Jersey and Other Dialects

So, I stumble upon this pretty cool map that is supposed to show every American dialect. This is based on pronunciation patterns. The site is really a hobby of its owner, so I can't validate all the information is 100% linguistically accurate, but it is interesting.

There are 8 major English dialect areas in North America listed on the map with the first 6 beginning on the eastern seaboard and proceeding west, reflecting western settlement patterns. There are also subdialects and a Dialect Description Chart additional features not shown on the map are provided for distinguishing the dialects.

If you click on the map, you can listen to an audio or video sample (mostly YouTube)of speech of a native - more specifically, someone who was raised there, though not necessarily born there, and whose dialect clearly represents that place.

So, of course, I had to click on where my own dialect was formed - northern New Jersey. That's NY Yankees/Giants/Jets/Rangers territory, which is different from south Jersey or the western Jersey that would root for the Phillies/Eagles/Flyers.

One of the two clips they provide for NJ is of Danny DeVito from Asbury Park, NJ. He is south Jersey or Jersey Shore - not to ever be confused with the reality show version of that great area of the state which bears little resemblance to what you see on the screen. 

How wonderful for NJ's image that the clip selected is Danny (who I like a lot) introducing his own version of of the liqueur Limoncello, and telling a bit about his hangover appearance on The View.