New York Accent

A New York accent, or New York dialect, is one of the more recognizable American accents. It refers to the greater New York metropolitan area (including the 5 boroughs, Long Island, Westchester County, the lower Hudson Valley & surrounding parts of Connecticut & New Jersey). Upstate New Yorkers have their own accents which are entirely different from the stereotypical "New York" accent. Individuals with a trained ear can differentiate between the accents of each of the boroughs (or the surrounding areas), though all are very similar. Generally, Manhattanites do not have a common accent, as many do not originate from the New York metropolitan area. A slightly lesser percentage of Generation Y-ers speak with a full-blown New York accent, compared with those of prior generations. The accent of Generation Y-ers tends to be less severe than those of their elders, sometimes practically undetectable, with the exception of certain words. Notable differences between Standard American English & New York dialect include: 1. Nonstandard pronunciation: ♦ "AW" sound is prolonged (talk/tawwk) ♦ Hard "G" sound (Long Island/Lawnguyland) ♦ Dropping final consonants (want/wan) ♦ Dropping "R" sounds (morning/mawning) ♦ Adding "R" sounds (idea/idear, soda/soder) ♦ Dropping "G" endings (calling/callin) ♦ Substituting "D", "T" for "TH" (those/doze, three/tree) 2. Nonstandard resonance, resulting in a heavy sound. 3. Generally fast rate of speech. 4. Hypernasality.