I have spent the last two months living in Portland, Maine and before I move on I thought I would share with all of you some information about this great city. You can also find out more information about this city by visiting either of the two websites below, where you will see more pictures of what this small seaside city looks like.
http://www.portlandmaine.com/
http://www.visitportland.com/
Portland is a small city by most standards, but in the state of Maine where it is located, Portland is the largest city. The population of the city is around 70,000 people. If you include all the suburbs* the population is 500,000 people. Portland is located on the Atlantic Ocean, but more specifically it is located on Casco Bay. It has a historic ‘Old Port’ district with many shops, restaurants, bars and old cobblestone** streets. Portland is known for having a wonderful variety and a large number of bars and restaurants. In fact, Portland ranks among the top cities in the United States for restaurants and bars per capita. The city also has an ‘Arts District’ with a number of museums and many old neighborhoods with big old Victorian-style houses.
If you look at a map of the United States you might be surprised to see how far north the city of Portland is located. Portland is located in the state of Maine, which is in the region of the country called “New England”. This region includes the states of: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. As Portland is located so far north, the city generally has long, cold, and snowy winters. The temperature in winter can get below 0 °F (−18 °C) many times during the winter. Luckily the summers are much nicer, with temperatures in the 60’s °F (20’s °C). Portland has many local beaches and in the summer the city is often busy with tourists. The fall season is also a nice time to visit Portland as you can see the color of the leaves changing. The beautiful changing color of leaves in fall is something that the New England region is famous for. If you visit you will find that Portland is a very safe city and it is easy to get around by bus or car, as the city is so small. I have really enjoyed my time living here over the last couple of months and I would highly recommend it as a place to visit to get an idea of what New England culture is like.
Lastly, I want to mention that people here in Portland and the state of Maine do have a unique accent. Here are some of the ways that people in this area of the country sound different from normal “mainstream” English.
1. Words that end the “er” sound are pronounced like they end in the “ah” sound.
For example: car = cah, mother = muthah, father = fathah, water = watah.
2. Conversely***, words that end in the “a” sound are sometimes, but not always, are pronounced like they end in “er.”
For example: California = Californier, idea = idear, yoga = yoger.
3. People often drop the “g” sound in words that end in “ing.”
For example: stopping = stoppin, starting = startin.
4. People turn some one-syllable words into two-syllable words.
For example: there = ther-uh, here = hee-ah.
* the area or neighborhoods surrounding a city
** stones that are used as pavement
***a statement or idea that reverses one that has just been referred to
