Who is Upstate Al? Great commenatary!
- Thread starter bdorman
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That was pretty much a given which is why he's so good at this:
Providence or parts thereof has a very ''tough' sounding accent and can have a very Bronxish feel overall. Yes i can tell the difference 100% of the time but to an outsider.........
I once was in Hawaii in the surf and 2 guys were tossing a football-said a few words to each other and then surprisingly tossed it to me. I said "What part of Queens are you from?" The answer "Flushing" 1974 (when there were still non asians in Flushing).
In the 50's there used to be a guy on TV- he would have you say 5 words one of which was 'greasy'. He would then put a pin on the map and get within a 50 mile radius of where you lived. Saying 'greezy' was one thing he looked for
Today with foreign influences, more moving arouind and much more 'long distance communicating', it would be more difficult to do.
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I guess what threw me most of all about Al's accent was his addition of an "R" sound to Jayson Shaw's name. The other commentator even made fun of it.
"It's Shaw, not Shore," the other commentator would say...to which Al would reply "Yeah, that's what I'm saying...Shore!"
I've always identified that additional "R" as a Boston accent. I guess it's used in Upstate NY too. (I visit NYC often and I never hear it there)
But it's just an idear.
Anyway, great job Al and I hope we get to hear more from you in the future.
"It's Shaw, not Shore," the other commentator would say...to which Al would reply "Yeah, that's what I'm saying...Shore!"
I've always identified that additional "R" as a Boston accent. I guess it's used in Upstate NY too. (I visit NYC often and I never hear it there)
But it's just an idear.
Anyway, great job Al and I hope we get to hear more from you in the future.
Al is not from "upstate NY", he's actually from Queens. Queens, being NYC, of course...
Eric
I agree with this. Although the "New Yawk" thing is well-known, lots of folks not from either of these two areas don't know that there are audible differences. For instance, NY'ers do have 26 letters in the alphabet, even though the "R" sound is mostly diminished to sort of an "ahr" or "awr" sound. For most of the upper New England area, there are only 25 letters in the alphabet -- the "R" is completely missing. Non-existent. As in, <poof!> gone. The short "A" sound replaces the "R" sound.
For instance:
"I lost my khakis" means that the utterer is from Boston, and that he lost those little implements he needs to open the door of / start his car.
-Sean <-- realizes retaliation is coming from his New England friends...
You sure? I thought the Bronx but then i heard him say Manhattan and then to City Island-Bronx. I remember on Aug 31st 1997 he came into Fieldston Billiards on 234th or so and Broadway- extreme North Bronx and was the first to tell Me Princess Diana had died.
You might be right. I know him from his TD days at the Golden Cue. Maybe I got it in my head that he lived in that neighborhood?
Eric
I, too, am an Upstate Al fan after having heard his recent commentary. He is informed and involved. He sticks to the subject at hand.
I just got back from a two-week swing through Rochester, Syracuse, Saratoga, New Hampshire and Boston. What a wealth of dialects in such a comparatively small area!
I just got back from a two-week swing through Rochester, Syracuse, Saratoga, New Hampshire and Boston. What a wealth of dialects in such a comparatively small area!