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There is a big misconception of NJ and it's accents. Fact is, most NJ residents do not have a detectable accent that most people think of when they think "NJ accent". That accent (think Sopranos) is so rare that you have to be within 10 miles or so of Manhattan to hear it even occasionally. That is a very, very small portion of NJ.
Furthermore, even within the region of NJ nearest to NYC, it tends to be only the over 45 age group who has a detectable NJ/NY accent. Younger people today, even in that region, do not typically exhibit the dropping of "r's" the way their parents' generation did.
Where I grew up in NJ (~15 miles from NYC) nobody had any sort of accent, other than a general suburban Northeastern tone and speed of speech. I can remember moving there as a kid (from NYC) and all the kids in school asking me why I talked so funny (I still had a NY accent at that point).
I always get a kick when somebody from out of the area visits NJ and says "the people don't really talk funny here". LOL. They almost sound disappointed.
There's another, much more detectable, yet much less publicized New Jersey accent, and that's localized to the areas just outside of Philadelphia, which is the "Philly" accent. Some need interpreters to understand these people.
i should have said something about class when it comes to accents...upper class ppl sound different than middle class ppl which sound different from the underclass, IMHO. thats another topic tho.
Wrong. Everyone in the US is trying to imitate Illinois, Nebraska (or somewhere in the Midwest) accent because it's Standard American English. If everyone were trying to imitate New York's accent, then it would be the Standard American dialect. News reporters would have that accent, but they don't.
I don't know anyone who imitates New York accents except for people who are making fun of the people on the Jersey Shore show (most of them are from NY). Everyone in the country looks up to the people on that show, they are everything everyone wants to be. We're all just jealous...
I think that all regional accents (including NY accents) can be pleasant when they are SUBTLE. I think an accent is "best worn" when it is spoken by an educated individual who only exhibits hints of the regional accent (ie, certain giveaway words, where you realize, "ahh, that's where they're from").
For example, an educated southern woman who speaks with good diction, but has that slightly detectable southern accent can be charming and, well...sexy.
Those people who blindly poke fun at other accents are just juvenille. Let's face it ... ANY accent, if it's THICK, makes the individual sound uneducated. But a subtle accent is normal, and exudes local color.
I think that all regional accents (including NY accents) can be pleasant when they are SUBTLE. I think an accent is "best worn" when it is spoken by an educated individual who only exhibits hints of the regional accent (ie, certain giveaway words, where you realize, "ahh, that's where they're from").
For example, an educated southern woman who speaks with good diction, but has that slightly detectable southern accent can be charming and, well...sexy.
Those people who blindly poke fun at other accents are just juvenille. Let's face it ... ANY accent, if it's THICK, makes the individual sound uneducated. But a subtle accent is normal, and exudes local color.
best post of the thread. I had the THICK, and it was awful.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommyc_37
I think that all regional accents (including NY accents) can be pleasant when they are SUBTLE. I think an accent is "best worn" when it is spoken by an educated individual who only exhibits hints of the regional accent (ie, certain giveaway words, where you realize, "ahh, that's where they're from").
For example, an educated southern woman who speaks with good diction, but has that slightly detectable southern accent can be charming and, well...sexy.
Those people who blindly poke fun at other accents are just juvenille. Let's face it ... ANY accent, if it's THICK, makes the individual sound uneducated. But a subtle accent is normal, and exudes local color.
I agree. I'm a teacher, so I speak pretty clearly and don't really use slang much at all. BUT, I do have a noticeable accent. Even though I teach in the city, the kids laugh when I say "Chaw-colate"
I think that all regional accents (including NY accents) can be pleasant when they are SUBTLE. I think an accent is "best worn" when it is spoken by an educated individual who only exhibits hints of the regional accent (ie, certain giveaway words, where you realize, "ahh, that's where they're from").
For example, an educated southern woman who speaks with good diction, but has that slightly detectable southern accent can be charming and, well...sexy.
Those people who blindly poke fun at other accents are just juvenille. Let's face it ... ANY accent, if it's THICK, makes the individual sound uneducated. But a subtle accent is normal, and exudes local color.
Agreed, too strong of an accent can be quite annoying, especially the NY accent
as a nyer, i cannot for the life of me figure out where ppl got this notion of a "brooklyn accent."
son, we (ppl from queens and brooklyn) live on the same island. we (nyers in general) live in a relatively small area (geography wise), and we're all next door neighbors. its not possible for us to have different accents, according to borough. we are not isolated.
period.
i'm speaking about natives, not your friend that just moved 5 years ago or your parents from pakistan or whatever. we sound the same. to out of staters, we sound the same. i promise you.
the only exception would be *some* ppl in say manhattan because of the makeup of manhattan (being full of ppl that aren't originally from ny). and thats still not all of manhattan (washington heights, inwood, harlem, etc.).
anyway, our accent is the best in the country. yeah, i said it. everyone loves it. i fully expect someone to disagree with me. cool. fine. if you, you meaning americans, didn't love it then you wouldn't imitate it and you wouldn't emulate us.
the world loves us.
At one time, Brooklynites were known for the "dems" and "dose" for "them" and "those". This was a descendant of the area's Dutch heritage, since there is no "th" sound in Dutch. I think that's pretty much extinct now.
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Didn't say that
