added a lot of fun to local journalism!
He's right about Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, and certain parts of Atlantic Counties with the "southern accent", I'm from South Jersey, (Cumberland County). When i served in the Marines. People thought i lived in Alabama.
I love the skill I have picking up accents throughout the US. My parents are from Queens NY and Kennilworth NJ. I grew up in Morristown, went to college in South Carolina. Now I live in San Diego. ANYONE from any of the areas opens their mouth, I say, so what part of North Jersey are you from, or "where on Long Island are you from". Im usually correct. There's slight differences between different areas around NYC. Take Queens and compare it to Bensonhurst Brooklyn; You'll hear it immediately. Take North Jersey and compair to south Jersey. We don even call the same thing what they are. Jimmies vs. sprinkles!
I grew up in Bensonhurst and there's literally no difference between my accent and my cousins from Queens or Long Island lol. The NY accent is culturally different not based off an area. Like there is an Italian ny accent, Irish ny accent, Puerto Rican ny accent, but not a regional one. Plenty of studies about it.
Northern jersey accents are those derived from New York. As in the time of white flight, Jersey was one of the first places many people fled to in the 1950's and 60's. Those accents are not native to New Jersey. But what also has happened in the past 40 years is the ongoing loss of accents, due to media. radio and television. more and more people are sounding the same because we are hearing lesser accents in media. as such an erasure has been ongoing.
Unless your driving near Camden, Atlantic city and cherry hill it becomes kkk county very quick. I grew up near New Gretna/Little Egg harbor area and at night you'll see crazy stuff.
OK lets get one thing straight, here in Jersey we don't have accents, we have attitudes.
And if we do have accents, they have attitudes.
I moved to Massachusetts recently. It's a high tax police state just like good old Jersey, and it's even full of fast and rude people just like home, but the biggest difference between your average Masshole and Jersey guy is the bluntness - the attitude. Boston people can often be smug and holier-than-thou; this high horse is rarely taken in Jersey where we prefer a direct and blunt in-your-face style that gives us our rep, for better or worse, as confrontational and argumentative people. I'm also constantly reminded that I TALK LOUDLY here. Other than that I fit in pretty well
AMEN
Luv it!!!so true!! Jersey born boy here
xtremepyrotech FACTSSSS
Lived in Jersey my entire life and I swear I don’t have an accent until I travel out of state. People immediately pin me! I feel like my jersey doesn’t come out unless I’m mad. Then I can hear it!
I just started noticing mine when I started going to college in New York
So so true!
It's a Jersey thing.
Tara Schumacker Its funny you say that. I was born in Jersey and raised in Fl but people still can tell i’m not from the south and people also told me before my accent comes out when i’m mad. 😂
Yesss!!!
I really have never heard an actual nj accent, and I live in nj
David Wright You have one lol
No. But everyone has an accent regardless of where they are from. I think you believe that your accent isn't thick enough to be distinguished as a "New Jersey" accent
I've only heard like 2 or 3 people that have an accent
Kristen Cali what county are you from
21Sandoval USA
All you Jersey people who think you don't have an accent, go to the south and I *guarantee* they will know that you are from NJ (some will say NY)
So true. I live in Forked River and went to Louisiana and Florida and a few people randomly asked me "Are you from Jeyerzy?" Lol
Cool Beans my aunt lives in nc so it's not very south but I don't actually have a nj accent but I like 6 minutes from philly but I want to my aunts and I talk rly fast and they had no idea what I was saying but it was reversed tho they were talking and I was like HURRY UP
Very true lol. I visited my uncle in savannah a while back and the first thing he said was, man your NJ accent is thick lol
I know right I’m from nj and ny people are always like I don’t have an accent but everyone has an accent
I grew up in Middlesex County. When I first moved to Florida my friends kept asking me to say "Chaw-clate" again. Trust me, you almost certainly have some degree of an accent 😀
Water ice and italian ice are literally two different things.
Water ice is def a philly thing.
I just call it whatever the label on it says.
People actually live down there lmao
Same thing
@Walrus Bellhop I have never walked the wildwood boardwalk without hearing POLISH WATER ICE TRY OUR FREE SAMPLES
New Study: Why did everyone have such difficulty reading that simple sentence??
Brain plaque from eating Taylor Ham.
NikiMik Yeah, I caught that too! Never mind their accents, reading comprehension is a problem.
MrSloika you mean pork roll
Hahahahaaaa
MrSloika ITS A PORK ROLL
Let’s all admit: we here in Jersey are plenty confusing enough without dialectical differences.
Fr😂😂
Be proud of your accent though! It's part of your identity and culture
Yes
I lived in South Jersey for 42 years until I moved to Florida. Now I'm living in Central Minnesota and no one can understand me here. I just tell them "imagine how funny you must sound to me!"
Same here ...So. Jersey 45 years ...Now I live in the mountains of southern CA . By way of Alabama
Omg do we really sound different from people up there
I had southerners correct my NJ pronunciations by pronouncing things in their typical southern ways.
All I learned is that most people can't fucking read haha
Hahaha😂😂😂
Sean Klein lol
Video seemed a lot longer than it actually was
This is true.
I remember I moved from north jersey to south jersey and I ordered a sub ... they got so mad and asked wth hell is a sub ? I was so confused I never will forget it she said "do you mean you want a hoagie" and all I was thinking is ... wth you mean hoagie ? then after I left I remember thinking "I'm not calling a sub a hoagie, who the hell says hoagie, my friends will laugh at me" lol
It’s called a h o a g i e
The first time I heard anyone say "sub," it confused the hell out of me.
I’m in south jersey (Cumberland county) and never once called a sub a hoagie 😂. Sometimes we say let’s get sandwiches . According to the map I am in the “sub” area of the map surrounded by the “hoagie “ section. 🤷♂️
When i lived in Jersey City it was a Blimpe after the Blimpe shop. In Utah it's called a subway. Subway is the biggest chain of sandwich shop out here.
William Froh oh man that sucks
I'm from semi-rural areas in North Carolina. I was driving from the north side to the Blue Hole in South Jersey and at some point EVERYTHING AROUND ME CHANGED. There was this sudden shift from things looking "northern" to things looking COMPLETELY indistinguishable from North Carolina. I was walking to the Blue Hole and ran into these guys in a big four-wheel drive truck. They were looking for a gun range and if I didn't know I was in New Jersey and wasn't standing on top of a bunch of sugar sand, I'd have sworn up and down that I was just on some path in a North Carolina park somewhere. They sounded and interacted just like rural North Carolinians and it wasn't until I finally told them that I'm from North Carolina that they realized I was just some out-of-state weirdo with no clue where anything was. Other than not saying "hoagie" I'd probably blend in there disturbingly well.
As a North Jersey native, this sounds accurate. South Jersey is a totally different world. Most people in New Jersey would probably agree.
@@CeLticFire1251 The two places don't even feel like they're on the same planet. It's amazing how you're surrounded by urban stuff and next thing you know you're welcomed to Voorhees.
once you get into the pine barrens it chanted fast
Love this story , God bless ❤
I’m from south Jersey and I hate when they put us into strictly Philly. I’ve gone to the shore and ppl thought I was from the south like no that’s how we talk 😂. My parents went to Tennessee and they kept being told they sound more southern than they do
Born and raised in North Jersey, my family and I have always swore we never had an accent. Until recently, my sister went to Delaware on a trip - and when she was out at a bar a guy literally pinned her from Jersey because of her accent. He was from Staten Island so she was able to tell where he was from too LOL
Be proud of your accent! It's part of your identity and culture
Everyone has an "accent".
Once you're a human being and know how to speak, you have an accent.
And as these people have proved in the video your accent can and will change one way or another depending on the people you surround yourselves with, interact with or the environment you're in.
Because a couple of them spoke with a "neutral" American accent till they maybe changed it, to demonstrate the accent of their home state.
I grew up in Passaic in the late Fifties and Sixties. We definitely did say "dawg," "cawfee" and "chawclit." We also said "vanella" for vanilla. The big difference from the New (which we said as "Noo" and not "Nyoo") York accent is that we said our "r's." We didn't say "Noo Yawk," we said "Noo York."
I'm from Clifton ... I notice fellow Cliftonites (raised in 50's & 60's especially) have very nasal A's like can is caaan & married & camera (caaamra) My husband from Bergen County had to have me spell camera when we first got married. He actually could not understand me.
I grew up in Passaic 80;s and 90's. we say dawg, cawfee and chawclit as well as wodder, Newark is Nwk
@@KARASCOUSIN And we used to go down the shore.
And it's pa-SAKE, not pa-SAY-ik. Bonus points if you can slur you speech so it sounds like one syllable
I grew up in Linden. I still say cawffee and chawclit. And tawk. I probably would say Noo Yawk. Had a very hard time spelling the word “definitely” since it sounds deh-fuh-net-ly. Oh yeah, and we also say Howyadoin.
North jersey is more new yorkish and south jersey is more pa or de
J That's where that Salem and Cumberland twang comes from. They're more closely connected to Wilmington than Philly.
@@dew02300 im from salem and i lived in quinton for a while, i normally say coffee, wooder, jeet(jah-eet), etc
Or just a bit southern in south nj
J Yup
@@Trapezoidalty Jeet yet?
I've lived in south Jersey my whole life and I honestly have no idea, i suppose I do pronounce words with the south Jersey accent. Eh idk
Philseyelash I'm central south jersey people are so weird ha
If you know any Washingtonians, do you notice an accent? I'm from Washington and I always thought we had a very neutral speech.
The fact that you said eh, says it all. I lived in New Jersey for a while and I say whatever after most sentences. For example, "I'm going to the mall or whatever." I don't know why, I must have picked it up somewhere.
One time I was in Wal-Mart and I saw this girl with a huge dry erase board. I kid you not. I said, "You goin' to college or somethin'?" I have no idea how that even slipped out of my mouth. It was oddly natural.
A good litmus test for a Philly style South Jersey accent is the "short-A split". Do the words mad, bad and glad rhyme with "sad"? If they don't, you have a Philly style accent. This accent feature also breaks some other rhymes. "Bath"(eə vowel - diphthong) and "wrath"(æ vowel) do not rhyme, and "Mad Lib" does not match "Ad Lib". "meəd" vs "æd" for IPA nerds.
Step one for this study should have been finding people that are literate.
Chris H 😂🤣
Chris H no shit huh!!
I love people's accents from New Jersey...what's amazing is the size of the state and how much different residents of New Jersey accents can be..this video clearly shows this..interesting. I guess migration and development causes this when people keep relocating to different areas over short periods of time.
It may be a small state but there are over 8 million people here and two huge cities are very close. The state as a whole is very cosmopolitan compared to the rest of the US and the accent diversity represents that.
Be proud of your accent! It's part of your identity and culture
Oh my God. Cape May here. The South Jersey accent, I never noticed it until now.
When the south Jersey guys were talking, I was like, "WHAT ACCENT?" Then I was like, "Oooooooohhhhhh."
I definitely have a south jersey accent
Just thank your lucky stars that you not have a southern California accent (such as mine).
I do NAHT tahk funny; Ah'm SHORE!
😃
I never considered myself having any accent at all until I moved to PA and people kept telling me that I sound like Rocky Balboa. Frustrating! Makes you feel as if they are accusing you of putting on some act.
Be proud of your accent! It's part of your identity and culture
Big difference they do not point out is that guy from South Jersey has more of a Western accent than an Eastern accent.
My online friends always say I have a New Jersey accent but I honestly can’t tell. (North jersey)
Same here. Some people mistake it for Boston or nyc. I'm from North Jersey too.
Sameeee
I have no family in Pennsylvania and I live in central Jersey.. My accent sounds like I'm from western Pennsylvania 😰
Same! My internet friend who lives in Connecticut always asks me to say coffee when we end our calls. Apparently I say “cawfee” but I don’t hear it really.
Be proud of your accent! It's part of your identity and culture
People realize I’m from jersey the moment I say Water.
same, wooder wooter etc, im south jersy
@@Trapezoidalty I'm from south Jersey and I usally pronounce it 'What-er' (water)
@@Trapezoidalty I've lived in south jersey my whole life and I've literally never heard anyone say "wooder," my family always says "WAH-ter"
@@vincentsiuta8778 head to salem county, ive been there all my life and everyone ive met there says wooder/wooter
From South Jersey (Camden Co) and have always said wooder. Husband is from Atlantic Co. and says what-er. He's wrong
I love the different accents. Don't ever feel bad about your accent, peeps, it's good. It's flava! :-)
Jamie Wilson exactly. Truth be told, the ones who sound so smart & educated wish they could have some flare to their voice.
Keep the culture alive. Speak with your regional accent. It becomes natural
Be proud of your accent! It's part of your identity and culture
Never heard “dawg” or “cawfee” and I’ve lived in NJ my entire life
I think its more of a northern thing.. my family is from maine and we do the "cawfee" thing lmao
Nah it's all the New Yorkers coming in
I've never heard wooder as well..
I have a teacher who talks like that and came from paterson. It blew my mind, cause I thought it was staten island accent. The "cawfee" accent seems like a generation accent.
My highschool mascot was the dawgs, its legit.
Northern NJ is such a cornucopia of global cultures that going from one town to the next or from one side of one to another part of town can make you feel like you've literally traveled to a different country. Even if you only take people who speak unaccented American English (meaning indistinguishable from a native speaker) who has spent most of their lives in this part of NJ, you will get a huge, and I mean a HUGE, variety. You can try to argue that we should be represented by those who are the most influential in politics or media/music/entertainment... but then that's not very accurate for America at large, either, now is it?
Nawth Joisey. I drink cawfee and eat chalklet. It's definately the Nawth that sounds basically like new yawk
don't you mean chawklet? chalket is south
👍👍👍
Nobody in Jersey calls it Joisey
South Jersey ...I drink WOODER
@@gilwood7530 lmao yasss
I live in New Jersey. I went on a vacation to Hawaii and met a couple at the beach who immediately told us they knew we were from New Jersey. We have accents we just can’t tell cause we speak it
Grew up in Monmouth County. Lived in five counties in NJ and NC, Seattle and Vermont. People out of state would find out I was from New Jersey and ask me why I didn't sound like Tony Soprano. I had to break the news that not everyone sounds that way. Thanks for the posting this!
Same here. Both my parents were from the city & neither had accents. When I went to Cali the first time all the people I met said I didn’t sound like I was from NJ. The friend I was visiting was originally from Brooklyn, as were both his parents. That’s all they knew about NJ.
hey fellow monmouth county-er. i grew up there and feel like i don't have a strong classic NJ accent either.
@@thedustwhispered 👍
There is North Jersey accent and South Jersey accent. South Jersey has more of a Philadelphia lean to it. North Jersey has more of a New York lean to it. Former South Jersey- ite here
Can't we all just get along?!?!… After all, no matter how we say coffee, we all get it from WaWa.
There’s no Wawa in North Jersey
@@tootnfart Yes there is, try google. If not you might live in the boonies.
Quikcheck honey
we dont have Wawa in North Jersey
@@kirancox6123 There are some around Manville and Flemington.
Born in Jersey, gotta love it.used t drive an chill with friends in boonton down to seaside heights, great state,expensive now to live
Good example right there, South Jersey probably can not say it right, BOOT-in, probably think BOON-tin
I never thought I had an accent until I moved to Florida. I'm from Newark/Elizabeth but to the southern people we're all New York accents because we talk fast. NJ/NY we can tell our differences in accent, but everyone else too damn lazy to tell the difference. 😑 I can agree though the NJ accent is not set in stone because it depends the area you're from.
Same here I’m from Paterson and now live in Miami and every where I go people ask if I’m from New York lol
Be proud of your accent! It's part of your identity and culture
@@alexandramateo4444 lol yea they pretty much cluster us all in the category of NY with they lazy asses.
@@greenmachine5600 oh I am very proud of where I came and how I sound. If you can live in Jersey, you can live anywhere.
@@sneakerteacher89 lmao that’s so true !
I'm from NJ and I love playing, "Guess That Accent!"
I live in Morris county and even tho I defend myself, I sometimes find myself saying cawfee instead of coffee 😂🤷🏼♀️
I’ve heard exactly 3 people talk in an nj accent irl in all my 18 years and I’m in north Jersey (no joke one of them said in a perfect Jersey accent “u got it boss” I think I laughed out loud 😂)
"BOSS" is definitely some Jersey shit for sure 👌🏼🤦🏽♂️😂😂😂😂
I was born in NJ in the middle 1940s and we moved to CT about 7 years later. From there we moved to FL until after I got married and we came to OH. I'm still here and I never really lost my accent (northern NJ). My whole family always "tawked" this way and, with all the moving I've always done, I needed something to stay the same.
I've heard people say that my accent is a bit weird and I TOTALLY understand why: my mom and her family are New Yorkers BUT my FATHER'S family is from the SOUTH. I was born in NYC but my childhood was in the SOUTH so my accent is a mixture of both Southern and New Yorker accents! I say all of the "southern-ism" with a New Yorker accent. I NEVER really paid attention to it until someone pointed it out me the other day. I said "ya'll want some coffee" and someone asked me if I was from the North or South cause he couldn't figure it out because of the way I talk.
Ugh once you go south jersey it gets weird!
lol def does.
Random Sh*t by Allie
Don't come to Atlantic City 😅😂💯
Thomas H. Lmfao I'm from Bergen county, but I live in Atlantic city. Totally different world down here then up north!
Jay Feely Yeah man I've never really been up North besides like Edison/Plainfield County
Lmfao I work in Edison and my boss is from south jersey/philly area and everyone has this fight all time like hoggie vs sub ect
Im from Philly, but live in South Jersey. I have an accent..period.
North Jersey accent is from ppl from the 5 boroughs & LI inter-marrying & moving to NJ. The South Jersey accent is split between American Country & American Country mixed w/ Philly immigrant Italian.
Jersey City born and raised. I live in central Jersey now. The Northern population slowly moved south to central NJ. The accent has become closer especially on the coast. Vacationers on the shore over the years have migrated to the beach.
I am originally from Cumberland County which definitely has a distinctive accent.
One thing they did not mention which is a difference between South Jersey, Philadelphia, and the REST of the country is "Mary/merry/marry". Most of the country says all three the same way. South Jersey pronounces the first two the same (rhyming with "airy") but the third is different (not sure how I'd spell it phonetically). Philadelphia pronounces all three differently (like my father who pronounces "merry" and "Erin" like A-mur-ica). It is a distinct difference between regions.
I saw all 3 differently and I grew up in Middlesex County, with 2 parents that grew up in Manhattan.
My great grandfather was born in Montclair and lived in Newark until he was 8 or 9. Then he moved to DC. Watching this video answered the decade old question of whether he had an accent or not.
I knew i wasn't in Florida anymore the moment i heard the cashier say "coffee"
I'm from Atlantic City, South Jersey. We (original locals) say "subs" not "hoagies". A lot of South Jersey does also except Wawa who calls them hoagies which is okay because we look at them as low quality subs especially because of the bread. People are constantly saying that it's the opposite in print trying to tell us it's different. The most famous of all down is here is "The White house Sub Shop". Try this, look up locally "sub shops" and then look up "hoagies". Most Hoagie places are chains and/or transplants. Younger people know both versions probably because of Wawa and Philly. We say "subs, sauce and water ice". Hoagies, gravy, and Italian ice hurt our ears.
I think there is a difference between a "reading" accent and an accent in social situations. Listen to these people during an argument with their spouses and that will be a much more interesting sample of their dialect.
All you people saying you don't have a nj accent even though that's where you're from: obviously you don't know cuz you're "immune" to the sound. Go to the South and I guarantee people can distinguish the accents
*inured
that blue shirt guy actually said fork-Ed River I’m so happy
I worked in Willow Grove, Pa north of Philly, (am from CT)when I heard a co-worker mention "Olejerk" Road. Repeated the word with a question and he answered Old York Road.
This is so true, I'm from North Jersey when I first moved to South Jersey some people accents sounded so much like someone from the Southern states, like NC, GA, and AL.
1:46 wow, a perfectly accurate map showing the best part of jersey in white
Agreed
No joke im from new jersey and we’re the only people in the world without accents
Exactly
As far as I can tell only Californians, Ohioans, Southerners and New Englanders have accents.
MomentsDivine not to sure about ohioans and new englanders, but definitely californians and southerners
Born and raised in the water ice area ...And its "WOODER ICE " I haven't lived there in years and about a year ago a lady at home depot asked me what part of Philly I was from. I've lived all over the country and the JERSEY /PHILLY accent shines thru
Definitely "wooder ice".
Source: am from Gloucester County
In the south its pronounced "wooder" ice
@articity STFU dumbass. Unless you still live with your mom in the basement. Then you worry about other people's weight 😂
@frosten _You're*_
@frösten smh its isn't false im from south jersey and we pronuce "water" as "wooder"
Yo! So true. To tell you the truth I've always thought of Jersey as having not just three separate dialects (or several as put forth by this video), but also having three distinct cultures as well. The southerners for instance, eat scrapple, while their more northern neighbors either never heard of it or find it simply repulsive. For me just another reason to love my Jerz: Jerzy's like every place - but there's no place like Jerz.
I've always said NJ is like three different countries, nevermind states. Heh.
@@MomentsDivine Real Talk!
Exactly! "Jerzy's like every other place-but there's no place like Jerz."
4:18 to 4:30 That South Jersey accent doesn't just sound like a Southern accent, it is virtually indistinguishable from a Southern accent!
That accent is pretty common in deep south jersey too. It's weird. Can't figure out where it came from, but I assume it's left over from a long time ago since the whole area has never really changed and people don't move away
John -
Or he was from the Delmarva peninsula originally, him or his family maybe moved to Jersey? Because the Delmarva peninsula is when Southern accents begin on the east coast, and they’re pretty unique too, left over from those who first settled there. That’s where I’m from. But that guy does not sound like he’s originally from Jersey at all, and I’ve heard people from South Jersey before.
@@connorpusey5912no it’s just a lot of people moved from Virginia to south Jersey during the boom of glass and oysters. We developed a southern accent from that
I was born in Paterson NJ, and the very first generation American. I am native NJ.
"Hey, ya goin' down thuh shhoooore?"
I lived in New Jersey (20 minutes outside of Philly) and for the longest time I didn't know I had an accent. It wasn't until my dad told me that I sounded like his co - workers that I realized what I sounded like.
Drive 15 miles in North Jersey and you feel like you should have your passport stamped at least twice
I am fascinated by accents and I have a good ear. Went to Brazil last year and can INSTANTLY tell if some one is a Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro.
I've lived in Los Angeles for almost 40 years by way of Michigan for college and thought I'd completely affected a neutral Southern California accent (like TV announcers basically). I took a detailed accent quiz and they nailed it. "You are probably from Eastern Bucks County or Western Mercer County." My parents were from Trenton and moved across the river in 1955, before I was born. If I walked 3 blocks I was at the river and could see New Jersey. From the video, Trenton is right on the line of two dialects, and most of my friends, who's parents were from Philly, had a different accent. I didn't think any of us had an accent until I went home from living elsewhere, and heard my first "dahwn da shoah."
Im from Atlantic City and always thought I sounded regular when I speak ( if that makes sense) but I went to Rhode Island and I was told that I have an accent 😂
Much of south jersey has people with heavy southern accents that have never been down south . I grew up in SO JERSEY and It would blow my mind.
I don't think I have an accent
everybody has an accent
Ohiomusical Sawman xxx. z
Ohiomusical Sawman ,f g😚😊😊😚😚😗😗😗😗😗🤔😗
Everybody has an accent. I never thought I had an accent, (Still think I don't) but obivously, that is not the case.
@Broccoli And to a degree, everyone is an 'enry 'iggins, forensic accent detective.
a few years back ,i was at 92nd and b'way in Manhattan, patrolling with the AuxNYPD . some women approached us with cupcakes. one of the woman ,mentioned my philly accent
The guy from Woodstown sounds like some if the guys I knew from Maryland & Penna.
Born in Manhattan, grew up in North Jersey from the age of 3. I was raised a 5 minute walk from the GWB and went to school with mostly kids whose parents worked in Manhattan, so I was never exposed to anyone with that North Jersey accent except for maybe a few of the older teachers. Everyone else just sounds like they’re from the city. I only really hear that accent now when I go down the shore, funnily enough
THE OLD PENNSAUKEN MART ...Best Hoagies on earth
It's a sub
@@eightysbaby8798 Not in Pennsauken.
And yum yums
gil wood good times
Pennsaulken mart was jumping
Yeah the line moved South because all of New York Brooklyn Staten island the Bronx moved in and brought their accents with them
Holy Shit woodstown we made it on the map lol
I am a North Jersey native - born and raised and I can tell the host of this video is in Newark (Nork 🤣) *in my Joysey accent!
I was about to say "Wait I'm from Warren County NJ and I most certainly don't speak south Jersey like or Pennsylvanian, it's more like the north east" until I saw the part at 1:31 which makes more sense.
My boyfriend came from another country at age 10 didn't speak English and grew up in North Jersey I grew up in South Jersey. When I met him he sounded hardcore North Jersey accent with a tinge of his first language ..
We are all Jersey!!!So many fuckin accents!you gotta love our state!!!
i live in central jersey and there are a few words that we pronounce kinda odd but most of the people who have that heavy italian/new york accent are people who moved from staten island to NJ
Guy in the green shirt totally had an accent saying 'football' and 'walk'
I agree with that one gentleman that was from what Woodstown and the rodeo that area they do talk like they're from the south like maybe South Carolina or Virginia or somewhere down south I agree with him 100% I'm from South Jersey not as South is that gentleman was I'm from near Cherry Hill so we lot of people think I talk like I'm from North Jersey but I'm not South Jersey
The fellow from Woodstown sounds like folks from Cecil County, MD. My Cousins from near Elkton, MD sound very much like him. It is the vowel in South that probably sounded Southern to the folks He met in Massachusetts.
Ha! My grandmother from Philly's name was Dorothy and two of her sons are my father, Gary, and Uncle Paul (named for their father). She only settled in Jersey after they had grown though.
lol that dad joke at the end XD good one
I feel jipped :( I want to hear people's accents from all the counties in NJ now
I live in NJ but I think I only have an accent on certain words or when I talk really fast
I grew up on the shore which has it own special accent.
I lived in Jersey, Bergen and then Passaic County, for 30 years. I moved to Georgia after a deployment. I miss Joy-Z, but not too much.
@@richard.schmelz5620 no one miss the Property tax 😆
@@MrJMB122 Nope. Taxes, forgedaboutit! 😆
Being from North Jersey…we can tell the difference between Jersey, NY and PA accents. We considered anything passed S Jersey as the South
The city always gets bigger. Little towns too, brick was half empty 20 years ago, now it's one big traffic jam.
eric t yup, toms river also.
I loved this as a Staten Island, NY born -> Matawan, NJ bred -> Rutgers U. linguistics grad... I have to say very well done. your thesis is great, that the NY accent is the strongest in Long Island and traces of it can be found as far as Ocean and Monmouth counties. But is NJ really the most diverse linguistically? It sounds like there's just, as you stated, two accents. I wonder if a place like California or Alaska (or Texas) has stronger diversity. also a big Brian Donohue fan! that guy knows no bounds and has added a lot of fun to local journalism!
I was born in New Jersey but started school in New York and ended up getting raised in Florida.
Can we just-
He's right about Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, and certain parts of Atlantic Counties with the "southern accent", I'm from South Jersey, (Cumberland County). When i served in the Marines. People thought i lived in Alabama.
Nothing in Atlantic county sounds southern
Star Ledger. I think that’s some North Jersey paper.
Mark Swanson Yup, Newark.
Mark, Mahk, I tored that joint as a kid 25 some odd years ago for a school field trip. Thats where I learned the "scent" of liberals. 😆
It's pretty simple. South Jersey sounds like Philly, North Jersey sounds like New York. Each one has a smudge of the other.
I grew up in Trenton and anytime I left the city, people would ask if I was from the south because I had a southern accent. I don’t hear it
I had an aunt I used to visit in Trenten, New Jersery and trust me, you definately have an accent.
Wooter. Born and raised in Collingswood. ;-)
I love the skill I have picking up accents throughout the US. My parents are from Queens NY and Kennilworth NJ. I grew up in Morristown, went to college in South Carolina. Now I live in San Diego. ANYONE from any of the areas opens their mouth, I say, so what part of North Jersey are you from, or "where on Long Island are you from". Im usually correct. There's slight differences between different areas around NYC. Take Queens and compare it to Bensonhurst Brooklyn; You'll hear it immediately. Take North Jersey and compair to south Jersey. We don even call the same thing what they are. Jimmies vs. sprinkles!
I grew up in Bensonhurst and there's literally no difference between my accent and my cousins from Queens or Long Island lol. The NY accent is culturally different not based off an area. Like there is an Italian ny accent, Irish ny accent, Puerto Rican ny accent, but not a regional one. Plenty of studies about it.
I miss cow town so bad, miss woodstown had a pet store there
i love how new york and new jersey say coffee sm
And here i am sitting in central
First of all, they're "heroes", and FINALLY, acknowledgement of the South Jersey southern accent.
You don't sound like you are from New Jersey. (If I hear that one more time!) I'm not from NJ. I'm from Sussex County!
Friend - "You don't sound like you're from New Jersey"
Me - ^says coffee, dog, or water once^
Friend - "You're accent is showing"
Frederick Schwank LOL!
all the Bergen cnty transplants have the city accent,Sussex lifers sound normal
Oh yeah, pronounce the town of Newton. *bam* There’s yer accent :)
Northern jersey accents are those derived from New York. As in the time of white flight, Jersey was one of the first places many people fled to in the 1950's and 60's. Those accents are not native to New Jersey. But what also has happened in the past 40 years is the ongoing loss of accents, due to media. radio and television. more and more people are sounding the same because we are hearing lesser accents in media. as such an erasure has been ongoing.
I Always said that south Jersey looks like you are driving through the Carolinas.
Unless your driving near Camden, Atlantic city and cherry hill it becomes kkk county very quick. I grew up near New Gretna/Little Egg harbor area and at night you'll see crazy stuff.
@@1983jcheat Crazy stuff like...?
new jersey baby
That dude had a newjersey accent. I live in monmouth county and he sounds just like me.
My family’s from Paterson and we sound like straight up New Yorkers. My aunts especially.