|
Intro
|
Phonology
|
Lexicon
|
Variation
|
A notable property of New York English is its preservation of the low-back distinction of 
and 
, which is typical of the northeastern United States. As a result, New Yorkers do not rhyme don with dawn or cot with caught.
Another aspect of the English of New York is that it has not been affected by the Northern Cities Shift. However, there is a pattern of low-vowel advancement that is reminiscent of the shift: in some phonological environments, the low vowel [æ] may be tensed and raised, but not categorically as it is in Chicago or Detroit.
New York English also has a nearly monophthongal [u] (as in food) and [o] (as in load). By clicking on the following links, you should be able to hear how these vowels are either monophthongs or only weakly diphthongal.
A well-known feature of New York English is its r-lessness (or "r-dropping"), a pattern in which syllable-final /r/ is not pronounced. It is too simple a statement, however, to say that the dialect simply drops them. A more accurate statement is that even though syllable-final /r/ is dropped, it is still somehow "visible." That is, it leaves its mark in one of several ways. In words like burr, the vowel is longer and has a different quality than in standard American English. In words with pre-rhotic /o/, 
, and /i/, the /r/ is replaced by a schwa.
An important point to be made is that though New Yorkers and Bostonians both have an r-dropping pattern, they don't always execute it in the same way. In fact, it is one cue that they use to distinguish themselves from each other, but the details are often lost on those from outside the region. The Language Samples Project has created a page that illustrates the differences between New York and Boston r-lessness.
Click on the words in this table to compare New York pronunciations with standard "r-full" ones.
|
Word
|
New York
|
Standard American
|
|
|
Vowel lengthens, different quality
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
||
|
/r/ replaced by schwa
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
We have seen that r is not simply dropped; it has an effect on the vowel it leaves behind. It is also retained in certain environments; for example, between vowels, like in carry or Arizona. As in Boston English, the r of these words has less of an altering effect on surrounding vowels than it does in other dialects. That is, Bostonians pronounce carry and marriage with 
before the medial r, whereas many other North American dialects raise the vowel to .
Click on each word to hear its contrast between New York and other dialects: carry, Arizona
© 2001 The Language Samples Project