The

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

as primarily spoken by

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

demonstrates considerable influence from

New York City English New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...

and

African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...

, with certain additional features borrowed from the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

.Newman, Michael.
The New York Latino English Project Page
"

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

. Accessed 2015. Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006). ''The Atlas of North American English'', Berlin: Mouton-de Gruyter, p. 24. Though not currently confirmed to be a single stabilized dialect, this variety has received some attention in the academic literature, being recently labelled New York Latino English, referring to its city of twentieth-century origin, or, more inclusively, East Coast Latino English. In the 1970s scholarship, the variety was more narrowly called (New York) Puerto Rican English or

Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, or of their descendants (especially those raised or currently living in the N ...

English. The variety originated with Puerto Ricans moving to New York City after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, though particularly in the subsequent generations born in the New York dialect region who were native speakers of both English and often

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. Today, it covers the English of many

Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

of diverse national heritages, not simply Puerto Ricans, in the New York metropolitan area and beyond along the northeastern coast of the United States. According to linguist

William Labov William Labov ( ; born December 4, 1927) is an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of ...

, "A thorough and accurate study of geographic differences in the English of Latinos from the Caribbean and various countries of Central and South America is beyond the scope of the current work", largely because "consistent dialect patterns are still in the process of formation". Importantly, this East Coast Latino ethnolect is a native

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of American English and not a form of

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...

broken English Broken English is a name for a non-standard, non-traditionally spoken or alternatively-written version of the English language. These forms of English are sometimes considered as a pidgin if they have derived in a context where more than one ...

, or

interlanguage An interlanguage is an idiolect that has been developed by a learner of a second language (L2) which preserves some features of their first language (L1), and can also overgeneralize some L2 writing and speaking rules. These two characteristics ...

, and other ethnic American English dialects are similarly documented. It is not spoken by all Latinos in this region, and it is not spoken only by Latinos. It is sometimes spoken by people who know little or no Spanish.

Phonology

General phonology

* Some New York Latino English speakers, the best documented being East Harlem Puerto Rican males with many African American contacts, may be indistinguishable by sound from

African American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...

(AAVE) speakers. * New York Latino English utterances may have some degree of ''

syllable-timed Isochrony is the postulated rhythmic division of time into equal portions by a language. Rhythm is an aspect of prosody, others being intonation, stress, and tempo of speech. Three alternative ways in which a language can divide time are postula ...

'' rhythms, so syllables take up roughly the same amount of time with roughly the same amount of stress and particularly among older and male speakers.Shousterman, Cara (2014) "Speaking English in Spanish Harlem: The Role of Rhythm," University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 20 : Iss. 2, Article 18. Available at: http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol20/iss2/18 Standard American English is ''

stress-timed Isochrony is the postulated rhythmic division of time into equal portions by a language. Rhythm is an aspect of prosody, others being intonation, stress, and tempo of speech. Three alternative ways in which a language can divide time are postula ...

'', so only stressed syllables are evenly timed, though Spanish is also syllable-timed. * and are realized as dental stops and rather than the standard American and AAVE alveolars and (also found in many Romance languages, including Spanish). Dentalization is also common in

New York accent The sound system of New York City English is popularly known as a New York accent. The New York metropolitan accent is one of the most recognizable accents of the United States, largely due to its popular stereotypes and portrayal in radio, ...

s, generally, and Latino English is also pronounced dentally as . * is often pronounced , with the possibility of a near-merger among words like ''thin'' and ''tin'' . * Devoicing of voiced obstruent codas is optional among stronger accents (e.g., ''characterize'' may be realized with a final ). * Consonant cluster simplifications occur such as the loss of dental stops after nasals (''bent'') and fricatives, (''left, test''). That also leads to a characteristic plural, in which words like ''tests'' are pronounced , though this is highly stigmatized and not necessarily common. * in

syllable onset A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...

s (meaning at the beginning of syllables, such as in ''light, last, lose, line, uplink,'' etc.) and intervocalically (between vowels like ''filling'' or ''tally'') are typically "clear" or "light". This differentiates Latinos from all other ethnic groups in New York. In

syllable coda A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of Phone (phonetics), speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered t ...

s (at the end of syllables), however, /l/ is often vocalized (turned into a

back vowel A back vowel is any in a class of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the highest point of the tongue is positioned relatively back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be c ...

) so that, for instance, ''soul'' may approach the sound of ''so'', and ''tool'' may approach the sound of ''too''. * Predominantly, pronunciation is variably rhotic (in other words, pronouncing the ''R'' sound only between and before vowels, but not consistently after vowels), in the same vein as current-day

, and

Caribbean Spanish * Caribbean Spanish ( es, español caribeño, ) is the general name of the Spanish dialects spoken in the Caribbean region. The Spanish language was introduced to the Caribbean in 1492 with the voyages of Christopher Columbus. It resembles the S ...

(wherein word-final is silent). Cultivated forms may be fully rhotic, particularly among many professional-class Hispanic New Yorkers from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. The ''R'' sound, when pronounced, is the typical English

postalveolar approximant The voiced alveolar approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the alveolar and postalveolar approximants is , a lowercase letter ''r'' rotated 18 ...

Subcultural variations

As the unity of the dialect is still in transition, in order to enhance their study, Slomanson & Newman grouped their participants based on differences in subcultural (or peer group) participation and identification. The study differentiated between the influential youth groups/subcultures of hip hop (involving

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system ...

graffiti art Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, etc.),

skater Skater may refer to: Sports *Someone who practices skateboarding *Someone who practices roller skating *Someone who practices inline skating * Someone who practices ice skating *An ice hockey player who is not a goaltender *Skater (subculture), ...

/ BMX (involving bicycling and

skateboarding trick A skateboarding trick, or simply a trick, is a maneuver performed by manipulating a skateboard, usually with one's feet, in a specific way to achieve the desired outcome – the trick. History Though skateboards emerged in the 1900s, skateboard ...

s), and

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

(involving

video game culture Video game culture is a worldwide new media subculture formed by video gamers. As video games have exponentially increased in popularity over time, they have had a significant influence on popular culture. Video game culture has also evolved with ...

, computers, and other technological interests). The findings located young Latinos mostly in the first two categories (with hip hop culture being influenced significantly by

and NYC skater/BMX culture by NYC European-American Vernacular English and

General American English General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...

). Latinos also largely fell into a third, non-peer-based grouping: family-oriented, whose members show the strongest pride and self-identification with their ethno-cultural heritage. They admittedly did not examine

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

(or "thug") culture, which minimally affected their population sample. The study found that the

gliding vowel A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...

() becomes a glideless (), so, for example, the word ''ride'' approaches the sound of ''rod'', in Latino members of hip hop culture; a middling degree of that was found with the family-oriented group and the least degree of it with the skater/BMX group. Just over 50% of all speakers showed () to be backed () before

coronal consonant Coronals are consonants articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Among places of articulation, only the coronal consonants can be divided into as many articulation types: apical (using the tip of the tongue), laminal (using the bla ...

s (in ''dude, lose, soon,'' etc.), with little variation based on peer groups. For the gliding vowel (), just over 50% of speakers show no gliding (), except in the skater/BMX group, where this drops to just over 30% of speakers. For the gliding vowel (), just over 70% of speakers show no gliding (), except in the skater/BMX group, where this drops to less than 50% of speakers. Such instances of glide deletion are indicators of the dialect's contact with Spanish.

Grammar and vocabulary

* Similarity of many grammatical structures between New York Latino English and

(AAVE) is clearly evident. **Lack of inversion or ''do'' support particularly in first- and second-person questions (''I can go to the bathroom?'' rather than ''Can I go to the bathroom?'') *

Calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...

s and direct translations of Spanish expressions and words (''owned by the devil'', instead of ''possessed by the devil'', ''closed'' meaning ''locked''). * The AAVE and Southern U.S. term ''you-all'' or ''y'all'' is common.

Notable native speakers

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

(variably rhotic; glide deletion) — "an Afro-Latina with a thick Bronx accent" *

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

(non-rhotic; glide deletion) — "Fat Joe is a born and bred Bronxite who still speaks in the singular city accent" *

Luis Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...

(non-rhotic; no glide deletion) — "his Nuyorican accent is oh so thick" *

La India Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Aw ...

(variably rhotic; variable glide deletion) — "speaking in a gruff Nuyorican accent" *

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

(variably rhotic; variable glide deletion) — "his hardcore New York accent" and "he has a Nuyorican accent he can't shake" *

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

(rhotic; no glide deletion) — "Bronx Puerto Rican... when I grew up I talked like this" and "her Nuyorican (meaning, a Puerto Rican from New York, since Jenny from the Block was born in the Bronx) accent" *

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

(non-rhotic; no glide deletion) — "she will always be remembered or...the Nuyorican accent" and "a high-pitched voice with a thick Nuyorican accent"George, Nelson (2014).
"Face dance means you don't know what the hell the rest of your body was doing but your face is fierce. That's face dancing." —Rosie Perez
. Esquire. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. *

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...