South Jersey - South Jersey English

South Jersey English

South Jersey is within the Philadelphia dialect region. One recognizable feature of this is the pronunciation of /oʊ/ (the vowel in go) as, and this can also be found elsewhere in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.

Visitors to South Jersey will notice the following usages standard in the Delaware Valley:

  • Hoagie: This usual term for what might elsewhere be called a submarine sandwich.
  • Wooter: the first vowel in the word water is rhymed with that of the verb put.
  • Jimmies: used to refer to the chocolate or rainbow variety of sprinkles used on cakes and ice cream. The term is also used in the Boston area but is uncommon in North Jersey.
  • Down the shore: To head down the shore is to spend time in the Jersey coastal resort areas. Once you are down the shore, for the day or at a residence in the area, you can go to the beach, or the boardwalk, and so forth. The phrase was even used as the name of a short-lived sitcom, Down the Shore.

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Famous quotes containing the words south, jersey and/or english:

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    I went to a very militantly Republican grammar school and, under its influence, began to revolt against the Establishment, on the simple rule of thumb, highly satisfying to a ten-year-old, that Irish equals good, English equals bad.
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