Guido x 2

[Alice Faber]

Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> The _New Yorker_ discussed precisely the same phenomenon WRT _Jersey Shore_
> last week.
>
> Whatever the origin of the species, HDAS 1 traces the designation _Guido_
> back to 1988-89. My SWAG is that it was inspired by Joe Pantoliano's
> character "Guido" in the teen megahit _Risky Business_  (1983).

In (I think) the fall of 1989, I adjuncted for a semester at Stony
Brook. As I traveled around Long Island on buses and trains, I spent
some time trying to pinpoint a particular and distinctive male accent
that I heard a lot of; it seemed to be lower middle class or working
class Italian-American, and it was characterized by a higher proportion
of (phonologically) voiced stops being truly pre-voiced. Most people in
the area knew exactly what I was talking about, even if they couldn't
help with actual details. And one person interrupted me part way through
my description with "Guidos, right?"

Alice

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Alice Faber                                       faber at haskins.yale.edu
Haskins Laboratories                            tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                               fax (203) 865-8963

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