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1、http:/ 留学生论文专业定制代写网站留学生Essay写作研究纽约口音l Amanda BjorkWhy Do They“Tawk”Like Dat?A Brief Study of the New York City AccentNew York can easily be called the biggest collection of villages in the world,a melting pot of nearly all the worlds cultures in one small place.For years,the New York accentfrom famo
2、us faces such as Rosie Perez to Spike Lee,Fran Drescher to Archie Bunkerhas been studied,extolled and derided(Bortolot,2011).New Yorkers keep their accents,wherever they originally may have come from,and the resulting sound(s)are what has come to constitute the globally recognized accent found in th
3、e unique“New York City English”.There are many different but recognizable characteristics and sounds that make up the famous accent.Many of which may have surprising origins,and many whose origins may never be known.Contrary to popular belief,in New York City,the origin and classification of accent
4、has more ties to ethnicity than to a speakers specific geographic region(such as borough).Over the years and through the evolution of the New York accent,there have been many varying reactions and responses to it,from wearing it proudly to attempts at“un-learning”it altogether.The New York City acce
5、nt is a variation of the English language that is spoken by many people in New York City and much of the surrounding metropolitan area.Pioneer American sociolinguist William Labov has done the most work on the specific subject and has described it as the most recognizable variety of sounds in Americ
6、an English.Overall,the New York accent is made up of all of the elements within the speaker and the city,and it has defined the language of New Yorkers for generations.First of all,to understand where the accent originated,we must be familiar with some of the characteristic sounds that may have gone
7、 previously unknown or unidentified as a New York characteristic.Based on years of research,American sociolinguist William Labov has concluded that the New York accent originated as a derivative of a British accent,specifically speakers from South London.But the many aspects of the accent have roots
8、 all over Europe.The New York accent is a non-rhotic accent,unlike most American accents,which simply means that the“r”is not usually pronounced,just as in most British varieties of English.There are sounds that we all recognize as part of the New York accent.Words and phrases such as“schtreet”(stre
9、et),“yaw mutha”(your mother),and“waduh”(water)(Quinlan,2013).The unique way that New Yorkers draw out their vowels is another important feature.New Yorkers are also guilty of the intrusive“r”.When the“rs”are dropped,New Yorkers will frequently put them back in where they dont belong.For example,“Lin
10、da”may become“Linder”and there are phrases like“come heah and bring me a soder”.Another distinct,and possibly the most recognizable,sound from the New York accent is the“aw”sound,such as in“cawfee”,“tawk”,or“sawce”(coffee,talk,sauce).New Yorkers tend to broaden the vowel“a”,for example,saying“awe-fu
11、l”instead of“awful”.One may also hear(or not hear)a dropped“H”in New York speech,for example,“uge”instead of“huge”and“uman”instead of“human”.The New York accent sometimes features“TH”pronounced as if it were a singular“T”or a“D”,wherein a word such as“pathmark”becomes“pat-mark”,or“dese”and“dose”for“
12、these”and“those”.The only immigrant language that had the“th”sound in it was Greek,meaning all the other travelers to the New World had a hard time pronouncing the sound.Another interesting aspect of the accent is the fact that New York vowels can change from one sound to another during pronunciatio
13、n.These changing vowels are called diphthongs.This is believed to be part of the Irish influence on the accent,as the Irish frequently switch the diphthong“OI”with“ER”or“IR”.Two of the most popular and recognizable examples are when the word“oil”sounds like“earl”and“toilet”sounds like“terlet”,althou
14、gh this practice has shown a sharp decline over the generations.Another characteristic of European influence on the New York accent is the word“youse”.It is very rare to hear this outside of New York,and it is thought to be Italian influenced because there is a plural“you”in the Italian language but
15、 there is not in English.The New York accent also receives some influence from the Yiddish(Jewish)language,introducing the intrusive“G”.There is no soft“G”in Yiddish like there is in English,so the“ing”sound becomes“ink”(Tannen,1981).For example,“seeing”is pronounced“seeink”,and“doing”is pronounced“
16、doink”.Yiddish syntax is also different than in English,so its possible to hear phrases(in the New York accent)like“a genius,he isnt.”New York City is a melting pot of different cultures,immigrating from all over the world over the years.The origins of the New York City accent are diverse,and the source of many features is probably not recoverable.William Labov has pointed out that many features were originally found in southern England as mentioned
