A pseudo-
dialect from
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania which can make outsiders cringe or feel utterly
confused. For example, 'ow' sounds like 'ah,' -- so "
downtown" and "found out" sound like "dahn-tahn" and "fahnd aht." Another distinctive
pronunciation is the long "e" vowel which sounds like the short "i." So a Pittsburgh
football fan roots for the "
Stillers."
Also, the
verb 'to be' does not exist. If your mom is being annoying she might say, "Johnny, your bed needs made."
a short lexicon:
yinz = you guys (plural of you). People who speak Pittsburghese are called
Yinzers.
gumbans =
rubber bands
arn =
iron
arn city =
iron city beer, a local shitty brew
n'at = and that (a pair of words stuck on to the end of a sentence)
one time (similar to above)
...Wanna go down to The 'O' for a snappy hot dog one time?
sammich =
sandwich (as in a
Primanti Brothers sammich)
scrap = fight
birz = beers
Mahnt Lebanin =
Mount Lebanon (a suburb)
Minrovil = Monroeville (another suburb)
Ver-sails = Versailles (suburb again)
KerNAYgie =
Carnegie (as in
Carnegie Mellon University)
Redd-up = tidy up
...Be sure to redd-up your room before you leave.
Worsh = Wash
...I spilt some Heinz kitch-ip, and now my shirt needs worshed.
Jumbo =
Bologna ...May I have a pahnd of Jumbo please?
Nebby = Nosey,
curious ...The next door neighbor is very nebby.
Sahside =
Southside ...The office is dahn in Sahside.
Dahntahn = Downtown
...We went shopping dahntahn.
Picksburg = Pittsburgh
E Sliberty =
East Liberty ...I live in E Sliberty.
Squill = Squirrel Hill
Geagle = Giant Eagle (the area's
supermarket behemoth)
Haas = House
...The painters are busy painting the haas.
J'eat = Did you
eat?
Jag-off = Technically, one who
masturbates, a
wanker. Used as a general
jab, like calling someone a
moron.
Jaggers = Thorns
...These jaggerbushes have jaggers on them.
Still Mill =
Steel Mill.
...He works dahn at the still mill.
Crick = Creek
...Wanna go dahn to the crick one time?
Aht = Out
...We should go aht to Minrovil to do some shoppin'.
Kennywood's Open = your fly is unzipped
Ignernt =
Ingorant
Keller =
Color
Redlight =
Traffic light
Shahrs = showers
...April shahrs bring May flahrs!
Cut = slice (as in 'slice of
pizza')
Grasscutter =
lawnmower
Leggins =
snow pants
Raht = route
Picher = picture
Tahl = towel
Tahr = tire
Pisgetti = Spaghetti
Also,
people tend to use '
spicket' instead of
faucet, and '
pop' instead of
soda. The days of the
week in
pgh are: Sundy, Mundy, Tuesdy, Wensdy, Thursdy, Frydy, Sadurdy.