Yat Dialect

Yat Dialect

Yat is a dialect of English spoken in the Greater New Orleans Area. The term refers to those people who speak with the Yat accent and dialect of New Orleanians throughout the city. The name comes from the common use amongst said people of the greeting, "Where y'at?" (Where are you at?), which is a way of asking, "How are you?" The Yat dialect has its influences from Louisiana French and Southern American English, particularly Older Southern American English as well as from the presence of European languages brought with immigrants to the city. Port cities like New Orleans and New York (with regards to the surrounding boroughs) have encouraged the growth of similar dialects as both cities attracted many European immigrants during the 19th century. The result has yielded similar dialects which combine sounds from Irish, German, Italian and many other immigrant's speech which have blended with the local dialect to create a new variant.

While the term Yat is usually reserved specifically for the strongest varieties of the New Orleans dialect, the term often refers specifically to speakers of Yat in some parts of the city and the inner suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Though Yat is said to be the language of the Ninth Ward, "Yat" is one of many sub-dialects of the New Orleans dialect that is spoken throughout the city.