back to the dialects of NJ

[Dale Coye]

Drew asked  originally about differences between North and South Jersey--I've been collecting data from my students for a while--they come from all over the state.  There is a lot of kidding on campus about the differences.  South Jerseyans get kidded for the vowel in "go" or in "phone"--it's got a fronted first element that is really noticeable to those who use a central or back onset.   Many, but not all in the NY city area have the distinct NYC vowel in "ball, law"--a diphthong with a mid or high-back first element.  Around the Trenton area there is a unique (to my knowledge) glottal stop before syllabic /n/ in words like Trenton, mitten, written.  There are other distinctions too--the big one I always start with is the word "on"--which in South Jersey has the vowel of "Dawn" and in North Jersey the vowel of "Don";  the NYC "wait on line" has crept way out in the suburbs marking North Jerseyans, or Northeast Jerseyans.   South Jerseyans call their grandmothers "mom-mom".  And one thing that is really striking is females of the younger age group are raising the first vowel of "nation" to a very high front point--to me it sounds like "neetion"--in certain environments--not in monosyllables so much, and it's mostly females.  I don't think there is much written on any of this.

Dale Coye
The College of NJ