B. Grammar in Use

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 569.

Differences in using grammar by New Yorkers and other speakers of General American are not numerous. Mostly they are confined to the syntax of indirect questions. The point is that the word order of the original question is preserved in indirect questions, at least those introduced by wh-words, for example: He wanted to know when will he come instead of He wanted to know when he will come; or, She asked why don't you want any instead of the standard She asked why you don't want any.

Another important trait of New Yorkese, is that some grammatical patterns are phonetically transformed into contractions such as “shudda” (should have), “wuntcha” (won't you), “smattuhr” (what's the matter) and “juhhimee” (did you hear me). As a result the construction loses some of its grammatical body, which however does not affect the understanding.

Learn more about the New York City dialect from corresponding Internet resources, try to find good recordings of the accent or movie episodes where actors speak New Yorkese (Robert De Niro, Woody Allen, Tony Danza, Fran Drescher, Rosie O'Donnell are among the more notable speakers of the dialect) and give a presentation in class.

Every country experiences a substantial difference in using their native language by capital citizens and inhabitants of other regions. Think, for instance, of the classic much ridiculed Moscow dialect. Try to trace the most distinctive features of the way people speak in Kyiv. Consider the typical pronunciation features and vocabulary peculiarities.