Speak Brooklynese Like a Native

Dere's a Lot More Dan Dese, Dem and Doze, But It's Easy to Master

Apr 1, 2009

There's a pub owner in Tavistock, England, who watches old B&W American gangster movies in hopes of learning to speak Brooklynese. Here's a primer he might love.

First, if you want to speak Brooklynese like a native, it helps to know some history of the dialect. It is based, primarily, on three sources: English as spoken by Irish immigrants, Italian words, and Yiddish words. There is also the odd German phrase or word, but those would be a fine-tuning of the dialect. For instance, it is rare that anyone not living in Brooklyn would need to know what rollmops or kaduffle balls are. Rollmops are slices of rolled up pickled herring in sour cream sauce with onions. Kaduffle balls are potato dumplings: one might assume "kaduffle" is a corruption of the German word Kartoffel, which means potato.

Irish Influence

The first thing to remember is this: in Irish Gaelic, there is no "th" sound. That explains why native Irish and their progeny often say dese instead of these, doze instead of those. Another feature of Irish they retain appears in plural pronouns. They say Youse for the plural of you (who wouldn't be confused at the quirk of English that makes you both singular and plural?) Think of this as the Brooklyn equivalent of the Southern Y'all.

Also, if there is an interesting way to say something, a Brooklyn native will use it rather than the plain way; this, too, comes from lyrical Irish Gaelic. So, if one wants to agree to the offer of a drink, don't say Yes: Say, "I wouldn't say no to a wee drop."

Also, one must make commentary even when none is requested, as long as the commentary is clever. Example: An escalator repairman was working on an escalator near Lincoln Center in Manhattan. A gentleman walking past said, "Hey, if you find a quarter, I dropped one down there last week." He must have been from Brooklyn.

Or this: On a trip from Brooklyn to Long Island, a couple had to hunt for change for a bridge toll. They handed nickels and pennies to the toll taker who asked, "How long ya been savin' up fer dis trip?" He MUST have been from Brooklyn.

Don't, under any circumstances, lapse into expected Americanisms: Hot enough for you? Think it's going to rain? No, no, no, no. At the very least, come up with something like, "You could fry an egg in this heat while it's still inside the hen" or "Oh, jeez. And me with a new pair of shoes on...."

A few words to remember: The Black Stuff means Guinness stout, the crayture is whisky, and yer Da is your father...who might like a wee drap o' the crayture now and again.

Spice It Up wid Italian and Yiddish

Don't forget the D instead of the TH...even when it's on the end of a woid. Oops. Don't forget that the "er" sound (as in word and nerd) is pronounced "oi," as in the Yiddish "Oy vay." (Oy vay means, roughly, holy cow.)

A good useful Italian word is this: jadrool. It means idiot. It can also mean bum or couch potato.

Another useful one is tsuris, or trouble. (Pronounce the T just slightly.) In a sentence, “Oy vay, such tsuris my youngest son brings me!”

A Whole Brooklynese Conversation

“Hey, youse! Whaddaya doin wid dose kaduffel balls? Are yiz gonna feed dem to da toid grade students? Or what? If yiz do, dey’ll figure youse are meshuginah, or sumptin.” (Yiz is another form of youse.)

"Nah, we ain't gonna do dat. We're gonna take 'em downtown an' eat 'em dere. My mudda has some rollmops to go wid 'em."

The copyright of the article Speak Brooklynese Like a Native in Linguistic Anthropology is owned by Laura Harrison McBride. Permission to republish Speak Brooklynese Like a Native in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.