New York City English
Never Insult a Queer Person on TV, or Else - Bob The Drag Queen - Live from Austin
Play videoThis is a clip of Bob The Drag Queen doing standup comedy in Austin, TX, talking about being queer, as well as winning reality TV shows and family. Artifact 1 of 2 for an analysis of monophthongal vs diphthongal /ai/, following Rahman (2007)'s research on /ai/ variation in African American Language in narrative comedy. This clip was compared with Artifact 2 (The X Change Rate: Bob the Drag Queen https://youtu.be/brFvTNTUtSM?t=1271), which is a talk-show on which Bob is being interviewed by a close friend and fellow drag queen, who is also a speaker of AAL.
Bernie Sanders' accent, explained
Play videoThis video briefly explains some aspects of the New York accent, such as r-dropping and vowel raising. It also goes over how the New York accent is strongest in the working class, how movies have stigmatized the accent, and how young people are much less likely than older New Yorkers to have these features in their speech. I think this ties nicely into our discussion of the Labov and Mather because it discusses the general trend away from the New York accent that may be occurring.
Jimmy Kimmel guesses New York Borough Accents
The boroughs quiz!!
Cardi B's Casual Speech and Realness
Play videoIn regular speech, Cardi B uses Chicano English and AAE features; she says when she speaks, she doesn't care about her accent, unlike when she sings.
Cardi B's authentic accent
Play videoAudiences applaud Cardi B for embracing Chicano English in her rap music. She also uses AAE features in a way that is typical for rap music.
Nicki Minaj Talks Entrepreneurship and Being a Female Rapper on The Queen Latifah Show
Play videoRapper Nicki Minaj is interviewed by Queen Latifah
Californians guess NYC slang
Play videoA non-white NYC native tests Californians on their knowledge of "NYC" slang. The speaker brings up the borough ideology, and uses a raised THOUGHT vowel.
Is New York losing its most famous accent?
A short video on the "disappearing" New York City accent. [Published on 08-18-2017]
The New York Jewish Accent
Play videoThe idea of the Jewish-American accent highlights the ways in which language associates with a specific group of people and can sometimes be used as a way to stereotype a group of people. Generally, the Jewish accent is tied with the Brooklyn/New York accent, as the boroughs of New York are a big place for Jewish populations. Especially in mainstream media, like “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” have perpetuated the idea of the New Yorker Jew. The idea of code-switching and mixing languages is also prominent in the accent, as Jewish people are more likely to use Yiddish words in their everyday language. In the first media, Larry David amps up his Jewish slang and emphasizes his accent/Yiddish knowledge even more to make the other man know that he is Jewish. In the second video about Bernie Sanders, his accent is in part tied to his Judaism, as well as his hometown. Certain words and phrases, along with the accent, are sometimes tied almost to a learned part of language in Jewish families, especially in more religious households. (For another video of interest, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waeXBCUkuL8 [from 3:06])
An English Language Cop
This is a clip from Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David corrects Richard Lewis' speech. Richard says, "in their private homes," and Larry corrects him with , "the privacy of their homes?" Larry David's correction displays language ideology because there was no misunderstanding, he was just being, as Richard Lewis points out, "an English language cop." Then, Larry notes that Richard utters the word "collapse" in the same way he does. It makes sense that these two would speak with the same dialect or accent since they are lifelong friends and both from New York City. When this is brought to Richard's attention, he denies sharing this with Larry and pronounces "collapse" according to Standard American English. [Published on 01-05-2015]
Perfomativity of language in different speech communities
Play videoThe video is a speech made by Donald Trump. It is obvious that the different speech communities that Donald Trump are in contribute to his different styles of speaking.
Friends: Joey acting nineteen
Play videoIn this clip from the TV show FRIENDS, the character Joey is pretending to be a teenager to prove he can land an acting gig as a younger guy. He uses a bunch of what he thinks is teenager slang while trying to convince Chandler that he can do it. This is a good example of slang, especially in regards to youth and the area in which the show is set (NYC).
Bernie Sanders' Accent
A description of Bernie Sanders' accent. Includes brief discussions of vowel-raising and vocalization of r in New York City English, as well as of terminal t enunciation, which is linked to Jewish dialects of English. The decline in New York City English usage over time and its usage as linked to socioeconomic status are also discussed (compare with Labov, William. 1972. Language in the Inner City.; and Mathers, Patrick-André. 2012. The social stratification of /r/ in New York City: Labov's department store study revisited). [Published on 02-18-2016]
Hey, I'm running for President Here!
A New Republic article highlighting the New York accents of presidential candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, with quotes from many linguists suggesting that their accents allow them to construct a positive local authenticity. [Published on 11-14-2015]
How capicola became gabagool: The Italian New Jersey accent, explained
This article discusses how different varieties of Italian made their way to the U.S., using the example of the word "capicola" pronounced like "gababool" on an episode of the Sopranos. [Published on 11-05-2015]
Problems with Labov's Department Store Study
This comic plays with a potential problem in Labov's department store RA study.
Listen: There's no such thing as a Brooklyn accent, exhibit says
A recent exhibit at NYC organization CityLore played New York voices for listeners, arguing that race/ethnicity and not borough is what distinguishes New York voices from each other. [Published on 01-28-2015]
Fuhgeddaboudit: New York Accent On Its Way Out, Linguists Say
This is just a short article that looks at the inevitability of language change. Although it mostly talks about neutralization, I feel as though other processes and possible future developments are left out in a way that makes it more sensational for the average reader, especially New Yorkers. [Published on 02-02-2015]
How to Speak New York
A website featuring sound files of "authentic" pronunciations of proper names for streets, neighborhoods, shops, etc. relevant to New York.
American Tongues: Linguistic Insecurity
Play videoA clip from the documentary American Tongues profiling speakers with linguistic insecurity, including a speaker from Brooklyn who takes accent reduction classes to reduce her New York City accent.
Fox News: No Maw 'New Yawk'
A 2010 article on the change away from raised THOUGHT in New York City English.
Daily News: Locals and linguists argue that notorious Queens accent is fading away
A 2010 Daily News article asks first whether there is a distinctive Queens accent, and second whether that accent is fading, citing celebrities, locals, and linguists.
The Disappearing New Yawk Accent
A 2013 podcast from the show "Lexicon Valley" on Slate, profiling the change in progress for /r/ vocalization in New York City English.
If These Knishes Could Talk
Play videoA preview of the in-progress documentary "If These Knishes Could Talk: The Story of the New York Accent."
Yoo talkin' to us? Researching whether New York is losing its distinctive accent
A 2012 New York Post article by Kara Becker on the changing nature of the NYCE accent.
FDR's Inaguaural Speech and /r/ - Fear Itself
Play videoAn example of FDR's /r/less, upper class New York City variety. An interesting spot to look at r vocalization, as the iconic phrase "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" includes two coda /r/ environments that we don't expect to vocalize, given that they are intervocalic.
(r) in New York City English
(Enlarge image)The classic graph from Labov (1966) showing stratification by socioeconomic class and speaker style for coda r vocalization in New York City English