New Jersey Three - Text
Subject is a white male, of Italian descent, born 1961 and raised in Newark. In the recording, which the subect submitted himself, he talks of proposing to his wife on the roof of one of the Twin Towers in New York city, and then, three years later, watching the collapse of that building following the terrorist attacks. He speaks interestestingly about the New Jersey dialect, offering several useful idioms and pronunciations
Contributed by Joseph Petrone, October, 2005. Edited by Paul Meier, IDEA Founder and Director. Running time 00:04:55
TRANSCRIPTION
I was born 44 years ago in Newark, New Jersey, exactly one mile from where I live right now. At age 26, I purchased a two-family home in Belleville, which is a suburb of Newark with about 35,o00 residents. From any point in Belleville, one can clearly view the Manhattan skyline. We are only five miles west of lower Manhattan. Before 9-11, we used to be able to see the twin towers in detail from the hill up the street from my house.
The twin towers and I have some history. Like many people from this area also did, I spent a lot of my youth over in Manhattan. I can remember sitting at the base of the towers countless times. My friends and I would take the PATH train over to the city --which is Manhattan, get some pizza, or whatever, and go relax at the bottom of the towers. No matter how many times you stared at those towers, they were still just as amazing.
Years later, I proposed to my beautiful wife Demaris, on the top of Tower Number 2. Tower Number 1 was reserved for TV antennas, and the public wasn’t allowed up there. Less than three years after I proposed to her, the towers were gone.
On 9-11, 2001, I was still sleeping, when my mother, who lives in Pennsylvania, calls me to tell me that the World Trade Center had been attacked. I threw on some clothes and drove over to a clearing in Kearny, the town right next door to us. There, with about a hundred other people, most of us with video cameras, I watched the collapse of the second tower. The feeling was surreal, as we all stood there, watching the spectacle with our naked eye. Our cars were parked on the side of the road, each radio blaring with the news of what was happening. I felt like I was in a bad fifties sci-fi movie. It’s hard to believe that those towers are actually gone.
Anyway, you are now listening to an authentic northern New Jersey accent; 44 years in the making and not to be confused with the more common New York City accent. Yes, we do say “walkie-talkie, water, coffee, long, you’s guys, radiator,” et cetera.
When you go to a supermarket here, you don’t get a shopping cart, you get a “carriage,” and you are never standing in line, you are standing “on line.” “G’ead” means go ahead. For instance, “G’ead and get a carriage. I need get some coffee and water, then I need ta talk to the manager for a while. So you’s guys, g’ead without me.” Lots and lots of unique things about the way we speak in this area.
(Uh) Time’s up, gotta run. Thanks for listening.
UNSCRIPTED SPEECH TRANSCRIBED BY JACQUELINE BAKER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR TRANSCRIPTIONS, January 16, 2008