Gettin' Tie-yed

Green Monster (Monstah), Fenway Park (Pahk), Prudential Center (Centah/ the Prud)

On Hiding Your Boston Accent If You're Journalist

I love when I listen to a journalist and can guess where they're from in the Boston area.

For instance, one day a few years ago I had just tuned in to Morning Edition and heard someone reading a "This I Believe" essay. I turned to my commuter mate and said, "This man is from the South Shore - Weymouth or Quincy."

As we wound our way down the secluded Maine backroads, she looked at me funny and said, "How do you know that?"

"He talks like everyone I know."

I was right, too. It was Mark Shields.

A few months ago, I was listening to All Things Considered and something about the way Tom Bowman said his name - with a bit of a twist on the "o"s...made me think he was a Bostonian of some sort. I guessed Braintree. I emailed this guess to my source at NPR and he wrote back about 15 minutes later, "Norwood." It's good to know people.

And just now, during CNN's coverage of Super Tuesday, John King said one word - I don't remember exactly what; it was some word that ended in an "er" - but his er word ended with an "ah" and I knew. I said aloud "Metrowest" - thinking Dedham, West Roxbury, etc. A google search yields that he went to Boston Latin. It's bothering me not knowing exactly, so, of course, I emailed him...

I doubt he'll write back though.

(CNN photo of John King - click on photo to get to his CNN homepage)