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Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TANaples
in decades past most of the blacks who came to NY were from the South. In rmore recent years, a lot are coming from the Caribbean; Haitians, Jamaicans, etc. There were quite a few where I used to work. Even those who did spend some time in the South as children, still maintained their Islands accents, and especially their native language (as in Creole).
Yes, most of the blacks nowadays are from the islands. I'd say 80% of the black people i work with in the city are from Jamaica. There are many of them on LI too.
I have noticed that the older black people in the city do sound a little southern. I'm talking about those that are like 50+ years old.
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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I went to college in Maine and my accent never went away. I never met anyone from NYC while I was in Maine, so I was really in the minority. Most were from small towns in New England. My friends told me my accent was a lot thicker though when I came back from spending time in NY.
My Uncle was born and raised in NYC. After WW2, he met a girl from Indiana, married, moved there, and spent the rest of his life there. When he came back to NY when I was a kid, I hardly noticed anything about his accent, except he said pop instead of soda. However, by the time he was in his 60s and living there for almost 40 years, I definitely noticed that he had a Midwest accent.
I think it takes a very long time to develop an accent of the place where you move.
I think it takes a very long time to develop an accent of the place where you move.
For some people. My Bayonne born and bred aunt married a serviceman from Arkansas (they met at the MOT, where she was working and he was assigned). After the war they moved to Arkansas, and she developed a drawl very quickly.
For some people. My Bayonne born and bred aunt married a serviceman from Arkansas (they met at the MOT, where she was working and he was assigned). After the war they moved to Arkansas, and she developed a drawl very quickly.
I spent all my summers as a kid in Indiana. I actually used to correct them there when I was 10 that it is SODA not pop.
Maybe if you don't like who you are, you will try to adopt an accent of some other place, but even as a CHILD I was very aware and proud of where I came from and who I was. I had no desire to become something I WASN'T, my dear. If you think you can escape this, wait until you move. You will be reminded of where you are from by the natives all the time.
I'm from the northern woods of Maine, and when I joined the military for a little back in 1982 I thought I was going to go crazy, because everyone was correcting me on how to say my words,
It's walking not walken' or car and not ca' or going not go'n
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
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I have a different accent. I grew up in Atlanta and still live there, but due to my parents being New Yorkers I speak with a slight new york accent. However, since I did grow up in the South I spontaneously burst into a southern accent sometimes without knowing it. Sometimes the two mix and I end sounding like an Aussie. True story every bit.
I grew up in the Tidewater of VA in a family from Philly. So I learned from the Virginians how to drop "R"s and from my fam how to pronounce water as "wooder." Then I moved to North Jersey. I don't claim to have a North Jersey accent at all, but "cawfee" is very easy to pick up if you're not careful.
I don't quite sound Virginian. I don't quite sound Jerseyan. People in both states will hear me say something and ask "where are you from?" and often follow with guesses such as Alabama, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Boston, Australia, Canada.
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Well, not just my uncle
