THEIR partisans may be loath to admit it, but Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump do in fact share some common ground. There is of course their upstart, outsider image. Then they share a posture of forthrightness and candor. A third similarity is how they talk. Not what they say, but how they sound: Like they’re from New York.
Other politicians with no hint of New York in their speech, such as Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, would likely love to have “telling it like it is” as part of their brand. Only Chris Christie seems to even come close. See a pattern?
But how could a New York accent actually play a positive role in politics? Well, we can start with the observation — made by the Georgetown linguist Deborah Tannen — that New Yorkers tend to have a different conversational style than other Americans. New Yorkers usually favor being more direct. We speak over one another, particularly to show our engagement with what our interlocutor is saying. We like to tell long stories. And we don’t mind arguing as long as it is not too personal.
How a New York Accent Can Help You Get Ahead - The New York Times
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