While recently sidelined with Covid-19-like symptoms, Heller decided to turn his preoccupation with the sound of New York into a social media challenge. In January, he posted on Instagram a list of the 100 best New York accents of all time, a mix of the legitimately famous and around-the-way favorites: Nas, Rhea Perlman, Cardi B, Luis Guzmán and so on. The #BestNYAccent challenge was initiated by Nicolas Heller, a director of short films and a sort of unofficial liaison to New York City’s ample pool of eccentrics. Caramanica shares some background about the contest: Sometimes it’s about the liberal sprinkling of sounds and catchphrases, the salt and pepper on a conversation that actually becomes the dominant flavor.
It’s about the delivery, usually offered by someone leaning in to the conversation, some combination of excitement and bristly attitude. The New York accent, as it were, is both music and ideology, instantly recognizable as sound and almost physically palpable, too. Slang might come from Yiddish, or it might come from hip-hop.īut what was most striking watching the videos en masse - from every borough, from children and senior citizens, from dozens of ethnic and racial backgrounds - was just how much of what we think of as the New York accent is not about sonic specifics at all. What we think of as the distinctive New York accent is really a pool of accents, a stew that draws liberally from various communities: Italian, Jewish, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Irish and many more. In “ How Does a New Yawker Tawk?,” Jon Caramanica writes about the #BestNYAccent challenge on Instagram and features videos compiled by Noah Throop and Shane O’Neill: What about slang? Do you use slang that is specific to your school or community? Have you ever heard someone say “But I don’t have an accent!”? Have you ever been that person?ĭo you notice other people’s accents? What about your own - or those of your family members? Please preview if you are using this prompt with students.
Note to Teachers : Some of the videos embedded in the Times article include profanity that has been beeped out. I was talking to him.” “Yap, yap, yap, yap all night long, talking to people.” “Everybody keep calling me.” “I get a black coffee.” “A cup of coffee.” “You want a cup of coffee?” “When I came out of the womb, I was saying coffee.” “We could have had a cup of coffee and talked about it.” “Being born and raised as a New Yorker, power was always in our voice.” “So here’s to being a New Yorker, and speaking like a New Yorker.”įind all our Student Opinion questions here. I talk.” “Talking and talking and talking.” “I’m talking to him. I know what a dawg is.” “You could tell I’m from New York just my facial expressions.” “Coffee, I don’t know what coffee is. Let me get a chopped cheese.” “I don’t know what a dog is. Come on.” “Yeah.” “Yeah.” “Oh, it’s litty, baby. It doesn’t get much more New York than that. What do you say?” “Well, I keep seeing this ‘So New York’ challenge.” “New York Nico looking for the best New York accent.” “Yeah, why do I get the best New York accent in New York?” “Y’all wanna hear the best New York accent? It’s coming from your girl right here.” “You know why? I’m Wayne Diamond.” “You know what it is, straight Boricua, straight Irish, with a sprinkle of Italian. “I think you got the best New York accent.
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