De Niro had to quickly learn "Philly Speak"

                 Robert De Niro, one of the most talented and respected actors in today's motion pictures, had his work cut out for him.
                 Assigned to play the role of an obsessive-compulsive Philadelphia Eagles fan in the film "Silver Linings Playbook," he wanted to get everything right in his performance.
                 For some time, he had heard about the peculiarities in the way the English language is spoken in Philly and the unique way real Philadelphians pronounce specific words.
                 Years before, in preparation for his role in "Godfather II," DeNiro had learned to speak with a Sicilian accent, and in "Taxi Driver" and "Good Fellas," he more than handled a New York City accent.
                 But after spending some time in and around Philly and listening to how average Philadelphians spoke, he realized sounding like one of them required more than just an accent.
                After studying the script, and with the cameras getting ready to roll, De Niro decided he probably had to do a bit of research on the nuances of the Philly dialect and could also use a bit of coaching before trying to deliver his key lines.
                Fortunately, his co-star, Bradley Cooper, had grown up in and around Philadelphia.  Aware of De Niro's concerns, Cooper volunteered his Uncle Ernie, a Delaware County heating and air-conditioning repairman who spoke fluent Philadelphian, to help him.
               With Uncle Ernie sitting beside him on a couch, De Niro handed him a copy of the script and asked him to read his lines from beginning to end.
               For the world-famed actor, listening to Ernie deliver it with the proper pauses and inflections was a revelation.  For Ernie, it was something very special to be assisting for so long on the screen.
              To best understand the Philly lingo and De Niro's insistence on learning it, it's necessary to actually hear itused conversationally.
              Philadelphians use a language that's spoken and fully understood only by those individuals who've grown up in the City of Brotherly Love.  It's something that's long been described by those who study language as "Philly Speak."

          
             Here are a few of the dozens of terms and butchered pronunciations commonly used in it:

•  "Iggles" for "Eagles", as in "The 'Iggles' didn't make the playoffs."
•  "Yo," as in " 'Yo, Adrienne!' " It can mean, "hello," "hey," "what's up" or many other things.
•  "Hunnert" for "hundred," as in "This suit cost two 'hunnert' dollars."
•  "Si-reen" for "siren," as in "I hear a fire 'si-reen.' "
•  "Crick" for "creek," as in Pennypack " 'Crick.' "
•  "Are" for "our," as in "Are Father Who art in heaven."
•  "Gawn" for "gone or going," as in "I'm 'gawn' to the store" or " 'Gawn with the Wind.' "
•  "Mare" for "mayor," as in "The 'Mare' of Philly is Michael Nutter."
•  "Pleece" for "police" as in "We have a new 'pleece' commissioner."
•  "It-lee" for "Italy," as in "My parents came from 'It-lee.'"

           Here's a typical dialogue of two average gents from Philly meeting on a street corner:

•  Bill : "Yo, Tommy!  Jeet lunch yet?" (Translation; "Hello, Tommy.  Did you eat lunch yet?")
•  Tommy : "No, jew?"  (Translation: "No, did you?")
•  Bill : "Jeet breakfast?" (Translation: Did you eat breakfast?")
•  Tommy : "ALL's I had was coffee."  (Translation:  ALL I had was coffee.")
•  Bill : "It's really noisy in ARE neighborhood."  (Translation: "It's really noisy in OUR neighborhood.")
•  Tommy : "It's noisy in ARE's too."  (Translation: It's noisy in OURS, too.")
•  Bill : "The PLEECE had their SI-REENS GAWN all night."  (Translation: "The police had their sirens going all night.")
•  Tommy : "I'm gonna call the MARE's office ABBADIT."  (Translation: "I'm going to call the mayor's office about it.")

           And of course, there's the secret code for ordering at Geno's Steaks or its competitor, Pat's Steaks:

• "Whiz wit" is used for ordering a cheese steak with Cheez Whiz and fried onions.
• "Whiz wit-out" is used for ordering a cheese steak with Cheez Whiz and without onions.

           Postscript: After his time spent in and around Philly and his session with Uncle Ernie, how well De Niro managed to deliver his Philly dialect in "Silver Linings Playbook" is open to debate.
                             But his performance in the film received rave reviews and will probably be enjoyed by most Eagles fans who see it.
                             His protrayal of his character, a rabid and out-of-control Eagles fan, which landed him his first Academy Award nomination ---- for best supporting actor ---- in 21 years, brings to mind many individuals I've known.
                             Yet I was disappointed by the excessive and unnecessary amount of foul language in the film, which will be a turnoff for many adults.  It will also limit it's potential for a much-wider audience ---- especially those fans under age 17, who otherwise would have enjoyed it.