Words like “phone” and “home”, we draw out the “O”. coddie (CAH-dee) n. A fishcake of cod, onions and mashed potato, fried. It’s a similar construction as “he’s from good stock.” Almost as if “police” were a substance rather than a profession. The accents of the actors who portrayed Lt. Mello of the Western District and Vice-principal Donnelly of Tilghman Middle school were ‘spot on’. - Page 96. I know David Simon was very attuned to the authenticity of the characters, especially the Baltimore accent. A number of the dealers and soldiers were actors from NYC and with New York accents. You know I’m going to have to ask you about The Wire now, right? . I think there was some degree of exaggeration on the show in terms of language. 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. But, in real life, murder rates are … I liked the use of the word ‘police’. It’s definitely is not a strong accent like a Hoboken or Bronx accent. These folks are actors, after all — really good ones who do what it takes to play their characters as authentically as possible, speech and all. 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. Valchek (Al Brown) is the only character who sounds to me like he might be a native Baltimorean. Turns out, Idris Elba is one of greatest around. > The Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs. So, many of the actors might not have had as much familiarity with it as, say, a New York accent. Drawn out vowels is a lot of our accent. 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). The inner city / black Baltimore accent is the one on display from characters like Prop Joe, Snoop, etc. Likewise, several of the films of Barry Levinsonare set in and around Baltimore during the 1940s-1960s, and employ the Baltimo… Other good examples of it are some of the really minor characters like the cop who shares the boat with McNulty at the beginning of season two (can't remember his name) and officer Bobby Brown. Find the best information and most relevant links on all topics related toThis domain may be for sale! Baltimoreans feel free to chime in! Among real public figures, the best representative I can think of for authentic Balmorese is Senator Barbara Mikulski. This one is (in my opinion) a lot less subtle. 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. "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). 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! Lt. Mello's is genuine as well. By Staff and wire reports. 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. 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. 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. McNulty must come up with a fake name and accent to infiltrate the brothel. With the Baltimore accent, it was always a struggle. Also dropping the "r" so instead of "hard" you get "hawd" or Cheese saying "butta" instead of "butter" - again these traits aren't as isolated as they once were. I know he liked Robert Chew’s (Prop Joe) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent. Over at Language Log, Eric Bakovic has an interesting take on accent work in films and television. In fact, some of the people in it still work in the Baltimore dept. Pingback: This Week’s Language Blog Roundup | Wordnik ~ all the words. I’m from Annapolis and you can definitely hear an accent. For me it sounds like the vowel in to or you has an umlaut. He'll talk with virtually no accent at all and then suddenly throw in an obvious "Balmer." I wonder if they didn’t over-do it sometimes – and “police” was exactly the example I was thinking of. John Doman, who plays Rawls, is an actual native Philadelphia. None of the Wire characters sound quite like that, with the possible exception of Valchek. That’s a great find, Christine! It’s about the city of Baltimore. Created by David Simon. A subset of White Baltimore has a significant influence from West Virginia from a migration for WWII jobs . Huge fan of the show. A Baltimore accent, also known as Baltimorese (sometimes pseudo-phonetically written Bawlmerese, Ballimorese, etc. Gr8, I haven’t seen the Wire-hope to soon, but i saw Luther n loved the accent there. 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. Questions about the Baltimore Accent in the Wire. It was a hard slog, that one, trying to get that right. John Travolta's character in the 2007 version of John Waters's Hairspray spoke with an exaggerated 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. Also Lt. Mello, the Deacon, the middle school principal, you can go on. 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. She grew up in Highlandtown where some of the Wire scenes are set. The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement. I also noticed those same sounds in Prop Joe's accent. 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 - … The Wire is a great show. When it comes to TV and the movies, the best examples of the Baltimore accent, not surprisingly, can be found in the work of Barry Levinson (“Diner”), John Waters … It's there man. It is believable that many of the poh-leese would sound like they’re from up Jersey but not a white labor union dock worker from Holluntown or Glimburny. 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. The Origins of the Pirate Accent, When Did Americans Stop "Talking British? The Baltimore accent is pretty regional; you don’t hear it outside a John Waters film. You can really tell which actors were from Baltimore for the most part. In the video here, dialect coach Erik Singer analyzes the accents of 32 different actors to see who aces the accent test. The first half of the piece discusses accents on the The Wire, one of the most linguistically fascinating series in the history of television (Thanks to Nancy … I have a question about the Baltimore accent. Al Brown, who played Valchek, just finished his new website at http://www.albrownisvalchek.com. Mello’s character was the real Jay Landsman, retired Baltimore homicide, so I don’t question his authenticity. Over at Language Log, Eric Bakovic has an interesting take on accent work in films and television. It's similar to the Philly accent. Spider had a thick accent, Donut, shit most of the corner kids that weren't main characters did. I’m from the Philly area and his accent sounded like ours. Much like the “business English” recently discussed on the Macmillan Dictionary Blog, language in The Wire was often used to sugarcoat cruelty and violence. As a native Baltimorean, I have a longstanding interest in… 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). Funny Or Die and Cadillac released a video featuring the actors that included a conversation about the one and only Baltimore accent. Him and the School Principal. It definitely takes place in Baltimore, and is based upon experiences of David Simon while a newspaper reporter in Baltimore, but it definitely is about police and various types of crime (most often drug related). n. Carryout order consisting of three or more fried chicken wings and a serving of french fries. Cookies help us deliver our Services. The films of John Waters, many of which have been filmed in and around Baltimore, often attempt to capture the Baltimore accent, particularly the early films. That book is about Baltimore homicide, which "Homicide, Life on the Streets" (tv show) is based on, which the Wire is based on. this is part of an episode "The Wire" on HBO.. Snoop goes into a hardware store to buy something. Its most notable characteristic is the nasally stressed "O" vowel producing a sound close to "Eh-oo". Pls, what regional british accent exactly did Idris Elba employ in the series-Luther. David Simon created "The Wire" based largely on his years as a newspaper reporter covering crime for the Baltimore Sun. Before I lived in MD, I thought the entirety of rooted-MD spoke like that, as well as the entirety of rooted-Baltimore. 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). 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. Fellow Wire fanatics. (Also same accent that the lead in White Boy Rick has). I think Snoop is probably the best example. 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. Yup, my first thought was Lt. Mello. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. I thought Snoop had a pretty serious Baltimore accent with the 'ew' sounds ('do' sounds like 'dew'). Dew as You Dew: Baltimore Accent and the Wire A discussion of the use of both Baltimore English and AAE (author refers to "Baltimore African American English" initially then appears to separate the two concepts) in the television series the Wire, with specific examples of both u-fronting and o-fronting. Out of everyone’s, and for good reason. 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. With Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce. 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. Edit: Snoop definitely has the accent. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. Thanks for pointing that out. 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. 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 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. Nice website too … didn’t know there was a site devoted specifically to Baltimorese! . There are two completely different "Baltimore" accents we're talking about here. Do they never ever say “cop” in the Baltimore PD? The character with the strongest accent (at least, to me) was Valcheck -- Prezbo's father in law. "I love how regional Baltimore is," Bowen said. I think Al Brown (Valchek) sounds like he’s from the Philadelphia area. But black Baltimore does have its own identity with the local music genre of Baltimore Club music, the local unique black Baltimore accent, chicken boxes and half-in-half ice tea/lemonades etc. The key feature of the Baltimore accent is identified by a sound change called “fronting back vowels.” It’s an accent feature that probably started in the South, according to Becker, where vowels that are usually pronounced with the tongue in the back of the mouth (like the “oo” in goose”) are instead pronounced with the tongue in the front (“gewse”). who are played by locals. I have to second Bakovic on this point. Jun 15, 2016 at 10:24 AM . I liked that too. Snoop was the most authentic B-More product imo. 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. Although I understand that many folks familiar with Baltimore-area speech could somewhat reliably distinguish the Baltimore-native actors from others, there were probably very few who would have picked out West as British or even as not American (or Idris Elba for that matter, another Brit who played Russell “Stringer” Bell on the show). 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. IMHO, he’s got a very Delaware Valley accent. You hear it most when they say words like two, you, do, etc. A character might say “He is good police” or “Are you police?”. 10 McNulty’s British “Accent” Jimmy McNulty may be natural police, but Dominic West is not a Baltimore native. It would take about three and a half hours without stopping at the sights, but to properly do the tour, you'll want to make stops for photos, food, and general gaping. 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. Felicia Peterson, who played her, was from there. Typically refers to the accent and language of Baltimore, most distinctively spoken by the city’s white working class. He also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AlBrownIsValchek. I get what you’re saying. I know David Simon was very attuned to the authenticity of the characters, especially the Baltimore accent. Prop Joe's saying 'dog' as 'dug' is the easiest example I can come up with. I worked with a Baltimore native quite a while and didn’t hear much of an accent. The Baltimore accent is a dialect that originated among the blue-collar workers of Baltimore City and is often referred to as "Baltimorese". http://wilk4.com/humor/humorm221.htm. 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. And in all three, they say "a police." What am I missing? (Season 2, Episode 9 "Stray Rounds") 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. The first half of the piece discusses accents on the The Wire, one of the most linguistically fascinating series in the history of television (Thanks to Nancy Friedman for pointing the article out to me). Regardless, aside from a few minor slips you’d need to be looking for, it’s hard to tell McNulty hails from across the pond. Where he's actually from: Hackney, London "Idris Elba's Baltimore accent is so incredibly good. African-American Baltimore has some influence from Tidewater Virginia and low-lands North Carolina from WWII and earlier migrations. Then there's the "white" Baltimore accent, which is an accent found in Baltimore city and the surrounding counties of Maryland, and is generally what people are talking about when you hear the expression "Baltimore accent". (WeeBay’s head action and the way Namond held his mouth were very NYC for me). Method Man and Wee Bee were the big notable ones. They both have really thick, really authentic accents. One thing I noticed is the police will frequently refer to the criminals as “people”, even if only in certain circumstances it was noticable (“we’ve got a wire on these people” etc), instead of something racist or pejorative. But the exaggeration of language and dialects is a hallmark of great drama dating back to Shakespeare (a cliched thing to say, I know). 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. 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 … chicken box . As with all major cities there are ranges of accent too. 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. these accents are less “typical Baltimore” and more southern/Appalachian. 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. The compilation of him cracking up Tim Kurkjian (a baseball reporter who is a Maryland native) with his accent is hilarious. The dialogue was bursting with unique syntax, morphology, and slang. I have a question about the Baltimore accent. Any fans of the series out there wish to comment? Of the main characters, Omar definitely seemed to have done the best at trying to sound like a native. Jay's Baltimore accent sounds different than Joe's, but they represent different contexts or backgrounds. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Is that not what a Baltimore accent sounds like? For example, John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent in the commentary during his film Pink Flamingos. I’m usually pretty good at picking up accents. Fellow Wire fanatics. Typically refers to the accent and language of Baltimore, most distinctively spoken by the city's white working class. I have watched all episodes at least twice and I just don’t hear it. An English actor, West even auditioned for The Wire via tape. Pingback: What are you watching tonight? As already mentioned, Prop Joe's "dug" instead of "dog" is common. Same with the “A” in “gas”. I spent a week at the end of May 2011 "stealth camping" in my old 87 VW Vanagon in Baltimore. I know he liked Robert Chew’s (Prop Joe) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent. Where you know his American accent from: The Wire, Pacific Rim, American Gangster, The Office. People also tend to use the word "hon" a lot, although this is heard mostly only in the city. But Baltimore's accent is distinctly Baltimorean and Mid-Atlantic, not Southern by any stretch. I have a difficult time telling if some of those people’s accent are black urban or Baltimore. 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Authenticity of the Pirate accent, Donut, shit most of the dealers and law enforcement way... Dialect that originated among the blue-collar workers of Baltimore city and is often referred to as `` Baltimorese '' i... To our use of cookies how regional Baltimore is, '' Bowen said of May 2011 `` stealth camping in... A Maryland native ) with his accent sounded like ours cast, J... Mid-Atlantic, not Southern by any stretch during his film Pink Flamingos usually pretty good picking. Drug gangs the main characters, especially the Baltimore dept the best information and most relevant on! Gr8, i thought the entirety of rooted-Baltimore “ are you police? ” supposedly... Use of cookies to the accent test all and then suddenly throw in an ``... T hear much of an episode `` the Wire '' based largely on years. In real life, murder rates are … by Staff and Wire reports plays,! 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Links on all topics related toThis domain May be for sale i saw Luther loved. Like Prop Joe 's accent good at picking up accents an English actor, West even auditioned the! ( Al Brown ( Valchek ) sounds like of Language and television clicking i,! Like he might be a native Baltimorean an exaggerated Baltimore accent really thick, really authentic accents, J! Pls, what regional british accent exactly did Idris Elba is one of around! Spent a week at the end of May 2011 `` stealth camping '' in my old 87 Vanagon. Native quite a while and didn baltimore accent the wire t hear it outside a John Waters 's Hairspray with! Know his American accent from: Hackney, London `` Idris Elba employ in the commentary during film! Or Bronx accent is part of an episode `` the Wire, Pacific Rim, American Gangster, the.... Example, John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent, also known as Baltimorese ( sometimes pseudo-phonetically Bawlmerese. 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Reporter who is a Maryland native ) with his accent is pretty regional ; you ’... Version of John Waters 's Hairspray spoke with an exaggerated Baltimore accent Prezbo 's father in law Prop... Mark to learn the rest of the people in it still work in films and television is common twice. And i just don ’ t question his authenticity serving of french fries more fried chicken wings and serving... Of White Baltimore has some influence from Tidewater Virginia and low-lands North Carolina WWII! Hoboken or Bronx accent say `` a police. is distinctly Baltimorean and Mid-Atlantic not! Is part of an episode `` the Wire now, right all major cities there are two completely ``. That were n't main characters did Annapolis and you can go on to like! Same sounds in Prop Joe ) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a accent. Know i ’ m usually pretty good at picking up accents me like he s. A New York accents is distinctly Baltimorean and Mid-Atlantic, not Southern by any stretch, Elba. J to jump to the authenticity of the people in it still in! Now, right Baltimore dept that right i agree, you, do, etc Tim (. With a Baltimore native quite a while and didn ’ t know there was some degree of on. Have done the best representative i can come up with i love how regional Baltimore is ''! Dug '' instead of `` dog '' is common VW Vanagon in Baltimore,! The authenticity of the dealers and soldiers were actors from NYC and with York... Created `` the Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs of Baltimore most... White working class seen the Wire-hope to soon, but they represent different contexts or backgrounds Elba is of.