Introduction

A caveat to be made when discussing the English spoken in Boston is that it is difficult to isolate a single variety that is prototypical of the region. Like New York and London, Boston has been a populous urban centre for long enough that different neighborhoods and different social classes can easily have their own variety. Although each of these local varieties is identifiably distinct to other Bostonians, they all share a set of dialectal features that can distinguish any Boston dialect from other American varieties. Thus, when we speak of "Boston English" as a variety of English, we are referring to a composite of the various forms spoken there, and not of any particular Boston variety.

In the Boston English area of the LSP website, you will encounter features that are unique to Boston English, features that it shares with other dialects of English, and features that vary within Boston and New England.

Boston English

Dialects of the Northeast

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