If you have ever been to New York, you’ve probably noticed that people talk very loudly. Deborah Tannen, a New York writer, describes this strange behavior in an essay. She mentions the unusual loudness, the gesticulation, and the way they ask questions. She calls these “machine-gun questions,” which are very loud and have an unusual pitch or tone. Most of these “machine-gun questions” are also added to the end of someone else’s sentence, and Tannen describes these peculiarities in detail. This type of self-censorship would drive me crazy.
Change in language is inevitable
As with other regional languages, the dialect of New Yorkers is changing. However, certain regional features remain. Among other things, people moving up the social ladder are shedding accents and dropping regional ways of speaking. A professor at City University Graduate Center explains that this is because of a combination of social circumstances and mass communication.
Although the dialect of New York has undergone some change over the years, the language still reflects the differences between the upper and lower-class groups. For example, in the 1960s, Professor Labov studied New York dialect and found that the upper-class speakers preferred the conventional ”r” sound.
”R” sound is an indicator of social position
The ”R” sound is a cultural and symbolic tool that can be used to indicate social position. The ”R” sound is dropped eight times more frequently by people in discount stores than by those who shop in luxury stores. This difference is related to the way people perceive their own class in society. People in low-income neighborhoods drop their r sound much more than people in higher-income neighborhoods.
”Toity-toid”
The New York accent is a little similar to that of New Orleans, where people often call each other “Yat”. Despite the similarity in pronunciation, the New Orleans accent differs in some significant ways. For one thing, it is a bit more tense. Traditionally, New Orleans natives would greet people by saying, “Where y’at?” or, “How y’at?”
”Nice guys finish last”
It’s not just pickup artists who have adopted the adage, “Nice guys finish last.” In sports and the dating world, the phrase has become a popular lament for men who aren’t good enough. It originated as a baseball term meaning to come last in the standings. Today, it’s used as a general explanation for bad behavior.
While it’s true that nice guys do finish last in the short run, they are the most successful in the long run. Unfortunately, most people take shortcuts and don’t measure the consequences of their actions. In order to avoid negative consequences, a nice guy measures everything out, dedicates himself to everything, and performs everything in a more efficient way.
