Sunday, February 02, 2014

Pittsburghese as Lingua Franca

Putting french fries and coleslaw on artisanal toast at Pacific Standard magazine.

Theme: Bowling with strangers.

Subject Article: "Oral History: CMU linguistics professor charts the city's history through its language."

Other Links: 1. "Guerrilla Geographies of Artisanal Toast."
2. "Urban Islands of Poverty and Bowling With Strangers."
3. "bowling with strangers: emerging patterns of desegregation foretell a vibrant economy."
4. "The Stranger."
5. "A Toast Story."
6. "Putnam explains NYT article: Port Clinton an example of a national wealth gap, he says."

Postscript: Pittsburghese, a product of decades of parochial attitudes built by an absence of in-migration, helps newcomers connect with locals. Conversely, Pittsburghers cling to their Rust Belt roots by wrapping Yinzers in nostalgia. It's an affluent NOVA gang sign. The Yinzerati run the world.

1 comment:

Done By Forty said...

I'm just glad that I now know of Pittsburgh Dad, so thank you for sharing. Watching that episode was like getting a hug from the city.

Whatever Pittsburgh accent I might have had, I lost pretty quick after going to San Diego. When I go home, I'll start to imitate my friends, unintentionally, but I do feel it gets a little patronizing. I can't help it: I think there's something within me that just wants to copy the speech.