One man’s key to deciphering us

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When “Fitzy from the Northeast” or“Tommy D. from South Jersey” calls in to the Howard Eskin Show, they first haveto get past one man — producer Joe DeCamara. After a year vetting the King of Bling’s rings, DeCamara doesn’t need you to tell him what neighborhoodyou’re from. He can hear it. Sometimes, it’s obvious. In the Northeast, they drop the G at the end of words. (“What’s this garbage ’bout Drew Rosenhaus talkin’ to the Iggles?”) In South Jersey, they draw out the A sound. (“Can we talk about Paaaat Burrell? Can we taaalk?”) But mostly, his secret is decoding the addytood:

The Northeast  
“There’s a twang.  An accusatory twang: ‘What’s up with your stinkin’ Phils?’”

South Philly    
“They say things very deliberately. There’s an extra emphasis, a heavier truth behind their words, like, ‘Joe … [long pause, deep breath] … we gotta do somethin’ ’bout this Charlie Manuel guy.’”

North Philly
“The S becomes ‘sch’ like everywhere—‘snap’ becomes ‘schnap’—but here it’s used to mean disappointment: ‘Awwww, schnap.’”  

Roxborough
“They’re all rough and gravel. There’s no love. No ‘Hello, Joe.’ Just ‘Wanna talk to Howard.’”