Why Do Bostonians Drop Their Rs? | Only In Massachusetts

Only In Massachusetts is an occasional series where Patch tries to find answers to questions about life in Massachusetts. Have a question about the Bay State that needs answering? Send it to dave.copeland@patch.com.

I used to think I was a rhotic, but then I lived in Pittsburgh for five years. Every time I went back to the 'burgh after a visit home, people were quick to point out I had regained my Boston accent and was dropping my Rs like a non-rhotic.

"Non-rhotic" is the word linguists use to describe dialects where the R is not pronounced. In other words, non-rhotic is the fancy pants way of saying "Boston accent." And people in eastern Massachusetts, as well as parts of New Hampshire and Maine, have been dropping their Rs since around the time Harvard (or Hahvahd) was founded in 1636.

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"In the evolution of R-less pronunciation, Boston led the English-speaking world," Richard Bailey of the University of Michigan writes in 2012's "Speaking American: A History of English in the United States." Dropping Rs was a feature of the language in rustic Britain, Bailey writes, and the more settlers that came to Massachusetts from southeastern England, the fewer Rs were enunciated.

It even shows up in 17th century documents written in Massachusetts, before English spellings were standardized. It's not uncommon to see "Geoge" for "George" and "fouth" for "fourth" in documents from the 1600s.

Non-rhotic pronunciation eventually became a sign of prestige in England. But here in the United States, it became this:

Locals, however, had more influence on the English language than simply giving linguists a ready-made example when they define "non-rhotic." Puritans in Massachusetts looked down on Quakers for using the informal thee, thou and thy. Puritans preferred the more formal "you," and we're all thankful they eventually won that debate.

Like a lot of things I write about in this column, we are slowly and collectively losing our Boston accents. A 2007 study by two linguists at the University of Pennsylvania concluded the Boston accent probably reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century and, these days, younger people raised in eastern Massachusetts are more likely to be rhotic.

Fortunately, Hollywood has preserved the non-rhotic charm for future generations. Unfortunately, lots of great actors have tried, and failed, to get the Boston accent right. Think Kevin Costner in "13 days" and "The Company Man," Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Departed" and Julianne Moore's recurring Nancy Donovan role on "30 Rock."

But when Amy Ryan was filming the 2007 film "Gone Baby Gone," her accent was so convincing a Boston-born production assistant mistook her for a local watching the first day of shooting and refused to let her onto the set. Last year, Ryan —who frequently gets named with Robin Williams in "Good Will Hunting" and Christian Bale in "The Fighter" as non-native actors who got the Boston accent right —was asked about the key to pulling it off.

"Being in Boston was so vital for me in maintaining that sound," Ryan said in a March 2020 interview about her accent. "I don't know if there is a key as much as a rigorous exercise, every day, of staying in it."

Dave Copeland is Patch's regional editor for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).