Aileen Marshall
Hey, how ya doin? Or in other words, welcome back to our series on learning the New York City dialect. Hopefully by now, you have your ears trained to pick up more words you hear about town.
To recap last month’s lesson, the G is dropped in words ending in “ing.” Our vocabulary words were doin, callin, and walkin. Here are some more examples of them used in a sentence.
How are you doin? (a greeting)
I’ve been callin you for hours.
I wouldn’t go walkin through Central Park at night.
Other examples of the dropped G are thing and building. Here are some examples of these words used in a sentence.
The only thin that doesn’t belong on pizza is pineapple.
The Empire State Buildin used to be the tallest in the world.
This month’s lesson:
The R is dropped from some words in New York City. It sounds more like an Ah or Aw sound.
Here are some examples of dropped R words used in a sentence. Some examples of these words are: beer, here, river, and morning. Click on the links to hear the pronunciation.
Get your beah heah.
I am takin a rivah cruise up the Hudson.
I only get the Times on Sunday mawnin.
While learning the dialect of this great city, you might as well enjoy all it has to offer. Visiting small neighborhood stores and restaurants in the outer boroughs is probably the best way to experience the language. The outer boroughs have a lot to offer. There is a zoo, and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. There is a huge park in Queens, called Flushing Meadows. Queens also has Citi Field and Arthur Ashe Stadium. There is an aquarium, and the boardwalk at Coney Island in Brooklyn. One can take a ferry ride to Staten Island and see the Staten Island Yankees, the New York Yankee’s farm team. This is just a small representation of attractions in the outer boroughs. Whenever you have the chance, take the subway past Manhattan and explore a neighborhood.
Watch next month for a lesson in the elongated A sound.