In a recent posting, Geoff Layton made some comments on Chicago-English pronunciations to which I would like to add some notes as a native (formerly nonstandard) speaker of Euro-American English. I believe Euro-American and non-standard to be social parameters of the speech reported upon by Layton, unless subsequently contradicted by him.
Just in case youse ever comes over by dere to Chicagah:
1. Grachki (grach'-key): Chicagoese for "garage key" as in, "Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? How my supposta cut da grass if I don't git intada grach?"
Although the / k / of "key" does devoice the / j / of "garage," there is transitory voicing on the latter.
2. Sammich: Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich, a local delicacy consisting of piles of spicy meat in a perilously soggy bun.
The pronunciation is accurate for most, not all, speakers, but it occur in Northeastern urban areas as well.
3. Da: This article is a key part of Chicago speech, as in "Da Bears" or "Da Mare" -- the latter denoting Richard M. Daley, or Richie, as he's often called.
Commentary on this will appear in my note A below.
4. Jewels: Not family heirlooms or a tender body region, but a popular name for one of the region's dominant grocery store chains. "I'm goin' to da Jewels to pick up some sassage."
5. Field's: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago department store (unfortunately, it's a thing of the past.) Also Carson Pirie Scott, another major department store chain, is simply called " Carson's."
Comments 4 and 5 are accurate as is.
6. Tree: The number between two and four. "We were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da udder night."
Commentary on this will appear in my notes A & C below.
7. Over by dere: Translates to "over by there," a way of emphasizing a site presumed familiar to the listener. As in, "I got the sassage at da Jewels down on Kedzie, over by dere."
The "dere" will be commented on in note A. The "over by" itself is a well known substratum influence from German and Yiddish, and it occurs in other expressions such as "Can I come over by you." "We're all going over by Sam's, tonight"
8. Kaminski Park : The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball. Comiskey Park was renamed U.S. Cellular Field (da Cell).
I have not heard this, or noticed this, myself, but I have no reason to doubt its existence.
9. Frunchroom: As in, "Get outta da frunchroom wit dose muddy shoes." It's not the "parlor." It's not the "living room." In the land of the bungalow, it's the "frunchroom," a named derived, linguists believe, from "front room."
Commentary on this "ch" will appear in note B below. Yes, it is from "Front Room," because the latter is what standard native speakers in Chicago also call what others call the "parlor" or "living room."
10. Use : Not the verb, but the plural pronoun 'you!' "Where use goin'?"
This occurs in Chicago, but in other places throughout the United States. In Chicago, at least, it may be used as a singular as well as plural formal. "Hello, Ma'am/Sir, how may I help youse?' Locals, when spelling for captions, humorous purposes etc., spell it "youse" as Mr. Layton did in his first line, possibly on analogy with "these" and "those." It apparently functions as a nonstandard, formal 2nd person with a range much like standard, formal French "Vous."
11. Downtown: Anywhere near The Lake, south of The Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo) and north of Soldier Field.
12. The Lake : Lake Michigan . (What other lake is there?) It's often used by local weathermen, "cooler by The Lake."
14. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. "Gimme a braht wit kraut."
Comments 11, 12 and 14 are accurate as is. Comment 13 was missing from the email that I received.
15. Goes: Past or present tense of the verb "say." For example, "Den he goes, 'I like dis place'!"
Yes, this occurs in Chicago, but elsewhere as well. It is always used to cite someone's oral conversation much the way "says" is used by other speakers. Some, not all, speakers will use this form with a first person singular. "He goes, "... ," and I goes, "...."
16. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each individual's gender.
I hear this throughout the United States among adolescents, particularly among female adolescents.
17. Pop: A soft drink. Don't say "soda" in this town. "Do ya wanna canna pop?"
18. Sliders: Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle , a popular Midwestern burger chain. "Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs."
19. The Taste: The Taste of Chicago Festival, a huge extravaganza in Grant Park featuring samples of Chicagoland cuisine which takes place each year around the Fourth of July holiday.
20. "Jeetyet?": Translates to, "Did you eat yet?"
Comments 18 & 19 are accurate, but you can find "pop" for "soft drink" and the collapsed "Did you eat yet?" in many upstate New York cities.
21. Winter and Construction: Punch line to the joke, "What are the two seasons in Chicago?"
This is as common in Buffalo as in Chicago. I wonder if even more snow belt cities use it.
22. Cuppa Too-Tree: is Chicagoese for "a couple, two, three" which really means "a few." For example, "Hey Mike, dere any beerz left in da cooler over by dere?" "Yeh, a cuppa too-tree."
I have not heard, or noticed, this; however, I have no reason to doubt its existence.
23. 588-2300: Everyone in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the carpet company you'll get if you call that number -- Empire!
This is probably after my time. I moved from Chicago to Buffalo a number of years ago.
24. Junk Dror: You will usually find the 'junk drawer' in the kitchen filled to the brim with miscellaneous, but very important, junk.
Accurate. The "dror" along with "mare" from comment # 3 will appear in my note C below.
25. Southern Illinois : Anything south of I-80. This is where Smothers' is from....
I never actually thought about it, or noticed it, but that sure sounds right.
26. Expressways: The Interstates in the immediate Chicagoland area are usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number: the Dan Ryan ("da Ryan"), the Stevenson, the Kennedy (da "Kennedy"), the Eisenhower (da "Ike"), and the Edens (just "Edens" but Da Edens" is acceptable).
Absolutely, on target, and that is the way all the traffic reporters on local television and radio refer to them.
27. Gym Shoes: The rest of the country may refer to them as sneakers or running shoes but Chicagoans will always call them gym shoes!
Yes, and I have not heard this use outside of the Chicago area--so far. Moreover, some speakers use the term as a generic for all athletic footwear.
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Note A. This note addresses
"da"s in comments 1, 3, 4, 6; 18 & 26;
"dat" in comment 6;
"dere" in comments 7 & 2;
"dis" & "den" in comment 15;
"tree" in comment 3.
"wit" in comment 14.
The apparent use of /t/ for /???/ and /d/ for /ð/ is stage dialect for non-standard Euro-American and other speakers in urban areas from Chicago, North of US 90, down US 87 Southeastward to NYC. Some speakers do exactly this; others distinguish a dental [<t] and [<d] from the alveolar [t]
and [d], preserving a phonemic distinction between spirants and stops which standard speakers do not perceive. This is particularly easily missed because phonetics texts discussing English, and Foreign Language texts teaching European languages to English speakers state that "English has only alveolar, apical stops, unlike many European languages whose apical stops are dental." And, of course, if its written in a textbook, it must be true. (:-)
Note B. This note addresses
another aspect of "tree" in comment 3.
"frunchroom" in comment 9.
/tr/ and /dr/ clusters before stressed, upper vowels /iy/ and /uw/ are heavily palatalized among many speakers, particularly males. In fact, there are male speakers who heavily palatalize /str/ under the same conditions, but I don't think the latter occurs in Chicago only.
Note C. This note addresses
"mare"in comment 3
"dror" in comment 24
Chicagoese indeed uses a single syllable where many others use two:
"drawer" /drohr/
"mayor" /mehr/
"prayer" /prehr/
Some even pronounce "poem" as /powm/, although "poet" retains the second syllable.
Melvin Hoffman
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