Boston Brahmin accent

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The Boston Brahmin accent is a New England accent associated with the 19th-century and early 20th-century upper social class most often called the Boston Brahmins, and with Harvard University before changes that took place in the 1960s. This accent has received considerable play in television and film, most notably by the character Walter Gaines on Cheers, Dr. Charles Winchester of M*A*S*H, and George Feeny on Boy Meets World. It has been steadily dying out over time.

The Boston Brahmin dialect is distinct from the urban, working class Boston accents of Brighton and South Boston and the urban, upper-middle class Back Bay accent, which are generally better associated with later immigration patterns.

[edit] Locust Valley Lockjaw

A related, though somewhat different affected accent is known as Locust Valley Lockjaw, typified by a clipped manner of speaking, stereotypically uttered with the teeth slightly clenched and the lower jaw thrust forward. It is more typical of the 19th and early 20th centuries upper social class of the Long Island area centered around Locust Valley as well as much of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Renowned speakers with this accent included Franklin Delano Roosevelt, William F. Buckley, Jr., Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and the character Thurston Howell, III, on Gilligan's Island. The phrase arose from the stereotypical manner of speaking of wealthy Gold Coast Long Island socialites who reigned over Manhattan society in the early 20th Century.

These accents share many similarities with British English as the Locust Valley Lockjaw and the Boston Brahmin accent are both non-rhotic.