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I grew up in Atlantic county in jersey. With lots of blue collar polish, southern Italians and Irish (Black Irish mostly). I still have the accent due to my family- I’m Sicilian. You pick your accent from your family mostly and after that - the genetics. My family in Bmore, Rhode Island and Chicago also sound like us-who are Italians (also some other mediterranean similar ) - northern Italians are different than us.. Eastern Europeans/Jews also have the NYC accent like Paul Muni or Edward G Robinson- but it’s slight different . Humphrey Bogart (Dutch) George raft(German) also have another variation of the accent. Everybody has an accent. Only news reporters don’t- some would argue that is also an accent (general american).
I work at a dealership (come across various ppl) and I think all accents are nice and I tend to like em. Don’t get why everyone wants to sound like someone they’re not. Personally I detest that pretentious general American accent. Nyc has become general american mostly.
Every assimilated, American born Hispanic I know speaks with a regular American accent or a regional accent, for example here in the South some of them have a Southern accent.
I HAVE noticed that even second and third generation Hispanics from areas with large Mexican populations like Southern California and South Texas still maintain Mexican accents though not as strong as a recent Mexican immigrant. But then I wouldn't classify the Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley or Los Angeles as fully assimilated.
I'm the son of LEGAL immigrants and IMO one of the requirements to be considered completely assimilated into American culture is being fluent in English to the extent that you speak it with no noticeable foreign accent. I'd say having a regional accent actually makes you MORE assimilated. Kinda funny in fact that some of my friends point out that I sometimes speak gramatically incorrectly in a particularly American way like "this don't make sense" or "ain't nothing we can do about it".
I hear talk about black & white american english accents. But what about assimilated hispanic americans who been here for acouple generations, do they have their own english accents or adopt black or white accents?
I know Puerto Rican/Dominican english accents may have influence from their Caribbean Spanish (which has Canarian origin and West African/Native Caribbean influence). Also Mexican english accents have inflence from mexican spanish (which has origins in mainland spain and influence from Native Americans). I think that Mexican Americans create their own American english accent, Central American Latinos adopt Mexican American english, Caribbean Hispanics (Puerto Ricans & Dominicans) adopt black American english accents, while Cuban and South Americans adopt stereotypical white accents. What do you all think??
Do Puerto Ricans and Dominican Americans in cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Orlando, and Tampa have their own accents? Or do they adopt accents of their black and/or white counterparts in those cities when they assimilate? Refrences include celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Rosie Perez, Zoe Saldana, Big Pun, Sonia Sotomayor, Joell Ortiz, Peedi Crakk.
Also do Mexican Americans and Hispanics with origins in other Central American Latino countries, have their own American English accents in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, and DC? Or do they adopt accents from black and/or white counterparts in these cities? Refrences include celebrities like George Lopez and Gabriel Iglesias,
Do hispanic americans who've been here for generations, have their own accent based on ancestry and state, or do they adopt accents of blacks and/or whites in their cities?? What you think
It would largely depend on what region they live in, how assimilated their family is, and what neighborhood they grew up in while living in the United States.
For example, if a third generation Puerto Rican American grew up in a heavily Hispanic part of the Bronx, his or her accent will likely still have quite a bit of Spanish influence along with having typical traits associated with the New York Dialect.
On the flip side, if this person grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey (An Affluent majority White Neighborhood), than they will probably speak just like any Educated White American from Northern New Jersey. It is possible that they could some slight Spanish influence if they continue to speak Spanish at home but it would be minimal unless there were lots of other Spanish speakers in their Neighborhood.
I witnessed this growing up in Richmond, Virginia. My neighborhood was majority White and Upper Middle Class.
Most of the White people spoke either General American English or with a a very slight Chesapeake drawl. Very few African Americans like myself had any accent at all. However, many of the Asian and Middle Eastern Americans (who tended to crowd into the nearby apartment complexes), tended to retain their dialect even if they were born in Richmond. There were also a few who spoke no differently than any of the White and African Americans in the area. After having driven through some of the nearby apartment complexes, I learned that they are very immigrant dense and tend to have lots of Asian and Middle Eastern families living in and around them. I assume that many of the families still speak the language of their home country or ancestral home place. However, simply growing up among that many people who have a similar background would be enough to affect the way you speak.
Another thing that would affect a person's dialect would be that person's self awareness of the way they speak. If they are aware that they have an accent for whatever reason and is unhappy with it, than they will likely want to speak differently on purpose versus just sticking to the dialect of their region or neighborhood.
My grandfather came to North Carolina from Mexico for college and while he spoke English fluently, he had an accent. My grandmother grew up in North Carolina but her dad was Puerto Rican. She had no trace of an accent that he had. My mother learned to speak from a Mexican aunt, so Spanish and English were learned at the same time. Her older brothers and sisters learned English first. None of them have a trace of accent now if they ever did.
Of course the caveat is they all grew up in a South where there simply were no other Hispanics. I don’t know if it would have been different if they had been raised in an Hispanic neighborhood with Hispanic friends.
It would largely depend on what region they live in, how assimilated their family is, and what neighborhood they grew up in while living in the United States.
For example, if a third generation Puerto Rican American grew up in a heavily Hispanic part of the Bronx, his or her accent will likely still have quite a bit of Spanish influence along with having typical traits associated with the New York Dialect.
On the flip side, if this person grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey (An Affluent majority White Neighborhood), than they will probably speak just like any Educated White American from Northern New Jersey. It is possible that they could some slight Spanish influence if they continue to speak Spanish at home but it would be minimal unless there were lots of other Spanish speakers in their Neighborhood.
I witnessed this growing up in Richmond, Virginia. My neighborhood was majority White and Upper Middle Class.
Most of the White people spoke either General American English or with a a very slight Chesapeake drawl. Very few African Americans like myself had any accent at all. However, many of the Asian and Middle Eastern Americans (who tended to crowd into the nearby apartment complexes), tended to retain their dialect even if they were born in Richmond. There were also a few who spoke no differently than any of the White and African Americans in the area. After having driven through some of the nearby apartment complexes, I learned that they are very immigrant dense and tend to have lots of Asian and Middle Eastern families living in and around them. I assume that many of the families still speak the language of their home country or ancestral home place. However, simply growing up among that many people who have a similar background would be enough to affect the way you speak.
Another thing that would affect a person's dialect would be that person's self awareness of the way they speak. If they are aware that they have an accent for whatever reason and is unhappy with it, than they will likely want to speak differently on purpose versus just sticking to the dialect of their region or neighborhood.
The Nuyorican accent is probably more influenced by AAVE than Spanish
The Nuyorican accent is probably more influenced by AAVE than Spanish
I think that it is influenced by both. It would depend specifically on who the person grew up around. Another point to make would be that the Puerto Rican Spanish dialect has African Influence although although minimal. This is similar to the African American Vernacular English which is mostly British in origin while still having significant African Elements found in the dialect. When they merge, it sounds different since Puerto Rican Spanish is not as different from AAVE as other Spanish dialects are.
I hear talk about black & white american english accents. But what about assimilated hispanic americans who been here for acouple generations, do they have their own english accents or adopt black or white accents?
I know Puerto Rican/Dominican english accents may have influence from their Caribbean Spanish (which has Canarian origin and West African/Native Caribbean influence). Also Mexican english accents have inflence from mexican spanish (which has origins in mainland spain and influence from Native Americans). I think that Mexican Americans create their own American english accent, Central American Latinos adopt Mexican American english, Caribbean Hispanics (Puerto Ricans & Dominicans) adopt black American english accents, while Cuban and South Americans adopt stereotypical white accents. What do you all think??
Do Puerto Ricans and Dominican Americans in cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Orlando, and Tampa have their own accents? Or do they adopt accents of their black and/or white counterparts in those cities when they assimilate? Refrences include celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Rosie Perez, Zoe Saldana, Big Pun, Sonia Sotomayor, Joell Ortiz, Peedi Crakk.
Also do Mexican Americans and Hispanics with origins in other Central American Latino countries, have their own American English accents in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, and DC? Or do they adopt accents from black and/or white counterparts in these cities? Refrences include celebrities like George Lopez and Gabriel Iglesias,
Do hispanic americans who've been here for generations, have their own accent based on ancestry and state, or do they adopt accents of blacks and/or whites in their cities?? What you think
My daughter in law's grandfather emigrated from Mexico and went to Stanford and worked his career at Boeing and is now 95 years old and he doesn't have much of an accent that is detectable. His son and grandaughter (my daughter in law) have no detectable accent other than a Seattle accent.
1) not all middle easterns are the same- Middle East is a continent, not a race. Same reason why Egyptians are not called Africans . They are Mediterranean. some middle easterns are genetically Caucasian/whites. If you referring to arabs- Semite is the word. This is also on census. Paul Anka (singer), judge Jeanine and Kardashian (amenians) are persian or Indo-Aryans. Persian doesn’t mean Iran. Iran has many races and religions- Jews, Christians Muslims etc.A lot of Persians sound like Italians, Greeks- mixed blood back centuries ago due to wars between Greeks, romans and Persians.
2) Latins are also a vast group of ppl. Some dont have any accent- some do. Cardi B clearly has a Spanish accent and JLO had it when she started out. Pit bull has an accent too. Charlie sheen, vin diesel don’t. I use to work with a Cuban and a Mexican guy- they didn’t have an accent. But they also spoke great English cuz both were college graduates. I guess education makes a big difference. Plenty of white trash out there as well who either want to sound hood or country. SMH. Irrespective of accent- proper English will always be appreciated.
Being an Italian myself I think I don’t have an accent- but only when I meet other whites in upstate New York, Texas or when I’m in Ohio- I get called joe Pesci- gonna rob somebody tonite LOL. I’m nasal but my father had a heavier deeper Italian accent like Sinatra when he was still alive .But what’s even more stranger is when I’m in Baltimore or Chicago- ppl think there is no accent. Pretty much it’s- anyone who doesn’t sound like me= accent. Heck, even all the journalists and their accents have changed overtime- Johnny Carson to Jimmy Fallon- same goes for the presidents- FDR to JFK to Trump.
I would say Cameron Diaz is fairly assimilated and she doesn't have an accent.
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