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why dem act like there is only one type of brooklynese..cho..
just yesterday I was wondering if the expression "not for nothing" is used everywhere..
London firm Today
Translations give
tourists a hand in
understanding
confusing Brooklynese
BY Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 29th 2010, 4:00 AM
Gallagher for News, TonyNo one speaks Brooklynese
as well as the borough's President Marty Markowitz.
Ask a life-long Brooklynite if he has an
accent and you're likely to get this rapid-
fire response: fuhgeddaboudit!
Ask a typical European what that means,
and you're likely to get a befuddled look
and silence.
That's why a London-based translation firm
is looking for people to help translate
Brooklynese.
Today Translations has posted an ad on
craigslist seeking speakers of "'Brooklyn
English,' with good knowledge of accent,
slang, nuances" to help foreigners who "find
it an unexpected challenge."
The freelance gig pays up to $210 a day.
It's open to anyone who can decipher such
Brooklynisms as "not for nothin,'" "cawfee"
and "whatayagonna do?"
"We're looking for someone who loves the
dialect and is able to understand someone
who has the heaviest Brooklyn accent," said
Mick Thorburn, spokesman for Today
Translations.
Along a stretch of Carroll Gardens dotted
with Italian businesses, the job offer drew a
smorgasbord of reactions.
Vinny Mastellone, owner of Mastellone's
Italian Market on Court St., said he never
Get Morning Home Delivery of the Daily News for up to 70% off.
Call (888) 393-3760Advertisement has a problem tawkin' to the tourists who
stream into his shop.
"I have fun with them," Mastellone, 49,
said.
The job posting drew laughter from Joanny
D'Amico, who runs D'Amico's coffee shop
near Degraw St. She admitted that the
dialect spoken in the neighborhood can
sound like a foreign language to outsiders.
"We don't speak in full sentences," D'Amico
said. "We kind of mush it all together."
Danny Calcaterra, a retired longshoreman
from Bay Ridge, said the problem cuts both
ways.
"I have a tenant from England and I can't
understand a f-----g word he says,"
Calcaterra said, noting that whenever he
leaves Brooklyn, nobody seems to
understand him.
"I was in Britain, I had trouble. I was in St.
Martin, I had trouble. Same thing in Vegas,"
added Calcaterra. "I almost got locked up
in Canada. You say one thing. They don't
understand you. They lock you up."
Brooklynese is not entirely unique, experts
say.
The tendency among Brooklyn stalwarts to
drop an "r" at the end of a word as in
"deah," for instance, is shared by the
British.
"There's no linguistic reason why a New
York City accent should be more difficult to
understand for a person overseas," said
Kara Becker, a doctoral candidate at New
York University who has studied city
accents.
Augie Giglio, a retired electrician who
moved to Brooklyn from Italy when he was
a kid, said he could relate to foreigners
who need help with the accent.
"Sometimes, you get high-class Italians,
their dialect is so far beyond me," Giglio,
60, said, pausing. "Fuhgeddaboudit!"
[email protected]
just yesterday I was wondering if the expression "not for nothing" is used everywhere..
London firm Today
Translations give
tourists a hand in
understanding
confusing Brooklynese
BY Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 29th 2010, 4:00 AM
Gallagher for News, TonyNo one speaks Brooklynese
as well as the borough's President Marty Markowitz.
Ask a life-long Brooklynite if he has an
accent and you're likely to get this rapid-
fire response: fuhgeddaboudit!
Ask a typical European what that means,
and you're likely to get a befuddled look
and silence.
That's why a London-based translation firm
is looking for people to help translate
Brooklynese.
Today Translations has posted an ad on
craigslist seeking speakers of "'Brooklyn
English,' with good knowledge of accent,
slang, nuances" to help foreigners who "find
it an unexpected challenge."
The freelance gig pays up to $210 a day.
It's open to anyone who can decipher such
Brooklynisms as "not for nothin,'" "cawfee"
and "whatayagonna do?"
"We're looking for someone who loves the
dialect and is able to understand someone
who has the heaviest Brooklyn accent," said
Mick Thorburn, spokesman for Today
Translations.
Along a stretch of Carroll Gardens dotted
with Italian businesses, the job offer drew a
smorgasbord of reactions.
Vinny Mastellone, owner of Mastellone's
Italian Market on Court St., said he never
Get Morning Home Delivery of the Daily News for up to 70% off.
Call (888) 393-3760Advertisement has a problem tawkin' to the tourists who
stream into his shop.
"I have fun with them," Mastellone, 49,
said.
The job posting drew laughter from Joanny
D'Amico, who runs D'Amico's coffee shop
near Degraw St. She admitted that the
dialect spoken in the neighborhood can
sound like a foreign language to outsiders.
"We don't speak in full sentences," D'Amico
said. "We kind of mush it all together."
Danny Calcaterra, a retired longshoreman
from Bay Ridge, said the problem cuts both
ways.
"I have a tenant from England and I can't
understand a f-----g word he says,"
Calcaterra said, noting that whenever he
leaves Brooklyn, nobody seems to
understand him.
"I was in Britain, I had trouble. I was in St.
Martin, I had trouble. Same thing in Vegas,"
added Calcaterra. "I almost got locked up
in Canada. You say one thing. They don't
understand you. They lock you up."
Brooklynese is not entirely unique, experts
say.
The tendency among Brooklyn stalwarts to
drop an "r" at the end of a word as in
"deah," for instance, is shared by the
British.
"There's no linguistic reason why a New
York City accent should be more difficult to
understand for a person overseas," said
Kara Becker, a doctoral candidate at New
York University who has studied city
accents.
Augie Giglio, a retired electrician who
moved to Brooklyn from Italy when he was
a kid, said he could relate to foreigners
who need help with the accent.
"Sometimes, you get high-class Italians,
their dialect is so far beyond me," Giglio,
60, said, pausing. "Fuhgeddaboudit!"
[email protected]
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