The Noo Yoik accent

[lola]

I once went and stood around the Rainbow Room for 10 minutes and pretended I was looking for someone, just to see what it was like. Awkward is what it was like, for me.

I hear "lower class" accents, but not upper, unless you define "upper" as "not lower."
Nothing like in England where there is a posh accent. Is there a posh French accent?

[imec]

When calling for a cab last week to an address on "Lord" avenue, I had to call back after I received a call saying my cab was waiting when there was in fact no vehicle outside. Turns out they sent the cab to "Lloyd" avenue. My daughter told me maybe I have to ditch my Joisy accent...

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2010 1:29:29 GMT lola said:

Nothing like in England where there is a posh accent. Is there a posh French accent?

Not really. There are places where the accent is considered to be the most standard (Lyon), just like American newscasters coming from Nebraska.

But 'poshness' is mostly shown in vocabulary choices, notably in the way tutoying and vouvoying is used (discussed earlier on this branch somewhere).

[Deleted]

I just love the mixture of New York and Italian accent - in men. Very seductive.

[bixaorellana]

Nov 23, 2010 20:15:48 GMT bjd said:

Woody Allen has Yiddish overtones? That would imply that he spoke Yiddish before he spoke English or as an alternative to English. I don't think so. I think it's just the Brooklyn/NYC accent he has.

Nov 23, 2010 21:37:46 GMT casimira said:

I agree 100% on this assessment. I think that perhaps because Woody Allen emphasizes his Jewishness as it were ,so much,one can easily get it into their head that how he speaks is NY Jewish

Nov 23, 2010 23:15:41 GMT lola said:

So you think there's no such thing as a New York Jewish accent, or just that Allen doesn't have it?

In my opinion there is still a such thing, influenced by Yiddish speakers from 60-100 years ago.

I think you're right about accents (not just in NY) being affected by immigration waves of generations past, Lola. A good example is the Brooklyn accent so similar to a New Orleans accent. They are both supposed to be remnants of Irish immigration to the US in the 1800s. However, great portions of the population of both cities speak with those accents without having any Irish heritage.

[Deleted]

Nov 23, 2010 23:15:41 GMT lola said:

So you think there's no such thing as a New York Jewish accent, or just that Allen doesn't have it?

In my opinion there is still a such thing, influenced by Yiddish speakers from 60-100 years ago.

OMG !!! Of course there is!!! I worked with a woman from Brooklyn who was severely Jewish (her definition,not mine....). Her accent was had a heavy,heavy,Yiddish influence. Allen has tinges of it to be sure but,i would not say that he sounds exclusively like a NY Jewish person.

On a similar track...I ran across an article in last weeks N.Y. Times Metropolitan section titled "Unlearning To Tawk Like a New Yorker". It is about native NYers who are trying to shed their New York accents for a myriad of reasons,the most prevalent being that they are tired of being mocked. Many are seeking professional help to conquer what they perceive to be "a curse". The professional help comes under both psychotherapy and speech therapy.

[lola]

This NY uppercrust accent seems to have died out by the 1960's, from what I can tell, along with anti elitist sentiment in general, maybe?

or her cousin's:


this one's fun:

[Deleted]

Very,very, COOL ,Thanks,Lola! I love that last one! I think my mother and I were the only ones in our immediate family who did not have a NY accent. Although,no one in my family ever said Long Island with that stereotypical carrying over of the G to the Island so as to sound like Guyland. It has always,always driven me up the wall when I tell people where I am from and they respond with "oh you're from..."and then say it like that.
Just as now it makles me crazy when people say "oh,you're from the Hamptons". When I was growing up,it was never referred to as such. It was a real estate marketing ploy that started in the early 1970's. Every town,village,hamlet, out here has it's own distinctive features.