Over at Voice of America, the folks behind their "Learning English" series have become the latest national journalists to take note of Baltimore's quirky linguistic habits.
"Baltimore is the home of a quirky, accented English spoken in some neighborhoods. Bawlmerese is a strong regional dialect that can be difficult to understand, even for native English speakers.
In some areas of Baltimore, women call almost everyone "Hon" -- short for Honey. Some Baltimoreans leave out letters in many words, like saying "Bawlmer" instead of Baltimore. And sometimes they add letters. For instance, they might call the nearby Patapsco River the "Patapsico."
Read the story and hear the audio report
here.