New York City English is a regional dialect of
American English spoken by many people in
New York City and much of its surrounding
metropolitan area. Described by sociolinguist
William Labov as the most recognizable dialect in North America, the dialect is known through its association in the media with many public figures and fictional characters. Its features are most densely concentrated in New York City proper and its immediate suburbs, but also extend to the wider metropolitan area and the New York City diaspora in other regions. The dialect is widely known for a number of both conservative and innovative pronunciation features, such as a lack of the
cot–caught,
Mary–marry–merry, and
hurry–furry mergers;
r-dropping (except before a vowel); a high, gliding vowel (in words like
talk and
caught); and a
pronunciation split of the "short a" vowel into two separate sounds.