What is Pittsburghese?
1.
The accent, slang, and verbal shorthand of someone born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of the most annoying dialects on the face of the earth. Pittsburghese comes in part from speaking more quickly than normal, producing slurs such as the infamous "Jeet jet?"
Some butcherings of people's names:
Anthony = An-duh-nee
Aphrotide = Aff-ur-die-tee or Aff-ur-dyte
Barb = Boorb
Bonnie = Bwaw-nee
Carol = Curl
Cheryl = Surl
Don = Dawn
Jennifer = Jinn-uh-fur
Lawrence = Lah-rinse
Lemieux (as in the beloved Pittsburgher Mario Lemieux) = Lah-muu
Terry = Teary
Some butcherings of regular words:
Acoustic = Ah-cue-stick
Afghan = Af-uh-gahn
Aluminum = Al-oo-num-in
Arthritis = Arth-er-eye-tis
Beautiful = Byew-dee-fuhl
Breakfast = Breff-iss
Downtown = Dahn-tahn
Doughnut = Doe-nit
Error = Ear
Field = Filld
Flexible = Flex-uh-kul
Garage = Gaarj
Hour = Ahr
House = Hahs
Ignorant = Ig-nurnt
Interesting = In-ur-es-tin
Lousy = Lah-see
Legal = Liggle
Natural = Nachurl
Out = Aht
Pretty = Priddy
Quart = Coort
Refridgerator = Frige-dare
Regular = Reg-uh-lur
Steelers = Stillers
Technical = Tet-ni-kal
Wash = Worsh
You = Yinz
Some words that don't exist outside of Pittsburgh:
Abeast--Slang for "fat", probably derives from "obese"
Allergayney Whitefish--This is what we say when we see a condom floating down any river, particularly the Allegheny
Aloose--Untied
Ascared--To be afraid of something
Babushka--Scarf worn on the head to keep "aht" the cold
Bitzle--Dirt particle
Bumbershoot--An umbrella
Burm--Side, usually of a road
Cawnur Lady--Prostitute
Chipped-chopped or Chipchop--Very thinly sliced, usually pertaining to meat
Cucky or Cucka-cucka--Revolting; can also refer to a gooey substance
Flustrated--Not just flustered, not just frustrated, but a happy marriage of the two.
Grinny--A chipmunk
Gum--Elastic
Gummyband or Gumband--Rubber band
Gutcheez n'at--Underwear
Heinz 57--Mutt dog
Hunky-doory--Fine
Jaggy--Crazy
Jagoff--Jerk
Jigunda--Large
Jimmies--Sprinkles
Nebbynose or Nebnose--A nosy person
Slippy--Slippery
Sucko--Bad
Zaksame--Exactly the same
Finally, some phrases:
"What kinna birrisat?" = "What kind of beer is that?"
"Brinnit dahn a thahsan!" = "Bring it down a thousand!" (meaning "Quiet down")
"Kinnywood's open!" = "The fly on your pants is unzipped."
"Oh mi-lawndry" = "Oh my gosh!"
"A whole nuther mahl" = "Another mile"
"Airyago!" = "There you go."
"Yinz guys getcher bess sleep onna Serta? Tony's gawddit!" = "You get your best sleep on a Serta
mattress ? Tony's got it a local mattress slogan!"
"Buy Saym a drink, and gettis dog one too!" = "Wow, what a great goal
sports !"
"Gawrsh, it's coledoutdair!" = "Gosh, it's cols out there!"
2.
The Pittsburgh English dialect, or "Pittsburghese," derives from influences from the Scotch-Irish, German, Central European and Eastern European immigrants. The dialect is somewhat similar in tone to other nearby regional dialects (ie, Philadelphia, Baltimore), but is noted for its somewhat staccato rhythms (a result of the Eastern European influence). The lexicon itself contains notable cognates borrowing from Croatian and other Slavic and European languages. Examples include babushka, pierogi, and halushky.
Emblematic of Pittsburghese is "yinz" as the plural of "you", with "yunz" as a variant. Locals who speak the Pittsburgh dialect are often referred to as "yinzers".
Speakers of the dialect also often compress the pronunciation of words and phrases. For example, "up there" becomes "up er." Speakers also often end a sentence with "and that", pronounced as, "n'at." For example, a local "yinzer" might say, "We went dahntahn to go get some beer n'at."
See
3.
The particular speech patterns of a native of Pittsburgh, PA.
"J'eet jet?"
"No, j'ew?"
"I'm goin' to the Giggle DAHNTAHN tah get some sammiches."
"My car needs warshed."
"My computer is saying 'I need restarted.'"
