How the pop-singer Lady Gaga speaks is a telling example of standard New York accent. In the following, we’ll show some aspects of this accent highlighting Gaga’s answers during an interview at the David Letterman Show.
– Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, was born in Manhattan, NYC, on March 28, 1986. In this interview, she and anchor David Letterman talk about Gaga’s album “Born this way”.
Here’s a short list of the New York accent aspects, with examples based on the video.
- Dropping final consonants and -G endings
Listen to Gaga’s comments about her fans (1:25): “They’re so amazin’… They’re just so swee’…”. In addition, check her answer to Letterman’s question about what she is wearing (2:30): “I only like the jackee” instead of “I only like the jacket”.
- Substituting D for “TH”
Check the following passage. Letterman: “Do you have a boyfriend?”. Gaga: “Why are you askin’?” and then “I do like a man in an orange tie. I don’t know about doze… AHAHA” (7:30) instead of those.
- “O” sound becomes “AW”
During the interview, Gaga pronounces the word “over” with New York accent several times. When Letterman and Gaga talk about Gaga’s rebirth, Gaga explains: “You cannot be reborn awer and awer and awer again” (10:19).
Lucy's English 