Sarah Anastasia Freddino
English 280
Dr. Holmes
December 4th, 2014

Short Paper Assignment
Assignment 5: Presidential Speech
President John F. Kennedy – “City Upon a Hill” Speech (January 9, 1961)

I have welcomed this opportunity to address this historic body and through you the people of Massachusetts to whom I am so deeply indebted for a lifetime of friendship and trust. For fourteen years I have placed my confidence in the citizens of Massachusetts — and they have generously responded by placing their confidence in me. Now, on the Friday after next, I am to assume new and broader responsibilities. But I am not here to bid farewell to Massachusetts. For forty-three years — whether I was in London, Washington, the South Pacific, or elsewhere — this has been my home; and, God willing, wherever I serve this shall remain my home. It was here my grandparents were born — it is here I hope my grandchildren will be born. I speak neither from false provincial pride nor artful political flattery. For no man about to enter high office in this country can ever be unmindful of the contribution this state has made to our national greatness. Its leaders have shaped our destiny long before the great republic was born. Its principles have guided our footsteps in times of crisis as well as in times of calm.

20 Selected Words for Comment

President John F. Kennedy was born just outside of Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts. He lived in Brookline for ten years, before his family moved to the Bronx, NY. He attended school in Connecticut from 8-12th grade. Therefore, his speech pattern would have been informed by the Eastern New England dialect area, as well as possibly the NYC and Western New England dialect areas. His pronunciation is strongly Eastern New England, primarily, for he is well-known for his Boston accent.

* Opportunity – The president’s thick Boston accent plays a role in his pronunciation of this word. The most common US pronunciation of this word is [apərtunɪti]. His pronunciation differs, therefore, in the fact that he does not distinctly pronounce the [r] in the word, as well as pronouncing his [t] as a [d]. My own speech pattern has been formed by the Western New England dialect area, due to being born and raised in South Western Connecticut. My own pronunciation is closer to the most common US pronunciation of opportunity than the president’s pronunciation.

* Address - The most common US pronunciation of this word is [ədrɛs]. Oddly, the president’s pronunciation of the word seems to be formed by the dialect area of the South, and not that of Eastern New England. My own pronunciation of this word is more similar to the common US pronunciation of it rather than that of the president.

* Historic - The most common US pronunciation of this word is [hɪstorɪk]. The president’s pronunciation of this word differs in that he does not pronounce the [h] at the beginning of the word. In my own area of the country, many people do not pronounce the [h] in the word, as well, marking a similarity in the pronunciation of historic in Western and Eastern New England dialects. However, my own pronunciation of the word is that of the common US pronunciation.

* Massachusetts - The most common US pronunciation of this word is [mæsətʃusɪts]. In his pronunciation of this word, the name of his beloved home state, the president pronounces the [tʃ] sound in the word as [dʒ]. My own pronunciation is the same as the most common US pronunciation of the word.

* Am - The president’s pronunciation of this word is rather strange to me. The most common US pronunciation of the word is [æm], and this is the same as my own personal pronunciation of the word. When I have been in Boston, however, I have heard the same pronunciation of the word of the president, so his pronunciation of this word must be strongly influenced by the Eastern New England dialect.

* Fourteen - The most common US pronunciation of this word is [fortin]. The president’s pronunciation of this word is strongly influenced by his dialect area, and is a common pronunciation in Eastern New England as well. My own pronunciation of this word is similar to that of the president, although in my pronunciation the second [r] in the word is more pronounced than in the president’s pronunciation.

* Years - The president’s pronunciation of this word is again formed strongly by his Eastern New England dialect. While the most common US pronunciation of the word is [jirz], the president’s pronunciation includes the common Eastern New England pattern of not pronouncing the [r] at the end of a word. This is also a prominent pattern in NYC, as my grandmother and mother who were both born and raised on Long Island both tend to pronounce this word in the same way as the president. My own pronunciation is more similar to the common US pronunciation of the word. * The - Thefreedictionary.com states that the common pronunciation of this word in the US is [ði] before a vowel, and [ðə] before a consonant. However, the president uses the first pronunciation in his speech before a word beginning with a consonant. Therefore, his pronunciation of the word in this specific case differs from the common US pronunciation. In my own pronunciation of the word, I use the common US pronunciations, which vary depending on the first sound in the word that follows the word the.

* Their - The most common US pronunciation of this word is [ðər]. Again, in the president’s pronunciation of this word in his speech, he drops the [r] at the end of the word, signifying his speech pattern which has been formed by the dialect area of Eastern New England. His pronunciation of this word is similar to that of NYC just as his pronunciation of years was as well, for my grandmother often pronounces this word in a similar pattern. My own pronunciation is equivalent to the common pronunciation.

* Friday - In my own opinion, the president’s pronunciation of this word does not seem to be based on his dialect area, for I have heard this pronunciation all over the country. I mostly have heard this specific pronunciation from those who are over the age of approximately 60, however, although I am unsure as to why that is so. My other grandmother, who was born and raised in South Western Connecticut, pronounces this word in the same way as the president. The most common US pronunciation of this word, however, is [fraidei], and this is my own personal pronunciation of the word, as well.

* Next - Just as the president’s pronunciation of the word address seems similar to that of the dialect area of the South, so too does his pronunciation of this word seem to be of the pattern of those from the South, for I have not heard this pronunciation in Eastern New England very often. The most common US pronunciation of this word is [nɛkst], and is my own pronunciation of the word.

* Here - The Eastern New England speech pattern of the president is blatant in his pronunciation of this word. Again, we see the pattern of his dialect area in the dropping of the [r] at the end of the word. This pronunciation is also similar to that of my grandmother whose speech pattern is heavily formed by the dialect area of NYC. My own pronunciation matches the common US pronunciation: [hiər].

* Was - The president’s pronunciation is a common pronunciation in my area of Western New England, as I often, though not always, pronounce it in the same way as the president. The common US pronunciation of the word, however is [wəz].

* Elsewhere - The president’s pronunciation of this word is a common Eastern New England pronunciation, and is extremely prominent in many of his words. He again drops the pronunciation of the [r] at the end of the word. My grandmother from NYC often pronounces this word in the same way, while my mother, also from NYC, and I, as well as most people in my area pronounce it similarly to the most common US pronunciation, which is [ɛlswɛər].

* God - The most common US pronunciation of this word is [gad]. However, most people in my area, as well as myself, pronounce this word in a similar way to the president’s own pronunciation, revealing that there are often similarities in the dialect areas of Western and Eastern New England.

* Born - The president drops the pronunciation of the [r] in this word, as is common in the Western New England pronunciation of many words, which we have seen throughout this speech, although in this circumstance the [r] the president drops is in the middle of the word, rather than at the end of the word. The common US pronunciation of this word, as well as my own pronunciation, is [born].

* Neither - The common US pronunciations of this word are both [niðər] and [naɪðər], although there is a common debate in the US over which pronunciation is correct. Freedictionary.com says that both pronunciations are technically correct. The president’s pronunciation is different than the two most common pronunciations, however, in the fact that the Eastern New England pattern of dropping the [r] in a word is apparent in the pronunciation of this word.

* Our - The president again drops the [r] in the pronunciation of this word, as my grandmother from NYC also does. In this word, we can again see a connection between the speech patterns of NYC and Eastern New England. The common pronunciation of this word is [auər], and it is also my personal pronunciation of it as well.

* Leaders - The common US pronunciation of this word is [lidərz], while in the president’s pronunciation, he drops the [r], as well as drawing out the first vowel sound for a longer amount of time than is common. This is often a common pronunciation in both the NYC and Western New England dialect areas, as well as the Eastern New England area. However, my own pronunciation is the same as the most common US pronunciation of the word.

* Calm - This word is most commonly pronounced as [kam] in the US. The president’s pronunciation of this word is similar, but in his pronunciation of it, he drags out the vowel sounds for a longer amount of time than most people, as is another common pattern in the dialect area of Eastern New England. My pronunciation of the word is more like that of the common pronunciation of the word.

In conclusion, the president’s upbringing in Eastern New England plays an immense role in his pronunciation of most words. This is especially seen in his pattern of dropping the pronunciation of the letter [r] in multiple words throughout this speech, and many of his other speeches. I have also discovered that there are many similarities between all three dialect areas of NYC, Western New England, and Eastern New England, as proven in my grandmother and mother’s pronunciation of certain words, my own pronunciation, and the president’s personal pronunciation of the same words.