New York accent

See also: New York English (disambiguation)
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
A sign on the periphery of Brooklyn that reads "Fuhgeddaboudit" (a pronunciation spelling of "forget about it"), illustrating the "Brooklyn accent"'s non-rhoticity and t-voicing
Speech example
An example of a mostly non-rhotic male speaker with a background in the Bronx and the city of New Rochelle (Chuck Zito).
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Speech example
An example of a mostly rhotic male speaker from Brooklyn (James S. Shapiro).
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Speech example
An example of a mostly rhotic male speaker from Queens (Art Spiegelman).
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The sound system of New York City English is popularly known as a New York accent. The accent of the New York metropolitan area is one of the most recognizable in the United States, largely due to its popular stereotypes and portrayal in radio, film, and television.[1][2] Several other common names exist based on more specific locations, such as Bronx accent, Brooklyn accent, Queens accent, Long Island accent, North Jersey accent. Research supports the continued classification of all these under a single label, despite some common assumptions among locals that they meaningfully differ.[3]

The following is an overview of the phonological structures and variations within the accent.

  1. ^ Welch, Richard F. (2009). King of the Bowery: Big Tim Sullivan, Tammany Hall, and New York City from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era. SUNY Press. p. 196. ISBN 9781438431826
  2. ^ Labov (1966), p. 18
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Myth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).