How do you recognise a Philadelphia accent?

The long sandwich is a hoagie. “Cot” and “caught” stay distinct. Rhotic R — “car” keeps its R. Plural “you” is often “youse”.

Which famous people have a Philadelphia accent?

Will Smith is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the Philadelphia English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a Philadelphia accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Philadelphia English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley

The Philadelphia accent

Philadelphia English is the East Coast variety people hear as “Philly”. It keeps “cot” and “caught” apart, unlike most of the Midland, and the long sandwich is a hoagie rather than a hero or a sub. It is rhotic, which is the cleanest split from older New York City speech.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a Philadelphia accent

The long sandwich is a hoagie.
“Cot” and “caught” stay distinct.
Rhotic R — “car” keeps its R.
Plural “you” is often “youse”.

Also known as Philadelphia accent, Philly accent, Delaware Valley English, hoagie accent. Spoken in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, United States.

The Philadelphia pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Philadelphia speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a quick D-like tap in “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
two of “Mary”, “marry” and “merry” match and one differs, or “Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound different
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “toon”, without a Y sound
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Philadelphia speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soda
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Sneakers
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	Yous / youse
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Trash can
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Stoplight
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Traffic circle
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
What do you call a long sandwich in a split roll?	Hoagie
What do you call a multi-storey building for parking cars?	Parking garage
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

What 9 people from the Philadelphia area told the survey

9 people who grew up in the Philadelphia area have taken the DialectGuessr quiz. These are the answers where they differ most from everyone else who has taken it.

Answers from people who grew up in the Philadelphia area, against everyone else in the survey.
Question	Their answer	Here vs elsewhere
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Sneakers	100% vs 31% elsewhere · 9 of 9
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Traffic circle	71% vs 9% elsewhere · 5 of 7
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soda	100% vs 43% elsewhere · 9 of 9
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy	100% vs 49% elsewhere · 9 of 9
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Corner store	67% vs 15% elsewhere · 6 of 9
Which is closest to how you naturally say “tune”?	“Toon” — without a Y sound	89% vs 46% elsewhere · 8 of 9

From people who chose to take the quiz and pinned where they grew up, so a self-selected sample rather than a random one. The figures are recalculated daily as more people answer.

How Pennsylvania answered the Harvard Dialect Survey

The Harvard Dialect Survey, collected by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder in 2002–2003, recorded how respondents in every US state answered the same questions. These are Pennsylvania’s answers, most common first.

Pennsylvania, Harvard Dialect Survey.
Question	Answers in Pennsylvania
Soda, Pop or Coke? The Map of How America Orders a Fizzy Drink	soda 74% · pop 20% · coke 2%
Traffic Circle, Roundabout or Rotary?	traffic circle 48% · roundabout 11% · rotary 6%
Water Fountain, Drinking Fountain or Bubbler?	water fountain 86% · drinking fountain 12% · bubbler 0%
Lightning Bug or Firefly?	lightning bug 60% · firefly 5%
Crawfish, Crawdad or Crayfish?	crayfish 58% · crawfish 30% · crawdad 4%
You Guys, Y'all or You All?	you guys 43% · you all 11% · y'all 4%
Kitty-Corner or Catty-Corner?	catty-corner 61% · kitty-corner 19%
Garage Sale or Yard Sale?	yard sale 60% · garage sale 34%
Tennis Shoes or Sneakers?	sneakers 81% · tennis shoes 13%
Trash Can or Garbage Can?	trash can 42% · garbage can 21%
Frosting or Icing?	icing 50% · frosting 12%
Scratch Paper or Scrap Paper?	scrap paper 41% · scratch paper 24%
Frontage Road, Service Road or Access Road?	service road 28% · access road 25% · frontage road 9%
Does “Route” Rhyme With “Out” or “Hoot”?	rhymes with "hoot" 48% · rhymes with "out" 9%
Caramel: Two Syllables or Three?	with 2 syllables ("car-ml") 47% · with 3 syllables ("carra-mel") 28%
Mischievous or Mischievious?	mischievous (3 syllables) 43% · mischievious (4 syllables) 31%
Rubber Band, Hair Tie or Elastic?	rubber band 32% · hair tie 21% · (hair) elastic 7%

Data from the Harvard Dialect Survey (Bert Vaux and Scott Golder, 2002–2003), used under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence. A self-selected sample from two decades ago: how people spoke then, not a census.

Speakers with a Philadelphia accent

Will Smith
West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
A Philadelphia English reference profile; Smith was born and raised in West Philadelphia.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.