Reed, who studies the speech variations of the Appalachian region, uses the concept "rootedness." It's the local attachment people place onto pronunciations and certain words, he said.

"[With] a pronunciation like 'warsh,' it's always the stories about someone's aunt or their grandfather or their grandmother, their mama or their papa," Reed said.

"These pronunciations and these words stick around because they are meaningful," he continued. They're indicative of home.

In a park in southeast Baltimore, near where filmmaker John Waters shot his 1980s classic Hairspray, which features the classic Baltimore accent, locals and transplants alike offered their perspectives on the accent.

Cary Griffin, 70, lives in Washington, D.C., but visits her 8-month-old grandson in Baltimore. She remembers her grandmother, from Richmond, Va., going to do the "warsh."

Adam Cook, 29, is originally from California and moved to Baltimore four years ago. He immediately noticed the receptionist's strong accent at his dentist's office. Ed Morman, 79, who has lived in Baltimore for 39 years, said he actually heard the accent more when he lived in Philadelphia and Seattle. He does not say "warsh" because of his own New York accent, he said.

Others felt strongly about the matter: "I do say warsh!" said Lisa Molina, a 53-year-old Baltimore native, sitting on her stoop on a sunny day. Her mother says it — so naturally, that's how Molina says it.

Richard Spindler, 54, who lives in the same building as Molina, agreed that's the only right way to say wash.

Read the entire article here.

Do you know someone who says "warsh"? Can you think of any other unusual pronunciations you've heard from someone?

My family always said Warsh and a few other weird word pronunciations. I say it too but not quite as pronounced as it was when I was younger.

I know exactly one person who says “warsh.” I have no idea why.

I know someone who pronounced “toilet” as “torlet.” And of course there’s some from a certain town in Bradford County that rhymes with “Gowanda” that pronounce “water” as “wodder.”

I’m sure there’s more I’ll think of later.

1 hour ago, Chris said:

I know exactly one person who says “warsh.” I have no idea why.

I know someone who pronounced “toilet” as “torlet.” And of course there’s some from a certain town in Bradford County that rhymes with “Gowanda” that pronounce “water” as “wodder.”

I’m sure there’s more I’ll think of later.

its also known down that way as Twahlet