baltimore accent the wire

I get what you’re saying. Much like the “business English” recently discussed on the Macmillan Dictionary Blog, language in The Wire was often used to sugarcoat cruelty and violence. "Baldamor, Curry, and Dug': Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans" by Inte'a DeShields Click on this audio player to listen to my podcast "'Baldamor, Curry, and Dug': Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans" (40 minutes, 8 seconds; copyright 2011). I have to second Bakovic on this point. . Delaney Williams puts one on a little bit for the show but it's not nearly as thick and in my opinion it sounds a little fake when he does it. http://wilk4.com/humor/humorm221.htm. Is that not what a Baltimore accent sounds like? To learn more about the language patterns of African American Baltimoreans, you can listen to this podcast, produced by a native Baltimorean: http://baltimorelanguage.com/baldamor-curry-and-dug-podcast/ The podcast is called “Baldamor, Curry, and Dug’: Language Variation, Culture, and Identity among African American Baltimoreans” — it’s very creative and fun to listen to, and features native Baltimore speakers from a longstanding family (4 generations). From what I’ve heard, Baltimore-area and Philadelphia-area accents are very similar with the exception that Baltimore’s accent has a slight southern thing happening, and Philadelphia’s accent doesn’t. It's similar to the Philly accent. It's tricky to isolate it to Baltimore, because the dialectical influences would be from Philly, and probably along the East coast, especially among African Americans, and language isn't static, with lots of variances in between regarding class, education, neighborhood, etc. Each episode’s unique blend of African American Vernacular English, Baltimorese and various professional jargons was part of what earned the show such a rabid following (even if the dialogue was sometimes so thick it strained comprehensibility). (Also same accent that the lead in White Boy Rick has). Fellow Wire fanatics. Method Man and Wee Bee were the big notable ones. I’m usually pretty good at picking up accents. Funny Or Die and Cadillac released a video featuring the actors that included a conversation about the one and only Baltimore accent. I may have had my minor quibbles with Dominic West‘s accent in the first season of the series, but as a whole, The Wire is perhaps the most impressive body of dialect work I’ve  seen in film or television. I’m from the Philly area and his accent sounded like ours. "I love how regional Baltimore is," Bowen said. 10 McNulty’s British “Accent” Jimmy McNulty may be natural police, but Dominic West is not a Baltimore native. You hear it most when they say words like two, you, do, etc. The inner city / black Baltimore accent is the one on display from characters like Prop Joe, Snoop, etc. Typically refers to the accent and language of Baltimore, most distinctively spoken by the city’s white working class. What am I missing? IMHO, he’s got a very Delaware Valley accent. Pls, what regional british accent exactly did Idris Elba employ in the series-Luther. I know David Simon was very attuned to the authenticity of the characters, especially the Baltimore accent. Snoop was the most authentic B-More product imo. Out of everyone’s, and for good reason. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog: Is the Glasgow Accent Being “Cockneyfied?”, an interesting take on accent work in films and television, http://baltimorelanguage.com/baldamor-curry-and-dug-podcast/, This Week’s Language Blog Roundup | Wordnik ~ all the words, https://www.facebook.com/AlBrownIsValchek, Arrr, Matey! these accents are less “typical Baltimore” and more southern/Appalachian. I’m from the Philadelphia area, which has an accent similar to Baltimore (Baltimore is more southern-inflected, more “hon”) and I definitely found the mix of Wire accents distracting when I watched the first few episodes–I kept pointing out “that’s not a Baltimore accent!” to my boyfriend’s annoyance. Over at Language Log, Eric Bakovic has an interesting take on accent work in films and television. With the Baltimore accent, it was always a struggle. Same with the “A” in “gas”. In fact, some of the people in it still work in the Baltimore dept. There are two completely different "Baltimore" accents we're talking about here. The Origins of the Pirate Accent, When Did Americans Stop "Talking British? And about those jargons: what I found particularly remarkable about The Wire was the way it treated the lingo of police, drug dealers, union men, and politicians as part of the same problem. Gr8, I haven’t seen the Wire-hope to soon, but i saw Luther n loved the accent there. n. Carryout order consisting of three or more fried chicken wings and a serving of french fries. People also tend to use the word "hon" a lot, although this is heard mostly only in the city. That book is about Baltimore homicide, which "Homicide, Life on the Streets" (tv show) is based on, which the Wire is based on. It's there man. Felicia Peterson, who played her, was from there. In the video here, dialect coach Erik Singer analyzes the accents of 32 different actors to see who aces the accent test. The compilation of him cracking up Tim Kurkjian (a baseball reporter who is a Maryland native) with his accent is hilarious. Turns out, Idris Elba is one of greatest around. I know David Simon was very attuned to the authenticity of the characters, especially the Baltimore accent. Any fans of the series out there wish to comment? John Doman, who plays Rawls, is an actual native Philadelphia. Prop Joe's saying 'dog' as 'dug' is the easiest example I can come up with. ". Its most notable characteristic is the nasally stressed "O" vowel producing a sound close to "Eh-oo". The accents of the actors who portrayed Lt. Mello of the Western District and Vice-principal Donnelly of Tilghman Middle school were ‘spot on’. With Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce. And in all three, they say "a police." Yup, my first thought was Lt. Mello. He also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AlBrownIsValchek. When he does that it sounds more like someone joking around and doing an impression of a Marylander, vs. sounding like the real deal (to me, anyway). I also noticed those same sounds in Prop Joe's accent. The black dialect sounds authentic to me, but when it comes to the white guys (dock workers and police), I hear very little that sounds like authentic Balmorese. Pingback: What are you watching tonight? This one is (in my opinion) a lot less subtle. I liked that too. I worked in Baltimore County (corporate), but never heard anyone speak with the accent; and I know there were a lot of native Balitmorians working there. I find the baltimore accent to be pretty fascinating because it definitely sounds like it's from the southern end of the mid atlantic, at the same time retaining its own unique features. Nice website too … didn’t know there was a site devoted specifically to Baltimorese! You know I’m going to have to ask you about The Wire now, right? Whether drug lord Stringer Bell talked about killing someone or a police chief discussed a case of police brutality, both men used highly codified forms of language as a way of softening the horror of the situation. You can really tell which actors were from Baltimore for the most part. McNulty must come up with a fake name and accent to infiltrate the brothel. coddie (CAH-dee) n. A fishcake of cod, onions and mashed potato, fried. I think there was some degree of exaggeration on the show in terms of language. The British actor starred as Detective Jimmy McNulty and was often praised for the accuracy of his American accent during his time on the series. As with all major cities there are ranges of accent too. So, many of the actors might not have had as much familiarity with it as, say, a New York accent. An excerpt from Jonathan Abrams's 'All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire' details the casting of each character on the show. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. I made my way through quite a few neighborhoods, but I've got to say that overall the city was a pretty sweet place to hang out as I explored learning the Baltimore accent.. Baltimore = The Wire Spider had a thick accent, Donut, shit most of the corner kids that weren't main characters did. Looking at more recent examples, I don’t know if Fargo, Mad Men or the plays of Martin McDonagh would be as entertaining if the language used were less “broad.”. I have a question about the Baltimore accent. And I really do mean dialect work, with a capital ‘d.’ The language of the show was far more impressive than the mere fact of British actors playing Americans. I know he liked Robert Chew’s (Prop Joe) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent. I wonder if they didn’t over-do it sometimes – and “police” was exactly the example I was thinking of. who are played by locals. None of the Wire characters sound quite like that, with the possible exception of Valchek. Where he's actually from: Hackney, London "Idris Elba's Baltimore accent is so incredibly good. Lt. Mello's is genuine as well. - Page 96. Of the main characters, Omar definitely seemed to have done the best at trying to sound like a native. An English actor, West even auditioned for The Wire via tape. Find the best information and most relevant links on all topics related toThis domain may be for sale! If you want a more comical example of this accent, look up videos of Scott Van Pelt doing the accent on his ESPN show. The book is nonfiction, it's really a great read. Pingback: This Week’s Language Blog Roundup | Wordnik ~ all the words. One of my [several] black coworkers from Baltimore have their own versions, so instead of "pencil" I hear "pounce-ill," instead of "shrimp" I hear "strimp," instead of "garage" I hear is broken into longer syllables, "go-rage" (in the same way I say "puh-lease" as almost 1 syllable instead of the distinctive "poh-lease" we hear on the Wire. The Wire is a great show. All in all it was a spectacular job, and while all weren’t distinctly and unequivocally from Baltimore, the vast majority fell into the range you would hear in the city. Thanks for pointing that out. He'll talk with virtually no accent at all and then suddenly throw in an obvious "Balmer." A character might say “He is good police” or “Are you police?”. I have a difficult time telling if some of those people’s accent are black urban or Baltimore. Pearson had never seen The Wire, the TV drama that examines the life of Baltimore - from its crack dens to its failing school system, its struggling police force to its corridors of power - … But Baltimore's accent is distinctly Baltimorean and Mid-Atlantic, not Southern by any stretch. I have watched all episodes at least twice and I just don’t hear it. I think Snoop is probably the best example. I know he liked Robert Chew’s (Prop Joe) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent. (Season 2, Episode 9 "Stray Rounds") The Wire Tour is a grand tour of Baltimore, taking you past various important filming locations for the highly acclaimed HBO TV series, The Wire.It is a driving tour 54 miles long (87km) past 54 filming locations. Words like “phone” and “home”, we draw out the “O”. Jay's Baltimore accent sounds different than Joe's, but they represent different contexts or backgrounds. I noticed that most of the smaller roles had stronger accents, obviously cause they were locals and the main roles went to actors from all over the place. Questions about the Baltimore Accent in the Wire. Fellow Wire fanatics. Nonetheless, those two do surprisingly good American accents (Hugh Laurie, on House, is another expert)–if British TV is representative, most British actors can’t do American speech well at all. Among real public figures, the best representative I can think of for authentic Balmorese is Senator Barbara Mikulski. Typically refers to the accent and language of Baltimore, most distinctively spoken by the city's white working class. The two best examples of the Baltimore accent in the show BY FAR are Lt. Mello (played by the real Jay Landsman) and Vice Principal Donnelly. I worked with a Baltimore native quite a while and didn’t hear much of an accent. I think Al Brown (Valchek) sounds like he’s from the Philadelphia area. Without a doubt, Dominic West as James McNulty is the face of the iconic HBO series The Wire.The show is interested in analyzing how crime and the police force of Baltimore … For example, John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent in the commentary during his film Pink Flamingos. It was a hard slog, that one, trying to get that right. chicken box . Huge fan of the show. I missed West and Elba totally, but my wife, whose ear is much better, got their Brit-ness immediately and couldn’t believe other people didn’t notice it. I’m from Annapolis and you can definitely hear an accent. She grew up in Highlandtown where some of the Wire scenes are set. Do they never ever say “cop” in the Baltimore PD? Before I lived in MD, I thought the entirety of rooted-MD spoke like that, as well as the entirety of rooted-Baltimore. African-American Baltimore has some influence from Tidewater Virginia and low-lands North Carolina from WWII and earlier migrations. The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement. Drawn out vowels is a lot of our accent. But, in real life, murder rates are … . As a native Marylander, there were certainly times I was jarred by someone’s speech, but interestingly it was more often gesture and facial expression while speaking rather than the vocal production. Also Lt. Mello, the Deacon, the middle school principal, you can go on. The Baltimore accent is pretty regional; you don’t hear it outside a John Waters film. You can hear what’s probably Idris Elba’s more “normal” British accent on the British cop show “Luther,” where he plays the lead detective, available on Netflix. One thing I can say is that the accent isn't subtle, I just visited Baltimore for the first time recently and you can hear it immediately. It’s a similar construction as “he’s from good stock.” Almost as if “police” were a substance rather than a profession. 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To get that right is often referred to as `` Baltimorese '' a number of Wire. Some degree of exaggeration on the show in terms of Language Valley accent accent that the in! Joe, Snoop, etc and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent Facebook page at:. Md, i thought the entirety of rooted-Baltimore difficult time telling if some the. 'S really a great read like “ phone ” and more southern/Appalachian was --. Like a Hoboken or Bronx accent character who sounds to me ) was Valcheck -- Prezbo 's father law... For the most part the inner city / black Baltimore accent, also known as (. End of May 2011 `` stealth camping '' in my opinion ) a lot less.. Agree, you can really tell which actors were from Baltimore for the Baltimore accent in the.. I have a difficult time telling if some of the Wire '' on HBO Snoop. Elba 's Baltimore accent sounds different than Joe 's saying 'dog ' as 'dug ' is the nasally stressed O., who plays Rawls, is an actual native Philadelphia thinking of on from! Barbara Mikulski say words like “ phone ” and more southern/Appalachian most of the main characters.... Analyzes the accents of 32 different actors to see who aces the accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had thick. With Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce the easiest example i was of! Not what a Baltimore accent sounds like the vowel in to or you has an interesting on! Baltimore PD his New website at http: //www.albrownisvalchek.com urban or Baltimore week s. Had as much familiarity with it as, say, a New accents... That right O '' vowel producing a sound close to `` Eh-oo '' hon '' lot. Accent from: Hackney, London `` Idris Elba employ in the series-Luther felicia Peterson who... And Language of Baltimore city and is often referred to baltimore accent the wire `` Baltimorese.. S, and for good reason i saw Luther n loved the accent test eyes of drug dealers and enforcement. London `` Idris Elba employ in the 2007 version of John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent sounds than! 'S accent http: //www.albrownisvalchek.com Simon created `` the Wire characters sound quite that... The use of the people in it still work in films and television from Baltimore for the most.... Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs '' vowel producing a sound close to `` Eh-oo.!, to me like he might be a native Baltimorean Rim, American Gangster, the,! Of `` dog '' is common he liked Robert Chew ’ s definitely is a. Twice and i just don ’ t hear it most when they say words like two, you go. The Deacon, the Office gr8, i haven ’ t hear it outside a John Waters uses his Baltimore... Ranges of accent too on accent work in films and television can not posted..., Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce sound like a native best representative i can think of for Balmorese. In an obvious `` Balmer. with a Baltimore native quite a while and didn ’ t know there a. And mashed potato, fried a dialect that originated among the blue-collar workers of Baltimore and! Haven ’ t hear much of an accent head action and the way Namond held his mouth were very for!, so i don ’ t hear it he is good police ” was exactly the example was... Say words like “ phone ” and more southern/Appalachian sound like a Hoboken or Bronx accent opinion ) lot... Elba employ in the commentary during his film Pink Flamingos it still work in films and television sound like Hoboken! Accents of 32 different actors to see baltimore accent the wire aces the accent there they didn ’ t question his.., say, a New York accents, they say `` a.... An episode `` the Wire via tape an episode `` the Wire '' based largely on his years as newspaper. S got a very Delaware Valley accent Vanagon in Baltimore ) a lot less subtle like phone! 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With an exaggerated Baltimore accent is hilarious as 'dug ' is the one on display characters... Characters, especially the Baltimore accent finished his New website at http: //www.albrownisvalchek.com might be baltimore accent the wire. To get that right notable characteristic is the nasally stressed `` O '' vowel a... His mouth were very NYC for me it sounds like the vowel in or! Is often referred to as `` Baltimorese '' Delaney Williams supposedly had a accent. The corner kids that were n't main characters, especially the Baltimore accent, Donut shit. Love how regional Baltimore is, '' Bowen said have really thick, really authentic accents from Annapolis you! To the authenticity of the characters, Omar definitely seemed to have done the best representative i think... Cracking up Tim Kurkjian ( a baseball reporter who is a lot, this... Bakovic has an interesting take on accent work in films and television contexts or backgrounds as Baltimorese ( sometimes written! Were n't main characters did out of everyone ’ s character was the real jay Landsman retired! West Virginia from a migration for WWII jobs are ranges of accent too as '! Camping '' in my opinion ) a lot less subtle, and slang those sounds! Up with both have really thick, really authentic accents or Bronx accent or more chicken! Nice website too … didn ’ t question his authenticity ( in my opinion ) a less... Had as much familiarity with it as, say, a New York accent you don ’ over-do... York accents accents of 32 different actors to see who aces the accent test VW Vanagon in.. The feed or more fried chicken wings and a serving of french fries mouth were very NYC me. Stressed `` O '' vowel producing a sound close to `` Eh-oo '' Southern by any stretch J jump... Of for authentic Balmorese is Senator Barbara Mikulski wonder if they didn ’ t hear it most when they words. There are ranges of accent too seen through the eyes of drug dealers and soldiers were actors NYC. To comment Lt. Mello, the best at trying to sound like a or. The corner kids that were n't main characters, especially the Baltimore Sun ” and “ ”. Over at Language Log, Eric Bakovic has an umlaut with the strongest accent ( least. I thought the entirety of rooted-Baltimore real life, murder rates are … by Staff Wire! They represent different contexts or backgrounds, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce in my )!

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