traditional culture. United by a single way of life and the general laws, any social group
(from social to ethical ones), has common folklore knowledge. At the same time, this
community represents heterogeneous level of education, and there are different social
groups that define social positions and strategies of speech / non-speech behaviour.
To analyze the peculiarities of Pittsburgh Speech we have taken the text of
Pittsburgh Christmas Carol which is the unique folklore masterpiece demonstrating all
richness of Pittsburgh Speech in the framework of three language levels: phonetic,
lexical and grammatical ones.
Example:
The Pittsburgh Christmas Carol
Yinz better watch aht
Yinz better not cry
Yinz better not paht
I'm tellin' yinz hown come
Santa Claus is goin' Dahntahn
He's makin' a list
He's checkin' it aht
He's gonna find aht who's
nebby n'at
Santa Claus is goin' Dahntahn
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He sees you in your hahs
He knows if you're bein' a jag off
Or loungin' on your cahch
Yinz better watch aht
Yinz better not cry
Yinz better not paht
I'm tellin' yinz hown come
Santa Claus is goin' Dahntahn
He's makin' a list
He's checkin' it aht
He's gonna find aht who's
nebby n'at
Santa Claus is goin' Dahntahn
He sees you on the Norside
Easliberty'n Sahside too
He don't want you ascared
Just do what you're aposed to do
Yinz better watch aht
Yinz better not cry
Yinz better not paht
I'm tellin' yinz hown come
Standard American English
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is going Downtown
He's making a list
He's checking it out
He's going to find out who's
Nosy and so forth
Santa Claus is going Downtown
He sees you when you're sleeping
He sees you in your house
He knows if you're being a jerk
Or lounging on your couch
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is going Downtown
He's making a list
He's checking it out
He's going to find out who's
Nosy and so forth
Santa Claus is going Downtown
He sees you on the Northside
East Liberty and South Side, too
He doesn't want you to be afraid
Just do what you're supposed to do
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why
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