Date:  Sat, 8 Oct 1994 21:05:40 -0400

From:  Claudio Salvucci <CSALVUCCI[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]DELPHI.COM>

Subject: Phila. dialect



    I was wondering if anyone on the list could help me find material

(by that I mean books, journals, articles, etc.) on dialect speech in the

Delaware Valley / SE Pennsylvania area, especially urban Philadelphia.

    Linguistics is more a hobby than a profession, and as such I

am completely in the dark about where to look, and what research has

been done in this area. I have consulted "The Pronunciation of English

in the Atlantic States", but the examples of "typically Philadelphian"

speech don't correlate with my own personal experience of growing up

there. Perhaps the time frame (data collected around 1940) and the

social context (educated, "well-to-do") have something to do with this.

    I remember learning about vowel-raising in college, but never

learned where this data came from. Any information would be greatly

appreciated, as the only treatments I have been able to find come from

the popular press, and as such, are of limited value. Thanks in advance

and I apologize for the length of this posting.



    Claudio R. Salvucci

    csalvucci[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]delphi.com