Date:  Tue, 3 Oct 1995 17:56:03 -0400

From:  "M. Lynne Murphy" <104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA>

Subject: Re: icebox and upstate



> A storyteller in the lower Hudson Valley has been having a bit of a debate

> with another person on the definition of upstate in New York. He grew up in

> Westcherster (I believe). That's the first county in New York State north of

> New York City. To residents of New York City and Westchester/Putnam County,

> where does upstate begin? Pick a town (or city) or other landmark. In terms

> of the linguistic atlas data, I suspect that the increase of territory in the

> commutershed of New York City has pushed the "line" north at least to

> Poughkeepsie on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. West of the Hudson

> River the "line" may be as close as Newburgh or even farther south.



well, to my mind, the lower hudson valley is not upstate--anything

south of albany (and not in the southern tier) is downstate. but

nobody asked us western new yorkers.



lynne, from newark, new york (NO! NOT NEW JERSEY!)



---------------------------------------------------------------------

M. Lynne Murphy              104lyn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muse.arts.wits.ac.za

Department of Linguistics            phone: 27(11)716-2340

University of the Witwatersrand          fax: 27(11)716-4199

Johannesburg 2050

SOUTH AFRICA