Jack's accent, such as it was

[Lookit]

Why did Jack-- who otherwise had a "flat," ordinary, Midwestern accent-- always say "apahtment," "depahtment," and so on? Was this just an affectation, or something he had genuinely picked up somewhere?

[bboswell]

I think I hear that same affectation in people from the upper midwest. From the "chi-cahh-go" area and "mil-wahh-kee" in particular.

Perhaps the words you mentioned are a little different from what I am thinking, mostly because of the placement of the "R" in those words. "Apahtment" and "depahtment" would almost make it seem like a Northeastern US accent. (Think Boston or NYC's east side.)

What I'm thinking of is... well...

Let's take the "ah" sound in Chicago. I think the "proper" pronunciation would be like the "awe" in "awestruck" or "awesome."

Now think of the "Nyaaahh" of Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny saying "Nyaaahh, what's up Doc?"

Now think half way between "awe" and "Nyaaahh" that's the Upper Midwest "ah" that I hear in Chicago from Chicagoans.

I still think I hear the "r" sound when Jack says "apahrtment" and "depahrtment."

just my opinion!

[Yhtapmys]

Why did Jack-- who otherwise had a "flat," ordinary, Midwestern accent-- always say "apahtment," "depahtment," and so on? Was this just an affectation, or something he had genuinely picked up somewhere?

My guess is he picked it up amongst people in the theat-ah.

Yhtapmys
"Drive Your Blues Awaaaay!"

[Maxwell]

I think I hear that same affectation in people from the upper midwest. From the "chi-cahh-go" area and "mil-wahh-kee" in particular.

Perhaps the words you mentioned are a little different from what I am thinking, mostly because of the placement of the "R" in those words. "Apahtment" and "depahtment" would almost make it seem like a Northeastern US accent. (Think Boston or NYC's east side.)

What I'm thinking of is... well...

Let's take the "ah" sound in Chicago. I think the "proper" pronunciation would be like the "awe" in "awestruck" or "awesome."

Now think of the "Nyaaahh" of Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny saying "Nyaaahh, what's up Doc?"

Now think half way between "awe" and "Nyaaahh" that's the Upper Midwest "ah" that I hear in Chicago from Chicagoans.

I still think I hear the "r" sound when Jack says "apahrtment" and "depahrtment."

just my opinion!

I'll disagree with you on some of this. The Tchicahguh accent (or at least the southwest side accent that most people who try to imitate Chicagoans pick up on) is used on the soft a sound where there is no "r" sound. There is no discernable "r" when Jack says "apahtment," etc. It sounds positively New Yorkish or Bostonian.

I've lived within 60 miles of Chicago all my life and have numerous friends who have lived in the city and suburbs all their lives. None of the pronounce the "ar" sound in the middle of words the same as Jack did.

BTW, I will say that there is a definite way that Chicagoans pronounce the middle of the name of the city regardless of where in the city they are from and it is an "ah" sound as you said. Go to where I came from (60 miles south) and it becomes "Shicawgo."

[helloagain]

Regional accents tend to get homogenized when one moves around a lot. Although Jack grew up in the Chicago area, he lived in New York and California, not to mention all the towns he stayed in while in vaudeville. I also live in Chicago, and I feel that accent was the predominant one with Mr. Benny. I used to have an engineer friend who grew up in China, but lived in Dallas for 20 years. He actually had a Chinese accent laced with a Texas drawl.