3 ms·
Very fun to read and reminds me so much of my grandparents, three of whom grew up in the 1940s in the Bronx. Especially how their accents and mannerisms sound
by akoster 5y ago
Very fun to read and reminds me so much of my grandparents, three of whom grew up in the 1940s in the Bronx. Especially how their accents and mannerisms sound so foreign and out of place out west (in Arizona and Los Angeles) yet likely to them, all children of Eastern European immigrants, they aspired to learn and speak their unique variant of American English unique in time and place, as well as live and survive in what must have been not the easiest place to grow up. And for my grandfather, his aversion to Jewish rituals and observances despite being brought up in an observant household, and not learning even one of the multiple languages his parents spoke, I have always thought was yet another way to prove he was a fully assimilated American, yet in so many ways was shaped by the culture, tradition and outlook of his andestors. It’s a shame the accents of New York City and throughout our country are loosing their defining features and sharp edges.