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Actually there is variance. There definitely is a difference between Brooklyn and Queens within the same ethnic enclave. It is subtle but it definitely is there.
Except due to large influx of immigrants and transplants the old school NYC accents are DEAD.
We'll have to do this the hard way. I hope you can hear all the differences; they are subtle
Both Penny Marshall and Rosie O'Donnell have NY Accents, but they are different. Marshall is from the Bronx and has an old-school accent. O'Donnell from Long Island.
None of those people represent the current demographics of NYC, and you won't find those accents anymore. Even Perez has stoned down her accent from the way she would have talked in the 90s.
Pesci and DeNiro came from working class Italian backgrounds, that is simple gone from the Village. Harlem is filling up with white people, and before that it filled up with Dominicans, Africans, and even some Mexicans.
There's a difference in slang between the boroughs but not accent. Brooklyn slang is faster than the Bronx in my opinion, and if you have to ask what that means, don't bother...
I work with people (predominately black) from all over NYC, their slang doesn't seem to vary at all.
Has anyone noticed that some/many Hispanic people in NYC (even if born here) at times have an accent in English? Sometimes they roll their "l"s in English, like people do in Spanish.
Yes, to an extent.
It doesn't sound like the accent of an immigrant, but growing up in a house where Spanish is the main language spoken, and living in a neighborhood where lots of people speak Spanish is likely going to have some impact on one's accent.
Listen to how the girl (I'm guessing she's a New York born Mexican or Ecuadorian) at :50 seconds talks, that's what I'm referring to. Not a strong accent by any means, but you can tell there's a tinge of Latin flair in her voice.
Except due to large influx of immigrants and transplants the old school NYC accents are DEAD.
I don't agree. I have family who is from the deep south. Those accents are also flattening. So I think it isn't because of transplants and immigrants. (NY has always had both.)
It's because of TV, Film, Video and the wide spread of it. It's an equalizer.
None of those people represent the current demographics of NYC, and you won't find those accents anymore. Even Perez has stoned down her accent from the way she would have talked in the 90s.
Pesci and DeNiro came from working class Italian backgrounds, that is simple gone from the Village. Harlem is filling up with white people, and before that it filled up with Dominicans, Africans, and even some Mexicans.
Yes, because younger generations, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, have less regional accents. It's not just a NY thing. Mass media is to blame.
Yes, because younger generations, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, have less regional accents. It's not just a NY thing. Mass media is to blame.
Not true at all. Regional accents are still very much alive. New Yorkers just dont go to these places or aren't familiar with them but they're still there.
Yea, the "old school NY accent" (which was primarilary used by whites) is dead, atleast in most of NYC (it possibly survives in NJ, Staten Island, Long Island, and Upstate NY among older whites).
But NYC natives still have a distinct way of talking, thats very different from Southern, Midwestern, & Western accents, even noticably different than other Northeast accents. If you cant notice a NYC native from a native of Boston, Philly, Baltimore, or Buffalo just by the way they speak, then you must be stupid. I would say theres 2 NYC accents, a urban one primarily used by blacks (& to a lesser extant americanized Hispanics), its very distinct. And then you have a more mainstream NY accent that is used by almost all white natives as well as others, its basically a Heavily watered-down version of "old NY accent" almost neutral sounding, is the best way to explain it, but whites in NY definetly speak different then whites in most other cities so i guess its a accent. Immigrants usually speak the mainstream one but with a very heavy immigrant flair.
Yea, the "old school NY accent" (which was primarilary used by whites) is dead, atleast in most of NYC (it possibly survives in NJ, Staten Island, Long Island, and Upstate NY among older whites).
But NYC natives still have a distinct way of talking, thats very different from Southern, Midwestern, & Western accents, even noticably different than other Northeast accents. If you cant notice a NYC native from a native of Boston, Philly, Baltimore, or Buffalo just by the way they speak, then you must be stupid. I would say theres 2 NYC accents, a urban one primarily used by blacks (& to a lesser extant americanized Hispanics), its very distinct. And then you have a more mainstream NY accent that is used by almost all white natives as well as others, its basically a Heavily watered-down version of "old NY accent" almost neutral sounding, is the best way to explain it, but whites in NY definetly speak different then whites in most other cities so i guess its a accent. Immigrants usually speak the mainstream one but with a very heavy immigrant flair.
What is the white native NYC accent these days? I'm really curious. Can you give an example of it? How is it different from Midwestern and Western accents?
Last edited by Shoshanarose; 09-24-2017 at 12:02 PM..
Reason: forgot to add something
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