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“I’m going to the mall!” I called as I left my dorm room.

“The WHAT?” my roommate questioned back.

“The mall,” I responded, walking back into our box-sized college representation of the real world. “You know, the place you shop and spend money. Quakerbridge,” I added.

“Ohhh, the MALL.” Light bulb-like recognition flashed through her face.

“That’s…what I said.”

“No. You said ‘the mawl.’ There’s no ‘w’ in the word mall.”

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The aforementioned scene is a familiar one found here at The College of New Jersey. Being a college located in the middle of the state, TCNJ hosts one of the most diverse linguistic experiences to ever grace a native New Jerseyan’s ears. Most of us, in our college life thus far, have made fun of the distinction between North and South Jersey accents: “Home! Say home, you say it funny! HOEU-muh!” or, the one I always seem to get: “CAW-fee? What are you, from New York?”

While it may seem a subject to poke fun at, there actually is a linguistic and phonetic explanation for the differences in the word “FOEU-ne” and FOH-ne.” The question is, where does the distinction between North and South Jersey accents lie? And why?

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Phonetics is defined by Speechandhearing.net as “the study of the production of speech by the human vocal mechanisms: how are sounds made, and how do speakers of different accents differ.” Phonetics is, basically, the sounds made when one speaks. For example, when one says the word “bat,” the sounds that emanate from the word are “buh,” “aa,” “tuh.” While these are not the actual phonetic symbols for the word “bat” (that’s a whole different ballpark altogether), those are the sounds that the layperson’s ears hear when the word is pronounced.

The idea of “dialect” is related to phonetics. Dr. Fern L. Johnson, professor of English and interdisciplinary communication and culture at Clark University, refers to dialect as the variety of phonetic differences “that is spoken based on a person’s social identity, social status, educational attainment, ethnicity, race, regional background, and native language.” Different phonetic sounds make up different dialects, much like a Southern accent sounds different from a Midwestern one.

When dialects are “formed,” they are said to be practiced in “speech communities,” a society in which there is a shared body of language norms relating to origin, usage, and social patterns. Speech communities are places in which specific dialects are spoken. This is where New Jersey falls. While it is not home to a major dialect of the United States, such as the Midwestern dialect, New Jerseyans can be classified into speech communities by where they live and by the way their speech patterns and phonetics lie.

Dialects and speech communities are formed as a result of surrounding influences and New Jersey is a habitat full of influence. The state is in the middle of two major cities: New York City and Philadelphia. These two cities are the basis for the creation of speech communities in New Jersey. Phonetics and linguistics differ, depending on which city is closer to the speaker’s home.

For example, let’s take the word we had used before: “bat.” Both North Jersey and South Jersey people say the word the same way: “buh” “aa” “tuh.” However, a word with the same vowel sound – “bad” – is said differently in the North and South. Those close to New York City add an extra “y” sound in the word “bad”: “Buh-aa-yuh-duh” (it makes more sense when said faster). Those close to Philadelphia say the word with the same vowel sound as “bat”: “buh-aa-duh.” Said slowly, the New York City version sounds quite funny. However, linguistic and phonetic differences are something taken for granted. Most, if not all, people do not realize the differences until made aware of them.

Another noticeable difference in the phonetics of New Jersey is the word “crayon.” Most people who live closer to New York City and North Jersey make crayon a two syllable word, “CRAY-on.” Those closer to South Jersey and Philadelphia blend both syllables together: “CRAN” or “CROWN.” Once again, the influence of the New York dialect and the Philadelphia dialect has created speech communities distinguishable in the words crayon and bat and bad.

All these differences in phonetics deal with the cities, as previously mentioned. But what do the cities do that influences the sounds? The people that settled in New York City and in Philadelphia each lend to the linguistic conglomeration of sound that comes together to tweak word pronunciations. According to Gonyc.about.com, New York City was settled primarily by the Dutch, with a strong concentration of African Americans and Latin Americans, who settled in the city shortly after World War II to find jobs.

Manhattan is filled with a plethora of languages and cultures. According to PA.essortment.com, churches in the city hold services in German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, and Slovak, which demonstrates some of the different languages still spoken in the city. Little Italy and Chinatown are only two examples of the concentrated cultural communities that have arisen in the city. Each of these languages has different accents to English speakers’ ears. The different pronunciations by the different accents are what create the changes in the sounds we hear. The Italian and Jewish influences in New York City make up a large part of dialect diversions, which are apparent in the way certain words – such as “coffee” or “bagel” are said.

In Philadelphia, the Swedes and the Dutch settled the city. However, the Finns and the English also set up camp, according to Mcmcweb.er.usgs.gov. Joining these groups were German and Scottish influences. The same changes from the settlers’ languages in New York City are apparent in Philadelphia, however, different accents from the different groups that settled Philadelphia show themselves linguistically in dialects heard in places closer to Philadelphia.

Location is not the only factor in the different pronunciations in words. Depending on how much time one spends in an area also affects their speech. A person who grew up in Philadelphia that moves to Hoboken might bring a South Jersey accent to the Northern area. Someone from Denver that moves to Cape May has a completely different accent. Mere presence in an area does not change speech patterns upon entrance into a new city; speech patterns take time to develop.

There is a plethora of words pronounced differently: home, phone, bagel, coffee, chocolate, pillow, water, and drawer, to name a few. Not only are there phonetic differences in New Jersey, there are linguistic differences as well. The lexicon, that is, the vocabulary of words that make up a language, also differs in the speech communities of New Jersey. Vernacular speech is a lexicon that is particular to one area or time period. For example, “cool” is part of the lexicon that originated in the jazz era. The lexicon differs in North and South Jersey, also.

What do you put clothes in – a dresser or a bureau? If you’re from South Jersey, you may be more apt to say “bureau.” North Jerseyans might say “dresser” more often. When you want a 12-inch sandwich, do you order a sub, a hoagie, or a hero? Most Northerners order themselves a sub, those closest to New York City order heroes, and those closer to Philly prefer the word hoagie. How about down at the beach, when you decide on having ice cream? Do you order sprinkles or jimmies to put on top? Southerners look for jimmies, while most northerners ask for sprinkles.

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There is no right or wrong way to speak. All attributes are not found in all speakers either. Just because you are from the New York area does not mean you are going to say “bay-gul” instead of “beg-ul.” The English language is so diverse that it is constantly changing, and the variety of sounds and words found in as small a state as New Jersey perfectly demonstrates our changing language. Traveling for long periods of time or moving around a lot both affect the way we speak, and could change your unique personal dialect forever. Outside influences from major places such as Philadelphia and New York City give New Jersey the fluctuation in languages that we experience here at the centrally located TCNJ.

By the way, it really is cawfee and not coffee. Hey, I may be an impartial journalist, but I’m a New Yawkah at heart.