Author Topic: The ‘New York Accent’ Is About To Become Extinct, And Linguists Think They Know Why (Read 4200 times)

jmyrlefuller · « **on:** February 06, 2015, 12:11:18 am »

by John Brodigan • February 5, 2015

New York (often pronounced nu-YAWK) and New Yorkers are known for their very distinctive accent.

It’s an accent, though, that many linguists say is becoming extinct, an argument that filmmaker Heather Quinlan explores in her latest project, If These Knishes Could Talk.

“Knishes” offers a broader obituary: the New York accent is being displaced, a casualty of internal migration and television, where actors work hard to sound like they’re from Des Moines or Topeka. Quinlan had gone looking for bastions of survival.

Another reason why linguists believe the accent is fading away? A rapid influx of wealthier outsiders into Manhattan, which has flattened out the accents that once defined New York City.

Excerpted from The Independent Journal Review.
http://www.ijreview.com/2015/02/245913-new-york-accent-become-extinct-linguists-think-know/

truth_seeker · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2015, 01:06:40 am »

During my Army service, there was a fellow in my office that was from some borough of NYC.

He had such a strong accent, that when he spoke fast from across the room, none of the rest of us could understand him.

And that really pissed him off. He sounded like he was trying to talk, with mashed potatoes in his mouth.

I have a brother-in-law that hails from a New Jersey suburb of NYC, and he has a predictable strong accent, but we can understand him.

Out here in the "no accent" west, I can discern a few regional quirks. For instance I can sometimes detect a Utah accent, partly because I have had relatives from there. Same for Wyoming.

But like the article suggests, those would be natives. Inbound transfers could be from, anywhere.

alicewonders · « **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2015, 02:08:00 am »

I hate to see dialects go away - how long did it take to cultivate it? I know how to talk without my heavy Eastern Kentucky twang (we were always taught to "lose" the accent on a job interview) - but I continue to proudly speak my native tongue - in remembrance of my forefathers - how long did it take to cultivate that?

New Yorkers - you gotta keep it alive!

PzLdr · « **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2015, 04:41:30 am »

'New York accent about to become extinct'? B*llsh*t! 'Linguists think they know why'? F*ck 'em!. New York enough for ya? And as long as that lovely word indicating an Oedipal relationship exists [our greatest contribution to American], the New York accent will never die.

A New Yorker

Luis Gonzalez · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2015, 04:51:54 am »

It will be whacked by a Jersey accent hitslang.

alicewonders · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2015, 05:29:55 am »

Quote from: PzLdr on February 06, 2015, 04:41:30 am

'New York accent about to become extinct'? B*llsh*t! 'Linguists think they know why'? F*ck 'em!. New York enough for ya? And as long as that lovely word indicating an Oedipal relationship exists [our greatest contribution to American], the New York accent will never die.

A New Yorker

I like it!

mountaineer · « **Reply #6 on:** February 07, 2015, 12:19:16 am »

Alice, my late father was from a little town near Charleston, WV, but when he decided to go into broadcasting, he really had to work hard to lose the accent. I don't know what he sounded like before he trained himself to speak neutrally, but I know what a twang his older sister - my aunt - had!

alicewonders · « **Reply #7 on:** February 07, 2015, 07:09:05 am »

Quote from: mountaineer on February 07, 2015, 12:19:16 am

Alice, my late father was from a little town near Charleston, WV, but when he decided to go into broadcasting, he really had to work hard to lose the accent. I don't know what he sounded like before he trained himself to speak neutrally, but I know what a twang his older sister - my aunt - had!

That's funny! I wish I had recorded my Pappaw's voice! We had trouble understanding it sometimes. He loved to tell stories too.

PzLdr · « **Reply #8 on:** February 07, 2015, 02:10:51 pm »

Quote from: alicewonders on February 06, 2015, 05:29:55 am

I like it!

Try this one: Face Linguist. With one hand [usually the left one] grab the front of your pants you know where. State loudly and clearly, " I got your accent extinction right here!"

EC · « **Reply #9 on:** February 07, 2015, 02:22:29 pm »

Would that be pronounced "I gotch yer accennnt extinctshun rat heah?"

Lando Lincoln · « **Reply #10 on:** February 07, 2015, 02:39:07 pm »

Here is an accent story unrelated to New York so I'll apologize in advance.

I was on a business trip to Louisville, Kentucky and waiting in the quiet hotel bar for an associate. There was a late-50ish couple and their adult daughter laughing it up with the bartender over his accent. It was obvious to me that the topic was becoming tedious with the bartender. Anyway, I finally chimed in and said to the threesome, "you're from Wisconsin, aren't you?" They seemed startled and said yes and asked how I knew. I replied, "your accent". They were dumbstruck. The bartender was pleased.

(They were from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.)

PzLdr · « **Reply #11 on:** February 07, 2015, 03:35:36 pm »

Quote from: EC on February 07, 2015, 02:22:29 pm

Would that be pronounced "I gotch yer accennnt extinctshun rat heah?"

Except for the "rat heah". That's southern. And the "Gotch yer" is one word.

massadvj · « **Reply #12 on:** February 07, 2015, 03:43:00 pm »

My wife is from Texas. After we moved to Pennsylvania her Texas twang gradually faded. But every time she meets a fellow Texan, it comes right back.

Bigun · « **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2015, 03:57:16 pm »

I once was required to visit the building at 1185 Ave. of the Americas with some regularity and was always greeted with "Hey Tex! whear'd ya pock ya hoose this time!" when I walked into the office.

alicewonders · « **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2015, 04:41:20 pm »

Funny stories. I have found when I travel that my accent can become the topic of a conversation. I remember we stayed at a quaint whaling captain's mansion in Bar Harbor, Maine. There was a nice bar, and there we found ourselves conversing with several people from Maine and Massachusetts. You can imagine what a room full of accents that was! LOL!

But, whose "accent" do they focus on? Mine! They were fascinated, and kept asking me to "say that again". Of course, you have to lay it on pretty thick when you are being examined like that! I kept thinking, they are calling this place, "Bah Hahbah" - and I"M the one with the accent?

:nometalk:

PzLdr · « **Reply #15 on:** February 07, 2015, 04:48:18 pm »

Quote from: alicewonders on February 07, 2015, 04:41:20 pm

Funny stories. I have found when I travel that my accent can become the topic of a conversation. I remember we stayed at a quaint whaling captain's mansion in Bar Harbor, Maine. There was a nice bar, and there we found ourselves conversing with several people from Maine and Massachusetts. You can imagine what a room full of accents that was! LOL!

But, whose "accent" do they focus on? Mine! They were fascinated, and kept asking me to "say that again". Of course, you have to lay it on pretty thick when you are being examined like that! I kept thinking, they are calling this place, "Bah Hahbah" - and I"M the one with the accent?

:nometalk:

They usually tune in on "How Ya Doin?" with me.