How do you recognise a New York City accent?

A raised, gliding vowel in “coffee”, “talk” and “dog”. Variable R-dropping: “car” can end in a vowel. “Cot” and “caught” stay firmly distinct. A raised “trap” vowel before nasals — “man” towards “meh-an”.

Which famous people have a New York City accent?

Cardi B is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the New York City English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a New York City accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the New York City English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey

The New York City accent

The New York City accent is the most studied urban accent in the world, and traditionally the most stigmatised in America. It is variably non-rhotic — R-dropping was once the norm and is now heard mainly in older and working-class speech — and it raises the vowel in “caught”, “talk” and “coffee” much higher than the rest of the country.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a New York City accent

A raised, gliding vowel in “coffee”, “talk” and “dog”.
Variable R-dropping: “car” can end in a vowel.
“Cot” and “caught” stay firmly distinct.
A raised “trap” vowel before nasals — “man” towards “meh-an”.

Also known as New York accent, Brooklyn accent, Bronx accent, NYC accent, Noo Yawk. Spoken in New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey, United States.

The New York City pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a New York City speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a quick D-like tap in “bottle”, or a catch in the throat instead of the T in “bottle” — “bo’le”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
two of “Mary”, “marry” and “merry” match and one differs, or “Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound different
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “toon”, without a Y sound
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth, or “three” sounds like “tree”, starting with T
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey

Expected everyday vocabulary for a New York City speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soda
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Sneakers
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Deli
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	Yous / youse
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Trash can
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting on line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Traffic lights
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Traffic circle
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
What do you call a long sandwich in a split roll?	Hero
What do you call a multi-storey building for parking cars?	Parking garage
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

What 22 people from the New York City area told the survey

22 people who grew up in the New York City area have taken the DialectGuessr quiz. These are the answers where they differ most from everyone else who has taken it.

Answers from people who grew up in the New York City area, against everyone else in the survey.
Question	Their answer	Here vs elsewhere
What do you call a long sandwich in a split roll?	Hero	71% vs 0% elsewhere · 5 of 7
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Sneakers	91% vs 31% elsewhere · 20 of 22
Which is closest to how you naturally say “tune”?	“Toon” — without a Y sound	100% vs 45% elsewhere · 22 of 22
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soda	86% vs 41% elsewhere · 19 of 22
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart	91% vs 46% elsewhere · 20 of 22
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout	77% vs 37% elsewhere · 17 of 22

From people who chose to take the quiz and pinned where they grew up, so a self-selected sample rather than a random one. The figures are recalculated daily as more people answer.

How New York answered the Harvard Dialect Survey

The Harvard Dialect Survey, collected by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder in 2002–2003, recorded how respondents in every US state answered the same questions. These are New York’s answers, most common first.

New York, Harvard Dialect Survey.
Question	Answers in New York
Soda, Pop or Coke? The Map of How America Orders a Fizzy Drink	soda 82% · pop 12% · coke 1%
Traffic Circle, Roundabout or Rotary?	traffic circle 57% · rotary 15% · roundabout 13%
Water Fountain, Drinking Fountain or Bubbler?	water fountain 79% · drinking fountain 19% · bubbler 1%
Crawfish, Crawdad or Crayfish?	crayfish 45% · crawfish 40% · crawdad 4%
You Guys, Y'all or You All?	you guys 48% · you all 9% · y'all 5%
Kitty-Corner or Catty-Corner?	kitty-corner 52% · catty-corner 22%
Garage Sale or Yard Sale?	garage sale 53% · yard sale 34%
Tennis Shoes or Sneakers?	sneakers 93% · tennis shoes 2%
Trash Can or Garbage Can?	garbage can 47% · trash can 16%
Frosting or Icing?	frosting 33% · icing 20%
Scratch Paper or Scrap Paper?	scrap paper 64% · scratch paper 11%
Frontage Road, Service Road or Access Road?	service road 57% · access road 14% · frontage road 9%
Does “Route” Rhyme With “Out” or “Hoot”?	rhymes with "hoot" 50% · rhymes with "out" 7%
Caramel: Two Syllables or Three?	with 3 syllables ("carra-mel") 55% · with 2 syllables ("car-ml") 24%
Mischievous or Mischievious?	mischievous (3 syllables) 63% · mischievious (4 syllables) 16%
Rubber Band, Hair Tie or Elastic?	rubber band 31% · hair tie 19% · (hair) elastic 13%

Data from the Harvard Dialect Survey (Bert Vaux and Scott Golder, 2002–2003), used under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence. A self-selected sample from two decades ago: how people spoke then, not a census.

Speakers with a New York City accent

Cardi B
Highbridge, The Bronx, New York, United States
Raised in Highbridge in the South Bronx; this match uses the New York City answer profile.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.