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I've observed that in many cases where people are speaking informally and want
to make an impact especially in exclamations, the speakers will change
diphthongs at the end of words to an elongated え.

Examples are:

すごい -> すげえ

お前【まえ】 -> おめえ

手前【てまえ】 -> てめえ

うるさい -> うるせえ

ひどい -> ひでえ

ない -> ねえ

Some of these seem to be extremely rude.

I'm wondering about how general this is and in what cases it can be used. I'm
going to limit myself to 東京弁【とうきょうべん】, as I can imagine there is a lot of
variety depending on where the speaker comes from.

Though, in some cases I can see it leading to confusion, like with:

嫌【きら】い -> きれえ

Which sounds like きれい, though maybe just to foreigners and not native
speakers, context and tone of voice might also make it abundantly clear.

Also, it'd be nice to get a list of some common words where this can be done,
if it is in fact not a very general thing. How productive is this change, and
what are the exceptions or rules that prevent this change?
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2015-11-08T19:49:51.423
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2022-09-27T16:30:08.163
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question
nuances slang colloquial-language
Changing of vowels at the end of words to え
It is assumed by 東京弁{とうきょうべん} you mean 標準語{ひょうじゅんご} - Japanese Standardised
Language. Although there is a dialect called 東京弁 some have argued it contains
elements from all the different regional dialects as people have gravitated
towards the capital. Further, 東京弁 contains two traditional sub-dialects
[山]{やま}の[手]{て}[言葉]{ことば} and 下町言葉{したまちことば} both of which have almost died out
(as they were absorbed into the Tokyo standard).

In 標準語 these words do not officially appear (even in spoken examples).
However, they do see use especially with younger people and especially with
males. Almost all the words you have mentioned sound like they come from a
High School to Mid 30 year old male. As to some being "extremely rude", if the
initial word before the diphthong edition was rude, the word still retains
it's appropriate level of rudeness.

Also to look at some of your examples...

  * うるさい may also be heard as うぜえー
  * 嫌{きら}い does not become きれえ. Your initial assumption about hearing something else was correct. 
    * Most often 綺麗{きれい} becomes きれえ.

It is of note that in almost all circumstances using these words will not
elicit good responses from people unless you know the person quite well or
would like to get into a fight with someone (in the case of referring to
anyone as てめえ).

It is most likely to be done to adjectives, but it is difficult to come up
with an all encompassing list as this can be done to a great many words.
However, here are a few.

  * 寒{さむ}い -> さめえ OR さみい
  * 暑{あつ}い -> あちぇえ OR あちい
  * 安{やす}い -> やせえ
  * 高{たか}い -> たけえ
  * 可愛{かわい}い -> かわええ
  * 強{つよ}い -> ついぇえ
  * 怖{こわ}い -> こうぇえ
  * 短{みじか}い -> みじけえ
  * 長{なが}い -> なげえ
  * 臭{くさ}い -> くせえ
  * うまい -> うめえ
  * でかい -> でけえ
  * まずい -> まっぜえ
  * 偉{えら}い -> えれぇ
  * 小さい -> ちっちぇえ OR ちっちゃい

  * choco also mentions, 赤い -> あけえ

As to the productivity of the change, that is largely based on the speakers
preference. It is often seen to be easier to speak as this type of language
accentuates rolling between syllables without pauses rather than pausing as
you would with 標準語。

The rules / exceptions that prevent the change would be that it isn't
considered proper Japanese (標準語) nor is it generally considered gender
neutral. Also, some perceive people who talk this way as either a bit "wild"
or somewhat uneducated.

Choco also provided a [link](http://www.ondoku.sakura.ne.jp/hougensiryou.html)
to a list of 横浜弁 (which seems to be similarly in use in Tokyo proper [link
also includes 山形弁と鹿児島弁] and is all in Japanese).
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2015-11-09T02:35:11.193
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2017-10-29T03:19:47.090
2017-10-29T03:19:47.090
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answer
It's widely seen in eastern dialects including Tokyo dialect (not Standard
Japanese), and heavily dialectal speakers may apply it to almost all
diphthongs.

To answer your question, you are not supposed to use it as long as you speak
Standard Japanese.
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2015-11-09T06:53:26.053
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answer