Why do most New Yorkers from the outer boros say Manhattanites don't talk like New Yorkers (Binghamton: transplants, home)

[br1975]

I grew up in lower manhattan (26th & 10th) in the 80s and 90s and I got an accent as thick as anyone in the outer boros has. I only have to drive as far as Binghamton and people know where I'm from. Not everyone in Manhattan talks like a real New Yorker, but not everyone in the outer boros does neither. I don't have any videos of native manhattanites talking but does anyone else know of any to prove my point? I think it's just the fact that we got so many transplants over here these days that's confusing people. My parents are native Manhattanites as well. My grandparents on both sides are immigrants though.

[WhatTheHellMan]

Because now it's all yuppie transplants or hipsters from Ohio and they do not have the New York accent that is passed down from generations of NYers like you see in the outer boroughs.

[nykiddo718718]

I would say that Manhattan has the most transients, but to be fair with all the recent immigration/transients to the outer boroughs no difference there. Unless your talking about neighborhoods that don't see as much immigration or transients like parts of S.I. and then fringes of the city.

Then there's then youth. It dwindles every year.

Certain groups don't use it at all. Those that have been getting big since the 70s+. I have yet to meet a West Indian (L.A.), Dominican, Central American, Columbian, or Far Eastern Euro with one.

The traditional NY accent is dieing. Oh well.

[sheaosaurus]

What I have found is that while we may not have the accent that you would find on some of my friends in Howard Beach, BK or New Dorp, SI - a decent amount of people have tri-state area variations in their accents. That is to say, while in New York they would not think they had a New York accent, but if they ever moved outside of the Northeast, it would get picked up on immediately.

I also agree with nykiddo. I went back to visit my a couple of teachers at my school and almost all of the children spoke with what I would call a mid-atlantic accent.

[11KAP]

because brooklyn has the most influence on the accent of the whole city, and it is the biggest borough and was a city long before manhattan was even thought about.

[Airborneguy]

Most NY'ers from the outerboroughs don't spend time worrying about the accents of people who live in Manhattan.

[Kefir King]

Manhattanites talk less like Brooklynites becasue Manhattanites are likely to have been born elsewhere, perhaps gone to College, etc. and thus have a better grasp of what English is supposed to sound like.

I have met some Brooklynites in Tony Manero country who rarely if ever leave the borough. The language stays inbred.

[TOkidd]

I would imagine that the outer boroughs have a larger population of native New Yorkers compared to Manhattan, which nowadays is home mostly to wealthy transplants and their offspring.

[BinxBolling]

I've noticed there's a much, much lighter version of the New York accent that a lot of young college-educated people from Manhattan have. You only really hear it on certain words, but it's there.

[br1975]

Originally Posted by TOkidd

I would imagine that the outer boroughs have a larger population of native New Yorkers compared to Manhattan, which nowadays is home mostly to wealthy transplants and their offspring.

I'm not wealthy or the offspring of transplants. (Then again, I grew up in NYCHA) Not everyone in Manhattan is either. Just an example we're almost 1/5th jewish in Manhattan. You think you'll find that many jews coming from outside the tri-state area? Lots of people here have a long family history rooted in New York. The Ohio Omaha Iowa Idaho crowd aren't the only people here. We're just like the outer boros in most ways.

Originally Posted by Kefir King

Manhattanites talk less like Brooklynites becasue Manhattanites are likely to have been born elsewhere, perhaps gone to College, etc. and thus have a better grasp of what English is supposed to sound like.

I have met some Brooklynites in Tony Manero country who rarely if ever leave the borough. The language stays inbred.

Just coz you emphasize the letters R and G and talk slow doesn't mean you speak it how English is supposed to sound like. Elitists like you are what gives Manhattan a bad rep.