Over the summer, I traveled to the west coast for the first time. Before I boarded the plane, I had my worries. Are people going to be nice to tourists? Will hotel rooms be comfortable? Am I going to have fun during my stay? All of these questions crossed my mind at one point or another. Except I never thought that I would have to ask myself this question: Will there be a language barrier?
Growing up in New York City, I didn’t think that I have an accent because everyone around me spoke the same way. My friends and I understand each other even though we come from different parts of NYC. However, when I held conversations with local people in California, I immediately sensed a difference in our cultures.
I was walking down a street in Downtown L.A. when I saw a group of teenage girls walking towards me.
“Hey. Excuse? Where’d you guys get your bubble tea?” I asked them. (This may have sounded like: Where’dju guys getjour bubble tea?)
They looked around, thinking that I was speaking to a group of men behind them. I realized that I had used “you guys” when I was referring to a group of girls (something very common in New York), and quickly changed my question. “Sorry. I meant to ask, where can I get bubble tea?”
One of the finally asked, “What’s bubble tea?”
At this point, I was very confused. “What you’re drinking,” I said, pointing at his drink.
“This isn’t bubble tea. Its called Boba!” she chuckled, pointing me to the shop.
I felt my face burning on the spot. Throughout the entire trip, I had tried to avoid acting like a tourist. This 2-minute conversation had ruined that. After that day, I realized that “bubble tea” was a term used solely by New Yorkers. Terms that I used often, like “you guys” (referring to a group of people) and “whatjuwannado” (fast way to say “what do you want to do?”), are, in reality, esoteric. Needless to say, I was glad to be back in New York after my brief vacation in California because people can understand me here.
There is no language barrier between New Yorkers because we’re all experiencing the same culture. However, this culture had formulated an English accent, one that only New York residents would understand. The combining of words into one word and casual terms used to describe groups of people all formed the New York accent. Stepping out of the city, I was a tourist who spoke English with this accent.
Here is a link to more terms New Yorkers use.
As New Yorkers, most of us hate tourists. This cultural encounter post sheds light to tourism in a very distinct perspective since you are the tourist. Through the vivid dialogue involving “you guys” and “bubble tea”, I can sense your embarrassment and insecurity as a tourist traveling in downtown L.A, and I also find your link very helpful.
Your post made me laugh for a bit. :) It reminds me of a time when I had a huge, probably pointless, argument with my friend in California – about the word “guys.” Personally, perhaps because, as you indicated, I live in New York, I didn’t assign any gender connotation to that word. I used it to refer to both boys or girls. But she on the other hand insisted that the word “guys” is meant to be used only for boys. It was hilarious. I couldn’t get her to change her mind and she wasn’t able convince me either. After an hour or so the topic changed, not that it matters now. :)
Your experiences as a “tourist” in California was really insightful for me, very enjoyable read.
I very much enjoyed reading your cultural encounter. I never really thought we’d have a language barrier in a language we technically both speak. Apparently, I say “yesterday” without pronouncing the “r”, which then makes me sound like I have a Brooklyn accent. This also makes me think if it’s super obvious that I am foreign to the country of China when though I’m speaking in fluent Chinese, I may have different ways of addressing things that they wouldn’t normally refer as.