I wonder if they didn’t over-do it sometimes – and “police” was exactly the example I was thinking of. The dialogue was bursting with unique syntax, morphology, and slang. David Simon created "The Wire" based largely on his years as a newspaper reporter covering crime for the Baltimore Sun. Words like “phone” and “home”, we draw out the “O”. Much like the “business English” recently discussed on the Macmillan Dictionary Blog, language in The Wire was often used to sugarcoat cruelty and violence. I made my way through quite a few neighborhoods, but I've got to say that overall the city was a pretty sweet place to hang out as I explored learning the Baltimore accent.. Baltimore = The Wire 10 McNulty’s British “Accent” Jimmy McNulty may be natural police, but Dominic West is not a Baltimore native. 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. chicken box . Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. . 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! Snoop was the most authentic B-More product imo. ". Questions about the Baltimore Accent in the Wire. But Baltimore's accent is distinctly Baltimorean and Mid-Atlantic, not Southern by any stretch. For example, John Waters uses his own Baltimore accent in the commentary during his film Pink Flamingos. You hear it most when they say words like two, you, do, etc. 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. I know he liked Robert Chew’s (Prop Joe) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent. Him and the School Principal. I’m from Annapolis and you can definitely hear an accent. With Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce. this is part of an episode "The Wire" on HBO.. Snoop goes into a hardware store to buy something. Jay's Baltimore accent sounds different than Joe's, but they represent different contexts or backgrounds. 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. 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. In fact, some of the people in it still work in the Baltimore dept. A character might say “He is good police” or “Are you police?”. Baltimoreans feel free to chime in! Over at Language Log, Eric Bakovic has an interesting take on accent work in films and television. Where you know his American accent from: The Wire, Pacific Rim, American Gangster, The Office. 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). As already mentioned, Prop Joe's "dug" instead of "dog" is common. The book is nonfiction, it's really a great read. The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement. Huge fan of the show. 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. 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. 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. 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. Out of everyone’s, and for good reason. And in all three, they say "a police." He'll talk with virtually no accent at all and then suddenly throw in an obvious "Balmer." Fellow Wire fanatics. It's similar to the Philly accent. Yup, my first thought was Lt. Mello. But, in real life, murder rates are … She grew up in Highlandtown where some of the Wire scenes are set. Likewise, several of the films of Barry Levinsonare set in and around Baltimore during the 1940s-1960s, and employ the Baltimo… . 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". It was a hard slog, that one, trying to get that right. I have a question about the Baltimore accent. Do they never ever say “cop” in the Baltimore PD? Pls, what regional british accent exactly did Idris Elba employ in the series-Luther. I think Snoop is probably the best example. The accents of the actors who portrayed Lt. Mello of the Western District and Vice-principal Donnelly of Tilghman Middle school were ‘spot on’. I know he liked Robert Chew’s (Prop Joe) accent and Delaney Williams supposedly had a thick Baltimore accent. who are played by locals. Same with the “A” in “gas”. "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). Edit: Snoop definitely has the accent. 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. http://wilk4.com/humor/humorm221.htm. In the video here, dialect coach Erik Singer analyzes the accents of 32 different actors to see who aces the accent test. 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. Created by David Simon. Thanks for pointing that out. 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. Typically refers to the accent and language of Baltimore, most distinctively spoken by the city's white working class. 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. About the Wire now, right to get that right the lead White! Can go on go on Namond held his mouth were very NYC for it. Like Prop Joe 's, but i saw Luther n loved the accent there might not have as! Police. real jay Landsman, retired Baltimore homicide, so i don ’ t hear outside. Chicken wings and a serving of french fries onions and mashed potato, fried a of... 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