New York Dialect David Alan Stern Eric Armstrong

New York Dialect: David Alan Stern Eric Armstrong 9/17/2020

A. Resonance: Forward Focus l l Comparing the General American (center) vs. NYC (low-front) counting: “ 1 2 3”, feel added vibration : “ 4 5 6”, “ 7 8 9”, “ 1 - 10” lower lip & jaw - thrusting out lower lip to open up the cavity between lower lip & lower teeth pulling down the lip 9/17/2020

Working the Jaw l l l greater activity and movement in the jaw leading with the jaw contrasting GA and NYC counting cont. 9/17/2020

Famous Stern Gum Chewing l l l put gum in mouth added jaw activity leads to forward pushed down sound continue contrasting chewing and talking “what the heck, this is theatre” don’t worry about consonant distortion take gum out and repeat the counting 9/17/2020

Resonance changes timber l Many sounds don’t change but placement gives the NY flavor – The cat is on the couch – The lout proudly showered the household with scowls – The boy joined in the noise on the mound l You can begin to let up on the “pushing it down” all the time 9/17/2020

B. Vowel 1 l 1. A a – father, spa, onset, pocket, stop, – Stop the onset of the quality option – The light socket popped and shocked Donovan – Father calmly pocketed the blonde’s ring 9/17/2020

Vowels 2. l l l 2. a. I AI watch out for OI grows out of the resonance change – lightning, right, Michael, life, – Elisa was the pride of the whole science department – Fried pike is sliced thinly for Friday night’s supper – The ivy vines were tied down behind the shutters 9/17/2020

Vowels 3 l O O 7´ – thought, often, jaw, flawless, – Lost boys become flawless at reform school – Horses often cost more than four dollars – The short dog fought the hog because the moth thought war was normal 9/17/2020

Vowels 4 l l œ I)´ Changes when followed by certain specific consonants, except when followed by a vowel or glide e. g scab but not cabaret – b - grab, tab, but not cabbage, absolutely – d - mad, bad, sad, Addy but not saddle, paddle – f - after, calf, half, laugh, but not daffodil, raffle 9/17/2020

Vowel 4 cont – g - but bag, hag, lag, sag, rag not haggle, straggle – d. Z - badge, but not badger, Saggitarius – m - tamper, Sam, ram, lam, but not Alabama, famished, hammer – n - ant, ancestor, but not anniversary, animal – s - brass, fast, gas, nasty but not hassle, castle – S - ash, mash, cash 9/17/2020

Vowel 4 cont – T - bath, math, path but not Cathy, athlete, Hathaway – z - jazz, raspberry, but not dazzle l Sounds that don’t affect the œ – k, l, p, r, t, t. S, D, Z 9/17/2020

Vowel 4 continued l Sentences: – After the damage was done I haggled nastily about the cash. – We had a narrow escape Saturday afternoon because the ants hammered away at the picnic hamper. – Naturally the man wore the badge after the sheriff handcuffed the casual athlete. 9/17/2020

Intonation & Pitch l l l A bit of a heavier drop off at the end not an essential inflection (demonstration is not valid) tends to be relatively monotone, terminal downward movement 9/17/2020

Phoneme changes related to pitch „ å (more like [ø]) l l Almost no pitch change, but we want to connect the “r-dropping” to the medial and final pitch drop. Final “er” - sister – letter, sweater, bumper, topper, runner – Esther was a good talker but she never wrote letters. – Summer went further and faster than before. 9/17/2020

„ å in diphthongs l E„ Eå, E. å – bear, careful, rarely, there, paired – Pay your fare, then tell the driver where to go. – A teddy bear cares about its hair. l I„ iå, i. å – gear, weird, deer, appear, cheerful – The earring fell clear of the nearby pool. – Be sincere by dear because it’s a queer world. 9/17/2020

„ å in diphthongs l U„ Uå, U. å – endure, ensure, tour, cure – The poor broker tried to ensure the second floor. – The cure for polio make Salk name endure through time. 9/17/2020

O„, A„ O 7. å, A – four, core, gory, more – The spores were retrieved from the core of the ornament. – The concord roared into flight, pouring forth odorous exhaust. – card, harm, arbor, cartwheel – The two sergeants were college archery partners. – Are all the palace guards qualified marksmen? 9/17/2020

Linking R - R sandhi l sorry, very - a firm hard r ® – sore at, prepare it, year after year l This is the source of intrusive R e. g. sofer 9/17/2020

Medial R - [‰] l l avoid OI, øI unless a specific choice, e. g. on NYPD Blue - bird man (archaic Brooklyn) Try ø„ instead – perfect, thirsty, search, curve – The German hurdler was the scourge of the games. – Search the whole world, you won’t find a perfect curve. 9/17/2020

Isolated Phoneme Changes l l A number of unnecessary changes using “d” for medial t (not |) – British, writer, batter, pretty – The beautiful British writer scattered the letters. – The Cincinnati batter was better at the bottom of the ninth. l Avoid glottal in bottle etc. 9/17/2020

Dropping “G” in “ing” endings – Slippin’, leavin’, runnin’, endin’ – I’m findin’ myself slippin’ into a new way of thinkin’. – The endin’ of the film left one feelin’ like searchin’ for life. 9/17/2020

Dialect Intensification l Don’t use the following sounds: – glottal for medial t – eliminating medial and final plosives (e. g. interfere with intelligibility) – changing OI ‰± (e. g. Oil) – intrusive r’s (e. g. idear for idea) – t & d for T D interferes with intelligibility 9/17/2020

Coached drill l remember resonance, monotone, pitch drop, r drops East Side, West Side, All around the town The tots play ring round the rosie London bridge is falling down Boys and girls together Me and Mamie O’Rourke We tripped the light fantastic On the sidewalks of New York. 9/17/2020

From Iolanthie When you’re lying awake with a dismal headache, And repose is tabooed by anxiety I conceive you may use any language you choose to indulge in without impropriety For your brain is on fire, your bedclothes conspire of usual slumber to plunder you First your counterpane goes and uncovers your toes and your sheets slip demurely from under you. 9/17/2020

Brooklynese and Bronx l l l Basic differences in intensities Brooklyn - leaving out plosives, going to the ‰± and the OI, øI Bronx - is pushed, very flat (e. g. Penny and Gary Marshall. ) 9/17/2020

G&S The sun whose rays are all ablaze with everliving glory Does not deny his majesty he scorns to tell a story. He don’t exclaim I blush for shame so kindly be indulgent But fierce and bold in fiery gold he glories all effulgent. I mean to rule the earth as he the sky We really know our worth, The Sun and I. 9/17/2020

I am the very model of a Modern Major General. I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral, I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical; I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical, I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical, About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news, With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse. I'm very good at integral and differential calculus; I know the scientific names of beings animalculous: In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, I am the very model of a modern Major-General. 9/17/2020

Coming Soon… l l l Take an appropriate piece of text and explore the New York Sound For next Tuesday: bring in your NYC pieces with the changes marked (we will schedule the tutorials on Thurs. ) Gillian Lane-Plescia tapes for Southern US and South Africa are in. Please bring $26 to Thursday’s class - checks are OK. 9/17/2020