WHAT? No NY accent on some native New Yorkers? (Florida: transplants, employment)
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To this day, there are native New Yorkers, early 20s and up from what I've seen, that still have THE New York accent (doesn't matter from which borough), even if faint. Then there are some people who have spent their entire lives in one of the boroughs for whom it's difficult to tell they are from NY, unless they tell you.
However, I have seen it "thin out" a lot more in Westchester and in SW Connecticut, though it exists there too. I don't see it thinning much in North Jersey.
Mind you, it is my favorite of the US accents, but what separates who speaks with it and who doesn't, when someone is tri-state area NY born and bred?
I don't know. I don't have a heavy or thick accent. Some people tell me I don't have much of an accent if one at all and I was born in the Bronx and my mother has a thick accent. So does my sister but my 2 younger brothers don't have one.
Not everyone picks up an accent. It's like going to the south and expecting everyone to have an accent, that isn't the case. Some people just have "regular American" accents.
Personally, some New York accents kind of annoy me. Just my two cents though, hahaha.
Many professional class New Yorkers from high socioeconomic backgrounds often speak with less conspicuous accents; in particular, many, though hardly all, use rhotic pronunciations instead of the non-rhotic pronunciations, while maintaining some less stigmatized features such as the low back chain shift and the short-A split (see below). Similarly, the children of professional migrants from other parts of the U.S. usually do not have many, if any, New York dialect features, and as these two populations come to dominate the southern half of Manhattan and neighboring parts of Brooklyn, the dialect is in retreat in some of the more gentrified parts of the city. Many teens attending private prep schools are barely linguistically recognizable as New Yorkers except in their pronunciation of the broad A in "water" and other Northeast characteristics. Nevertheless, many New Yorkers, particularly from the middle and working class, maintain a clear New York accent.
ONe thing is media that is shown on TV such as Disney, Nickoldeon and et al characters speak with a neutrel American accent, lets not forget about News media aswell helps eliminate NYC accent. WHen youths turn into adults they dont speak with much New York City Accent.
Another thing is migration. Many Non New Yorkers or Transplants moved to NYC straight from college, theres probably millions of them that are like this. THe Transplants speak Wasps, and very from region from Midwest, Southeast to West Coast. Also Transplants only congregate amongst other Transplants, they dominate the corportate private jobs of New York City. Also many New Yorkers also migrated to other parts of the Country. If you go to places like. LA, Las Vegas, Florida and Arizona you will run into countless numbers of New Yorkers who propbably still retain their NYC accent and project it onto the local population.
Third and last many New YOrkers including myself hide our New York City accent. I have a heavy Nuyorican accent due to growing up mostly around Puerto Ricans. As I finished college and on and been working around and for Transplants it became obvious to hide MY NYC accent for employment purposes.
I love the accent and hope it will not go away, and wish people felt they didn't need to hide it.
While a youngster, we took a transatlantic crossing to Europe and our next-door cabin neighbors were a family from Forest Hills, Queens. The father was a highly educated health professional and the kids were going to attend Catholic HSs in Queens. Their accent was pretty thick, and further assisted their humor...which most NYers seem to have.
ONe thing is media that is shown on TV such as Disney, Nickoldeon and et al characters speak with a neutrel American accent, lets not forget about News media aswell helps eliminate NYC accent. WHen youths turn into adults they dont speak with much New York City Accent.
Another thing is migration. Many Non New Yorkers or Transplants moved to NYC straight from college, theres probably millions of them that are like this. THe Transplants speak Wasps, and very from region from Midwest, Southeast to West Coast. Also Transplants only congregate amongst other Transplants, they dominate the corportate private jobs of New York City. Also many New Yorkers also migrated to other parts of the Country. If you go to places like. LA, Las Vegas, Florida and Arizona you will run into countless numbers of New Yorkers who propbably still retain their NYC accent and project it onto the local population.
Third and last many New YOrkers including myself hide our New York City accent. I have a heavy Nuyorican accent due to growing up mostly around Puerto Ricans. As I finished college and on and been working around and for Transplants it became obvious to hide MY NYC accent for employment purposes.
My father
came to NY from philadelphia after college and after
fighting in the Pacific against the Imperial Japanse Navy
He was no WASP his mom wrote a fine Yiddish
He lived deep in ethnic brooklyn,not among "transplants"
and worked as a pharmacist
And retained something of Philadelphia in his accent
all his life
One reason
My NY accent was light, even before college
This stereotyping of "transplants"
Should stop
It is
Unworthy
Of NY, that great city
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