Brooklynese
For those who haven’t had the pleasure to live in or visit Brooklyn, NY, I have decided to translate a few common words, phrases and sentences.
The format will be as such:
Brooklynese
Translation
If you practice really hard, repeating the language over and over again for say, thirty years or so, you may actually be understood if you should ever find yourself in Sheepshead Bay, Red Hook, Bensonhurst or Canarsie, as long as you don’t pronounce most r’s . Read the top line phonetically.
Let’s goda huh house
Let’s go to her house
We wen out ta eat at June-yiz
We went out to eat at Juniors
Friday nightz we party an drink a few beahs, go dansin, ya know, ketchup on things.
Friday nights we party and drink a few beers, go dancing, you know, catch up on things.
Witcha
With you
Glassiz
Glasses
Sumpthin
Something
Are-inge-iz
Oranges
Wawta
Water
I di-int do it
I didn’t do it
Stah-in-eyelind
Staten Island
Mean you
Me and you
Wawkin my dawg
Walking my dog
Whadaya gunna do aboudit?
What are you going to do about it?
Cawl
Call
Tawk
Talk
Wawk
Walk
(see a paddin/pattern?)
mind yerown bizniss
mind your own business
dawta
daughter
for-d-five
forty-five
fiff-d
fifty
(another paddin/pattern)
Um goin on a dye-it
I’m going on a diet
Um dyin ova heah
I’m dying over here
Next yeah
Next year
Wheah ya bin?
Where have you been?
Taygit eeze
Take it easy
Fahgeddaboudit
Forget about it
Fahgeddaboutcha
Forget about you
I’m not tawkina you
I’m not talking to you
Suppa
Supper
Dinna
Dinner
Sig-ni-cha
Signature
Tye-iz
Tires
Gassgit
Gasket
And we cannot leave out the non-phonetic translations:
Tranny
Transmission
Jamoke
Idiot
chewtch
jerk
odjidda
indigestion
mofo
(never mind)
This just gives you the basic idea. Proper inflection is critical and that’s not something one can set to writing.
So if you’re evah in Brooklyn and can’t find your way around, jist pull da car ova, ask somebody for direkshins … tell’m you wanna get ta sevin-d-sevinth and seck-ind by six-a-clock an’ you don’t have a min-it ta speah (pronounced like “yeah”).
Um sure they’ll tell ya da best root ta take.
Tell’m I sentcha.
The format will be as such:
Brooklynese
Translation
If you practice really hard, repeating the language over and over again for say, thirty years or so, you may actually be understood if you should ever find yourself in Sheepshead Bay, Red Hook, Bensonhurst or Canarsie, as long as you don’t pronounce most r’s . Read the top line phonetically.
Let’s goda huh house
Let’s go to her house
We wen out ta eat at June-yiz
We went out to eat at Juniors
Friday nightz we party an drink a few beahs, go dansin, ya know, ketchup on things.
Friday nights we party and drink a few beers, go dancing, you know, catch up on things.
Witcha
With you
Glassiz
Glasses
Sumpthin
Something
Are-inge-iz
Oranges
Wawta
Water
I di-int do it
I didn’t do it
Stah-in-eyelind
Staten Island
Mean you
Me and you
Wawkin my dawg
Walking my dog
Whadaya gunna do aboudit?
What are you going to do about it?
Cawl
Call
Tawk
Talk
Wawk
Walk
(see a paddin/pattern?)
mind yerown bizniss
mind your own business
dawta
daughter
for-d-five
forty-five
fiff-d
fifty
(another paddin/pattern)
Um goin on a dye-it
I’m going on a diet
Um dyin ova heah
I’m dying over here
Next yeah
Next year
Wheah ya bin?
Where have you been?
Taygit eeze
Take it easy
Fahgeddaboudit
Forget about it
Fahgeddaboutcha
Forget about you
I’m not tawkina you
I’m not talking to you
Suppa
Supper
Dinna
Dinner
Sig-ni-cha
Signature
Tye-iz
Tires
Gassgit
Gasket
And we cannot leave out the non-phonetic translations:
Tranny
Transmission
Jamoke
Idiot
chewtch
jerk
odjidda
indigestion
mofo
(never mind)
This just gives you the basic idea. Proper inflection is critical and that’s not something one can set to writing.
So if you’re evah in Brooklyn and can’t find your way around, jist pull da car ova, ask somebody for direkshins … tell’m you wanna get ta sevin-d-sevinth and seck-ind by six-a-clock an’ you don’t have a min-it ta speah (pronounced like “yeah”).
Um sure they’ll tell ya da best root ta take.
Tell’m I sentcha.
posted by Weary Hag at 9:44 PM
17 Comments:
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Thanks for that Weary, that was most enlightning. I'd like to see and hear more of this.
I love that! From an Australian point of view, the Brooklyn accent seems like a parody or fiction or something.
Glad to know it's live and kicking!
Why not critique the moronic pronounciations of hicks, from New England ? I am quite proud to have
an accent recognized around the world, including "Nu Inglin"
Stu gotz !!!!!!
Dear anonymous caller,
I too am proud as hell of my NY accent, but anyone reading the above entry should have already picked up on that.
So, Stat-a-zeet.
Ya know?
I moved from sheepshead bay to iowa, still have the accent though.
Hellllooo Sheepshead Bay! Always loved that area.
I worked at 77th and 3rd in Bay Ridge in the 70s but much later on lived in Bensonhurst.
Iowa. Wow. I can't think of a bigger change than that!
Thanks for reading...
WH
That was a nice piece of work. Thanks for making me smile. Canarsie kid from Raeford,NC
Aaaye Canarsie kid from Raeford NC!
Howz it goin?
Thanks so much for stopping in, reading and enjoying my langwidge lessin attempt.
It's always fun to hear from another formah New Yawkah!
WH
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This was hilarious! I read it with my fiance, he's from Canarsi and he tawks like that lol I'm from the bronx so its a bit of a change.
I am very happy to report that even though I left Brooklyn at 17 years of age, at 61, I can still speak fluent Brooklynese whenever I return to visit relatives. Thanks for the wonderful translations!
I was born in Germany, lived overseas and all over the country then I moved to the USA. Tried hard to loose my accent. After living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a few years, I moved to Brooklyn in the early 70s and they thought I had an accent, it didn't take a week before that infectious and marvelous Brooklyese invaded my speech. Now 45 years later I still miss hearing it. Tanks fer da memreez. Okay, I confess, I can't write in it as well as you do.
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