Boston Brahmin for LUCY Luck of the Irish
HISTORY: A Boston Brahmin is a member of Boston's traditional upper class. Members of this class are characterized by their highly discreet and inconspicuous lifestyle. Members of Boston's Brahmin class form an integral part of the historic core of the East Coast establishment, and are often associated with the distinctive Boston Brahmin accent, Harvard University, and traditional Anglo‐American customs and clothing. Descendents of the earliest English colonists, such as those who came to America on the Mayflower or the Arbella, are often considered to be the most representative of the Boston Brahmins. The term was coined by the physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., in an 1860 article in the Atlantic Monthly. The term Brahmin refers to the highest ranking caste of people in the traditional Hindu system of castes. In the United States, it has been applied to the old, wealthy New England families of British Protestant origin, which were influential in the development of American institutions and culture. The term effectively underscores the strong conviction of the New England gentry that they were a people set apart by destiny to guide the American experiment as their ancestors had played a leading role in founding it. The term also serves to illustrate the erudite and exclusive nature of the New England gentry as perceived by outsiders, and may also refer to their interest in Eastern religions, fostered perhaps by the impact in the 19th century of the transcendentalist writings of New England literary icons as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, and the enlightened appeal of Universalist Unitarian movements of the same period.
FOUNDATIONS: Zone: 1
Tone: like a clarinet: melodic, light, and occasionally nasal
Vocal Tract Posture: jaw height high cheeks held back of tongue arched
Direction: up and out – often up through the nose
Hesitation Sound: eh
THE GROOVE Laban Effort: GLIDE. Occasionally DAB (see rhythm).
Melody: Sing‐Song
Rhythm: Languid – however if there is urgency to the message, it can get quite rapid (DAB)
Intonation/Lilt: The lilt or pitch range is wider than most contemporary Americans but not quite a wide as Received Pronunciation/Standard British. Women in particular are very comfortable with high pitches.
SOUND SHIFTS
NON-RHOTIC - They do not sound the post-vocalic “r” -- meaning an “r” that follows a vowel sound isn’t pronounced nor does it “color” the vowel.
NURSE - a long mid-central vowel, often with some lip rounding and/or fronting (ə ~ ɵ ~ ø).
THOUGHT: /ɔ/ with more rounding
CLOTH: /ɒ/ more rounding but NOT a diphthong of the “southie” accent
Trap/Bath split TRAP - /a:/ fronted and lengthened. Park the Car in Harvard Yard. BATH - /ɑ/ as in “father”. See “ask” list
Special Pronunications: • ‘again’ so it sounds like ‘a gain’ /ə ‘geɪn/ • ‘been’ as if it were ‘bean’ /bin/ • “y endings” are pronounced with a short /ɪ/ as in “bit”: history (2 syllables), security, country. This shift is inconsistent. • bedrʊm – The vowel of the second syllable sounds like the vowel in “book”
SOUND SAMPLES
Rose Kennedy Interview Parts 2-12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir90lDvmtrI
A dying race – two Boston Brahmin converse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfR4DLXYpCw
Longines-Wittnauer with Eleanor Roosevelt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COZHsBLMtFw#t=67
Kennedy After Two Years (JFK) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W9CpLK7I1c
Jacqueline Kennedy Documentary: http://www.hulu.com/watch/277820