Traces of the Past in 21st Century New York

Mariana Neţ (“Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” Institute of Linguistics, Bucharest) [BIO]

Email: mariana_net15@yahoo.com

 

ABSTRACT:

New York has been always (considered as) one of the most up-to-date metropolis in the world. It is said to live in the future, much more than in the present. It is also thought of as one of the typically American cities.

The present paper is meant to challenge (some of) these clichés. It starts from the commonsensical premise that the present and the future are always built on the past, and that New York is no exception to this rule. Therefore, it will describe and analyze some of the traces of the past, more precisely of the turn of the 19th century lifestyles still visible in present-day New York, while trying to show that New York is indebted to European civilization and mentalities, at least to the same extent to which it is typically American.