How 'water' became 'wooder', the evolution of the Philly accent

Рет қаралды 24,709

Жыл бұрын

Philadelphians recall when they first realized they had Philly accent.
Learn more about how 'w-a-t-e-r' became 'wooder,' www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
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Пікірлер: 68

@mishael53 8 ай бұрын

I haven’t been back to Philly for 30 years but watching this video, my accent came back in mere minutes 🤣🤣

@Christrulesall2 3 ай бұрын

Come back to philly and get your wooder ice, bruh🤣🤣

@AbnerRengel 6 ай бұрын

I was not born or raised in the USA but I have always lived in Philly for the 8 years I have been here and one day when I was in DC I went to the market and asked for "wooder" and the clerk laughed at me saying that was the strongest Philly accent he had ever heard and I just felt so proud at that moment. Well I'm not a native english speaker but for me "water" is just "wooder" and it will always be that. GO BIRDS

@Morrisseys7thFriend 9 ай бұрын

My parents are from Buffalo, NY and therefore don't have a Philly accent. Some of my friends' parents did, and they also smoked, unlike my parents. So when I was young I legitimately thought that the Philly accent was a "smokers'" accent and all people in the US who smoked sounded like that.

@andrewc3236 Жыл бұрын

I like this jawn.

@robynryan7473 Жыл бұрын

I aint got an accent, you have an accent, classic! Thats our one defense and ill stick with it

@vespasiancloscan7077 8 ай бұрын

everyone has an accent

@bbplay13 10 ай бұрын

I legit try to say "water" "correctly" and it just sounds wrong. I can somewhat say it "correctly" when I add bottle to it, but it still sounds off. Wooder till I die.

@arrowverselover100 10 ай бұрын

Yo, same. When I say "water" it sounds so weird. My sister constantly makes fun of me for saying "wooder." I lived in Philly until I was 6, while she has only ever lived in the suburbs. I don't do it on purpose. I don't even notice myself staying it most of the time, so much so that I asked for "wooder" at my college, and the guy kept saying "what?" over and over again, and I didn't get why, then someone behind him knew what I was asking and pointed me towards the "wooder," then I realized how I had pronounced it.

@dubaiedge 7 ай бұрын

Honestly, that extra "t" in waTer takes so much effort, I'd really just rather not have to go through all that 😆

@dubaiedge 7 ай бұрын

@@arrowverselover100 😂 that's happened to me so many times. WOODER! What do you not understand? WOODER! Then you have to mime drinking out of a cup.

@arrowverselover100 7 ай бұрын

@@dubaiedge Haha. I've experienced being made fun of for saying it like that more than anything. Only the once did the person not understand me. I only live an hour outside of Philly, so I imagine it's common to hear people say it like that. It'd be real interesting to go to the other side of the country and say it. I'm sure nobody would know what I'm saying.

@bloodieddeadman6.1.65 3 ай бұрын

Fr☠️☠️☠️

@user-iu8ch5gj4h Ай бұрын

Air Force Boot Camp 1965, 60 guys of that group 3 Yankees, NYC, Chicago, Philly. The three of us are talking and one of the good old boys is just standing there listening. He asks "Where the hell are you from?" "Philly I replied." He said in the deepest Southern Draw I ever heard, "You got a helva axcent, I can't understand a thing you all air sayen." Or words to the effect. And I never say "Wooder," but my younger sister does.

@StrengthCoachFelix 8 ай бұрын

Michelle Fieldler grew up in delco with a delco accent that thick you don't need to specify where shes from 🤣

@been_rly_n2_paragliding_lately 8 ай бұрын

As far as unappealing accents are concerned, the Philly accent isn't bad at all imo. But I still have no idea how water became wooder like the title states lol, unless this is a clip from a longer video?

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

Really. I hate it when videos tease like this. Was expecting etymology.

@arrowverselover100 10 ай бұрын

For the first time ever in my life, someone didn't know what I meant when I said "wooder." It's never happened and I don't live in Philly either. I haven't lived there since I was 6, and I am now 21. Everyone in the suburbs knows what I mean. I asked the guy, "where is the wooder?" and he said, "what?" and I repeated myself three times before the woman behind him pointed to where it was because he didn't understand. I didn't realize that it was the word he didn't understand, not that he couldn't hear it, until after the woman showed me where it was.

@Birdlives247 3 ай бұрын

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and my family says "wooder" I moved down South and changed the way I pronounce the word. I came back to Philly and asked a kid at a cash register "Where's the water?". After three minutes, he never did figure out what I was saying and the manager had to come over.

@arrowverselover100 3 ай бұрын

@@Birdlives247 Wow. Yeah, the way I say it has never left me. I don't even know I am saying it half the time. It just comes so natural to me. My sister often makes fun of me becuase she was born and raised in the suburbs. I have never tried to teach myself to say it how we do out here. People know what I mean anyway.

@inconnu4961 Жыл бұрын

Michelle Fiedler: Not only does she have an accent with 'water', but also with 'towels' and 'ask'! LOL I remember that accent from PA! Rarely hear it these days!

@littleghostfilms3012 3 ай бұрын

It's the same all over. There is 'proper', academic grammar and speech, and there is the on the ground way that people in different places speak. Grew up in Pa. in west central with it's regional way, closer to 'Pittsburghese', but lived in Philly 4 years and loved the way people there spoke. Kind of a no-nonsense, to the point way, very down to earth.

@omfgCantGetaUsername 10 ай бұрын

Their right about water though. I can force myself to say "wahhhter" or towel, but it doesn't feel right saying it like that. It sounds preppy! I will always say wauder and tal. Funnily enough, I kid you not British folks are always trying to figure out my accent. Many times they don't think I'm American. I've gotten south African twice, and another guy just thought I had a strange different type of British accent. Do any another Philadelphians have this happen to them? I'm black and get this. Do white Philadelphians have this happen? Weird thing is... I've noticed Aussies say things similar to us even though their accent is way way different.

@lisaspikes4291 10 ай бұрын

I’ve had people ask if I was from the UK. When I was young and still had a strong accent. Now I have such a mishmash of accents I don’t think anyone would be able to tell where I’m from! 🤣

@dubaiedge 7 ай бұрын

No, people always spot me as an East coaster, & generally guess Philly or New York. I don't think I have that much of an accent, as I've been gone 40+ years, then lived in San Fran as long as the 18 years I lived in the Philly burbs. A handful of times people took me for a CA. native. But the second I hear natives speak as they do in this video, I can imitate it really well 😆

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

@@dubaiedge Same here. Grew up in Philly, but spent a long time in both California and Texas. Mishmash, but gotta have my "wooder"!

@satanseyes3883 Жыл бұрын

Yeah it makes since this was uploaded during our warder crisis

@arrowverselover100 10 ай бұрын

Wooder, not warder.

@josephtedesco8429 Жыл бұрын

I heard it for the first time it blew my mind

@yvonneplant9434 Жыл бұрын

Everyone in Philly says " wooder". There were other words that Philadelphians used to use but not so much now: pavement and spigot are two I can think of.

@JJ-ei3jh 9 ай бұрын

And South Jersey.

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

Doesn't everyone say that? Are the alternatives sidewalk and faucet? I grew up with the first set, but spigot was pronounced "spigget".

@GizmoBeach Ай бұрын

I guess Richmond VA is a suburb of Philadelphia PA…I say water as if it were spelled close to wooder or wuh-der, only jumped-up namby-pampies say “WAH-ter” like some BBC announcer talking in a Received Pronunciation accent. 😜

@Codemeister99 2 ай бұрын

that old guy knows what its all about love to see it

@frankd.4528 Ай бұрын

I hang out with friends from Long Island - thick accents. I asked them if they thought I had an accent and they just laughed.

@JTRocks4Ever 5 ай бұрын

Its a working class accent like NYC (Brooklyn, Queens, etc)

@TheUnleetGamer 5 ай бұрын

everyone, everywhere has an accent, genius.

@trendy4tmrw Жыл бұрын

The ironic timing of this story is NOT lost on me 😅

@DragonWarrior1524 Жыл бұрын

what happened?

@DragonWarrior1524 Жыл бұрын

oh wait nvm it was the water got contaminated

@Guesswhosbackagain 2 ай бұрын

I'm was born in Chicago, and grew up in Michigan, I've lived in Texas for 10 years. I didn't know I had an accent until I moved here and people started pointing it out. My wife has always made fun of the way I say, cops, pop, cat. And when I say words with T's, I pronouce them as D's. Water is Wah-der, little is li-ddle. I add The in front of places. The Walmart, The Target. I feel like we do the same, with how the one lady said talking fast and condensing words. I think I tend to do that too. I tell people it's because growing up where it's cold and winter 9 months out of the year, you don't have time to stand around talking. You just need to get the point across quickly.

@nickadz5490 Жыл бұрын

Another example " Aye boi, don't drink that wooder, it got chemicals in it! "

@andyv2209 Жыл бұрын

Wrong state

@Drew_Anderson 5 ай бұрын

it sounds like if Jersey and Minnesota had an accent baby together.

@rstdot 3 ай бұрын

nobody ever talks about how white people get to define the accent of an area. Black Philadelphians don't have the same accent as white Philadelphians. Same for Chicago.

@uamdbro 4 ай бұрын

Not from Philly but from Maryland, I too say "wooder". And pronounce "wash" as "warsh". I need sm wooder to warsh my close lol

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

"Warsh" is western PA, I think. Philly says "waash".

@IrichB Жыл бұрын

Them nic stains are crazy!

@wendiwerner2286 5 күн бұрын

This segment would be a lot better without the music playing over the people speaking. It's hard to hear them.

@mickphilly101 2 ай бұрын

Title should be how wooder became water because wooder was first

@katrinaoliver4167 3 ай бұрын

Aside from “wooder” and a few other words, I think these people sound like they are from California and I’ve lived in California (northern, Southern and central) for nearly 40 years.

@garytorresani8846 5 ай бұрын

According to linguists, the Philly accent is a variation of a southern accent similar to Maryland but different. I grew up in Montgomery county and our accent was Philly but different from south Philly or northeast Philly.

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

I've been to MD, too. No comparison.

@wxsawxsa2941 11 ай бұрын

JUST GIVE ME A PHILLY CHESSECAKE🍺🍺🍺BEAR

@cliffgulliver4626 4 ай бұрын

They tawk regular…

@user-mi4ik1xx8y 5 ай бұрын

喔得~ water . deep in the water

@dr.debbiewilliams Жыл бұрын

Neither of my sons nor I pronounce water that way.

@inconnu4961 Жыл бұрын

Slacker! You arent authentic Philadelphian!

@healmyroots 3 ай бұрын

I say "tow-wel"...not "towl" LOL. I'm born and raised in Philly. That chick isnt even from Philly she's from Delco.

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

I was raised in Philly and say "talhs". Kind of a combination.

@marks5336 11 ай бұрын

Wader is how Philly says it not wooder.

@Kasperx138 11 ай бұрын

depends I say it literally every way lol

@lisaspikes4291 10 ай бұрын

My mother definitely says wooder. Exactly that way.

@been_rly_n2_paragliding_lately 8 ай бұрын

Wader is how 99% of Americans without a regional accent say it. I've rarely ever heard anyone purposely pronounce the t during normal conversation. Philly definitely says wooder. Maybe not all, but many do. I've noticed it in Baltimore as well.

@LS-ei7xk 3 ай бұрын

@@been_rly_n2_paragliding_lately In mid-Western PA, more like around Penn State, it's more like "waahter". Flatter sound.