The Dulcet Tones of Delaware County

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The unique way people talk in and around Philadelphia – where words like “water” sound like “wooder” and “home” like “houmes” – became a national sensation with the 2021 HBO series *Mare of Easttown*. Kate Winslet’s portrayal of a Delco, Pennsylvania detective was so convincing it even inspired a *Saturday Night Live* sketch. This accent is back in the spotlight with Brad Ingelsby’s new series, *Task*. Ingelsby, who grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, clearly knows the area well and brings that authenticity to the show. *Task* follows two men on a collision course: an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) grappling with a personal tragedy, and a thief (Tom Pelphrey) seeking revenge for his brother’s death. Both actors deliver strong performances, but the accent itself almost feels like another character, permeating the dialogue of the show’s diverse cast of police officers, criminals, and everyday people.

Susanne Sulby, a dialect coach with experience on films like *Silver Linings Playbook* and *21 Bridges*, is helping the actors perfect their accents for both of Ingelsby’s HBO shows. As an actress herself, Sulby doesn’t just focus on *how* words are pronounced. She looks at the physical mechanics of speaking, carefully analyzing things like mouth movements. “I listen to how actors open their mouths,” she explains, “and might ask them to focus on the space between their tongue and the roof of their mouth.” Because she’s from Pennsylvania, Sulby also helps actors capture the feeling and cultural context behind the accent – the history, the character, and the sense of place it evokes.

The dialect-coaching process is very similar to learning a new language. Actors are already skilled at taking on another person’s thoughts and making them feel natural, and that needs to extend to their physical reactions as well – everything must feel genuine. On top of that, they have to reshape how they speak. So, it involves constantly switching between the technical work of forming new sounds – which needs to become almost automatic – and staying emotionally connected to the scene. It’s a significant challenge because speech is so ingrained in who we are; we don’t consciously think about *how* we’re speaking, and an accent requires overcoming that natural instinct.

What makes the Delco accent unique? It has a softer, more rounded quality – think of drawn-out ‘O’ sounds and less pronounced ‘T’s. The sound is made towards the front of your mouth, right behind your teeth. This happens because people speaking with the accent tend to keep their tongue slightly bunched up, creating a distinct sound. While similar sounds can be found elsewhere in Pennsylvania, it’s particularly noticeable and consistent in the Delco region.

You can notice it in how certain vowel sounds are pronounced – the ‘O’ in words like ‘don’t,’ ‘home,’ and ‘hoagie’ often becomes ‘doun’t,’ ‘hou-me,’ and ‘hoe-gee.’ The ‘A’ sound, as in ‘ask’ and ‘after,’ is often a drawn-out ‘eh.’ You’ll also hear it in the way ‘I’s are said, like ‘Noight,’ ‘Foight,’ and ‘Poike.’ As you mentioned, there’s a tendency to drop consonants. The word ‘this’ isn’t pronounced like New York’s ‘dis,’ but more like a soft ‘th’ sound. The ‘uo’ sound in words like ‘strong’ and ‘coffee’ becomes ‘struong’ and ‘cuofee.’ It’s a unique accent – not quite New York, but a blend of northern and southern pronunciations, creating a Midland sound.

Mark Ruffalo actually used those words to describe the South Philly accent. He mentioned in an interview that it’s a unique blend – a mix of Northern and Southern speech with a mid-Atlantic influence, and he called it the most unusual accent he’d ever encountered. Do you know the historical roots of this accent?

I approach accent work from an acting perspective, not linguistics. My training is in voice and speech for actors, so I don’t have a complete understanding of *why* it developed. However, I believe it’s largely due to immigration and the personalities of those who settled there. South Philly has a significant Irish and Italian immigrant population, and its proximity to New York also plays a role. It’s really a combination of different influences.

Someone asked if I grew up in Delaware County. Actually, I’m from Doylestown, which is just outside Philadelphia in Bucks County. The area has a lot of different accents, but I personally have a fairly neutral one. Interestingly, I first really focused on learning a specific accent while working on *Silver Linings Playbook*. It was a classic Philly accent, and I thought, ‘Sure, I can do that,’ since I’d lived in Philadelphia for about 10 to 15 years at that point. But it was much more challenging than I expected! You can’t fall into stereotypes – like saying ‘Yeah, I’m going to see the Eagles play’ in a cartoonish way – when you’re acting for film and television. You need to create a believable, authentic person, and that takes work.

Is the way people talk in Philadelphia and Delaware County really that different? Delaware County definitely has its own unique way of speaking – you could almost describe it as a slightly stronger version of the Philly accent.

Calling Philadelphia “Philly plus” probably wouldn’t go over well with locals – Philadelphians are proud and have a strong attitude! But nearby Delaware County, or “Delco,” is similar – people there are very connected to where they grew up and its working-class roots. It’s a big part of their identity, and they even have merchandise to show their Delco pride.

You know, watching Tom Pelphrey in ‘Task,’ his accent just felt so *real* – like he’d actually lived it. I was really curious about how they achieved that. Apparently, he’s just a super dedicated actor. The usual process is I give the actors recordings and a breakdown of all the specific sounds of the accent before we start filming. Then I work with them, pointing everything out. We’d have sessions beforehand, either in person or over Zoom, going over lines. I’m also on set to help as needed. But Tom really took it to another level. He actually went out and interviewed people connected to the production – even finding relatives of crew members – and just listened to how they talked about everyday things like football, really focusing on the rhythm and flow of their speech. It clearly paid off!

I gather the speech samples myself. I just strike up conversations with people. It was easier before the pandemic, as people were generally more approachable. I even found someone named John Mason – I had my actors practicing biker accents listen to him. I met him while walking in Rittenhouse Square and simply asked if he’d mind me recording his voice, explaining I’m a dialect coach. It sounds strange, but most people are curious and happy to participate, as they’re often proud of how they sound and where they’re from. It’s a fun and unique experience for them. I also became friends with a woman from Delco whom I met at a coffee shop before work. I still talk to her regularly.

It’s often more challenging for actors to keep up a dialect when they’re performing intensely, like during a loud argument or fast-paced dialogue. I noticed this with Alison Oliver, who plays Lizzie Stover, in her first scene – a phone argument that really introduces her character. Do you approach coaching those high-energy moments differently? The process is similar, but it requires more physical effort from the mouth and breath. While strong emotions and vocal delivery can alter the sound, the core coaching method remains consistent.

What really stood out to me about the show was how international the cast was. Oliver is Irish, and Fabien Frankel, who plays a key member of the team, is British. Plus, Thuso Mbedu, playing Aleah, is from South Africa. It’s interesting because even American actors have to master different pronunciations for regional accents. Sam Keeley actually maintained his accent throughout filming, fearing that switching back and forth would be distracting. These accents really help bring the characters to life and shape their personalities.

I was really paying attention to Mark Ruffalo’s accent, and it struck me as a bit gentler than I expected. It got me wondering if that was intentional, tied to who his character is. And it totally makes sense when you think about it – he’s a really educated guy, with a background in seminary, even *was* a priest. He’s lived a life outside of that specific region, so a strong accent wouldn’t really fit. It reminded me of working on another show with an actor playing a police chief originally from Boston. He would have had a much thicker Boston accent earlier in his career, but after years in the public eye, it naturally softened. It’s almost subconscious, you know? We’re all just naturally inclined to adapt and fit in, and I think that’s exactly what was happening with Ruffalo – and honestly, I probably do the same thing without even realizing it!

The Delco dialect is interesting – does it automatically mean someone is from a rural, working-class background? That’s what I’ve been wondering. When researching for *Mare of Easttown* (and later *Task*), I interviewed a family where all four sons had college degrees, yet they all spoke with varying degrees of the accent. Surprisingly, the one with the strongest accent was a police officer – he’d say things like, “I live in *Mor-ble* [Morple] Township, and it’s really nice and I love doing my *jaw-b* [job].” So, I think it’s connected to both social class and personal identity. It seems to be about how much someone embraces their roots. Some might tone down the accent in college, but then fully reclaim it when they return home, saying, ‘This is who I am, this is where I’m from.’ Philly and Delco have a bit of a rebellious, tough reputation, like they’re the scrappy cousins of New York. That gives people a certain toughness and a strong working-class sensibility.

The success of *Mare of Easttown* definitely gave our project a boost, as many people were already familiar with the accent and setting thanks to the show. There aren’t many other well-known examples with a similar dialect. *Silver Linings Playbook* featured actors from the area – Bradley Cooper and Jacki Weaver – and I even helped Jacki Weaver with her dialect for that film. It’s always a challenge to get people on board with a less common accent, so having a popular reference point like *Mare of Easttown* was incredibly helpful.

Was it awkward having the SNL sketch out there? Did it make anyone feel uncomfortable? I was really worried about how it would be received, but honestly, I don’t think it made anyone self-conscious. Everyone involved is a seasoned professional and was excited to create something amazing. And we had a lot of talented people on board – the writer Brad Ingelsby, HBO, Mark Ruffalo, and fantastic producers like Nicole Jordan-Webber and Mark Roybal. Plus, having directors like Philadelphia native Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield really helped.

HBO really wanted me present on set throughout the entire shoot, which was a significant commitment. This meant the actors didn’t have to stress about minor changes to lines or notes during filming – I was there to work through those details with them. Plus, filming in Delaware County was great; you can really feel the local flavor in everything from the drivers to the people at the delis. I also made sure to show everyone around, taking the cast and crew to try out different restaurants in South Philly and other spots.

People always tell me I really represent this region well, and honestly, it makes me so happy. I’m a huge fan of this whole area – Philadelphia, Delaware County, everything! But more than the places themselves, it’s the people who live here that I truly adore.

That’s a great way to transition to my final question. I’m curious, what do you think about Philadelphia and Delaware County’s role in popular culture? Do you feel the area gets the recognition it deserves? I believe it absolutely should have a bigger presence. Cities like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago have already had their moment in the spotlight. Philly is a resilient city, and its reputation is often similar to that of its passionate sports fans – sometimes a little rough around the edges, to put it mildly. I was recently speaking with someone from North Philadelphia who described the area as having its share of ‘riffraff,’ and I realized that’s part of who we are – a little bit unconventional and unpolished.

Philadelphia offers a wealth of cultural attractions, including numerous museums and theaters, and is a stunningly designed city. It’s considered the most walkable city in the US. The surrounding Delaware County is a fantastic and scenic suburban area, and the entire region is thriving, especially for film production. With established studios and attractive tax incentives, Pennsylvania is an ideal location for your next film or television project.

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2025-09-25 18:00