Michael S. McConkey
On my first visit to New York over 30 years ago, the first thing to hit me over the head was a New Yorker's accent, and I quickly turned down the volume of my hearing aid! I can remember this as if it was yesterday. I landed at JFK airport and we where boarding on to a bus to take us to the terminal. The driver shouted to us all "get in the *#@!&^% bus". To this day, I do believe he was trying to get all 300 passengers into a 50 seater bus.
I bring this up because lately I've been reading about a study which showed that gravely and harsh voices of true New Yorkers are being toned down as younger generations leaving the language of their forefathers behind. Interesting. I did not know that the changing landscape of New York has long been lambasted by historic preservationists and those that are nostalgic for the days of yore. Over the years, I too have observed that gravely and harsh voices of true New Yorkers are being toned down by younger generations - either purposefully or subconsciously.
Some “Brits” still believe that the Big Apple isn’t so much a place as a sound (whenever I’m on the phone, my friends can hear the sirens in the background (only in New York), for example, the Barbara Streisand's accent, the mob bosses of The Sopranos, and the way all the locals say fuhgeddaboudit.
The New York accent- noted for its irregular usage of the consonant R and over-emphasized AH sounds- comes along with a number of connotations related to a darker New York.
The mental picture of a 1940s-era New York City comes to mind, where jazz salons were home to gin-swilling gangsters. Or more recently, the pre-Giuliani New York where people were afraid to be out in Central Park after dark. The rude, quick-talking big-city dwellers that are so often portrayed in films and television shows has led to the idea that New Yorkers are cold, and sometimes harsh. My Cousin Vinny, The Godfather, and Goodfellas are only some of the iconic mobster movies set in New York. One Sunday I visited a restaurant in Little Italy and it was like walking into the film set of the The Godfather, ‘no kidding I lift a big tip’.
1940s-era James Cagney
The mental picture of a 1940s-era New York City comes to mind, where jazz salons were home to gin-swilling gangsters. Or more recently, the pre-Giuliani New York where people were afraid to be out in Central Park after dark. The rude, quick-talking big-city dwellers that are so often portrayed in films and television shows has led to the idea that New Yorkers are cold, and sometimes harsh. My Cousin Vinny, The Godfather, and Goodfellas are only some of the iconic mobster movies set in New York. One Sunday I visited a restaurant in Little Italy and it was like walking into the film set of the The Godfather, ‘no kidding I lift a big tip’.
Criminal masterminds are not the only ones associated with the accent. Woody Allen’s neurotic comedy and nasal voice is closely associated with the city and he has based many of his films both in and on the recognizable city. (By the way, over the years, both Vyna and I have bumped into Woody Allen on a number of occasions, while walking in the streets of Manhattan). Here are some words typically spoken by New Yorkers. Practice these before coming to the city.
English or New York English
- New York: 'Noo Yawk'
- car: 'cah'
- coffee: 'cawfee'
- Long Island: 'Lawn Gyland'
- thirty-third: 'toity toid'
- butter: 'budah'
- out of here: 'outta hee'
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