Changes in length

4. Changes in length.

It is an accepted fact that English vowels vary in length according to the phonetic context – the consonant they are followed by (voiceless, voiced), syllabic border, the degree of stress, the types of nuclear tone and so on.

Actually nowadays there are changes in vowel length that are influenced by other factors. There is, for example, a strong tendency for the so-called short vowels to be lengthened, and it is interesting to note that this lengthening can be heard sporadically in many words in any position.

The lengthening of [i] is often heard in big, his, is; of [u] in good; [¬] in come. It should also be mentioned that [i] is often lengthened in the final syllable, i.e. very, many: [veri], [meni;].

Short vowels [e, ae] are also very frequently lengthened in yes, bed, men, said, sad, bad, bag and so on. This tendency has considerably increased in the past few years.

Changes in Consonant Quality

1. Voicing and Devoicing. As is well known, there is no opposition of final RP consonants according to the work of the vocal cords. They are all partially devoiced, particularly stops. Such devoiced sounds are clearly heard after long vowels and diphthongs as in deed: [did]. How-ever, these partly devoiced consonants are never identical with their voiceless counterparts, because the latter are pronounced with strong breath-force.

This tendency for devoicing now seems to be on the increase. As soon as the opposition of voiced – voiceless is neutralized in the final position, the fortis/lenis character of pronunciation has become the relevant feature of consonants.

The voiced/voiceless distinction of the minimal pairs [sed] – [set], [dαg] – [dαk] may seem to be lost. Actually it does not take place. The weak consonants are never replaced by their voiceless counterparts, they never become strong, the stops [b, d, g], though devoiced, never acquire aspiration. More than that. The interrelation of final consonants and the preceding stressed vowels is very close. The instrumental investigation of E. Kurjatnikova, showed that the duration of the vowel before the traditionally called voiced consonant is 1.5 times larger than that before the voiceless consonant. Cf.: He saw his cap. – He saw his cab.

Describing the positional allophones of the English stops A. Gimson characterizes the initial lenis [b, d, g] as partially devoiced, final lenis [b, d, g] as voiceless.

The sound [t] in the intervocalic position is made voiced, e.g. better [betə] – [bedə], letter [letə] – [ledə].

2. Loss of [h]. In rapid speech initial [h] is lost in form words and tends to die out from the language. Even most highly educated people subconsciously drop it completely. So instead of: He wants her to come [hi – wαnts h tə, k¬m] one hears:

[i wants 3 tə k¬m]. It is evident, of course, that the loss of [h] in stressed syllables sounds wrong.

3. Initial «hw». Some conservative RP speakers pronounce words like why, when, which with an initial weak breath-like sound [h] – [M]. The general tendency is, however, to pronounce [w].

4. Loss of final. The pronunciation of [in] for the termination [i] has been retained as an archaic form of the RP: sittin', lookin'. These occasional usages are not likely to become general.

5. Spread of «dark» [l]. This tendency is evidently influenced by the American pronunciation and some advanced RP speakers are often heard saying [l] instead of [1] as in believe, for example. There is no threat in spreading it widely yet but it is quite common for pop singers now. It should also be mentioned that sometimes final [I] tends to be vocalized as in people, for instance, but is not likely to become a norm.

6. Glottal stop. In RP the glottal stop [?] can appear only in the following two environments: a) as a realization of syllable-final [t] before a following consonant as in batman [btman – [b? mn] or not quite [nαt 'kwait] – [nα? 'kwait]; b) in certain consonant clusters as in box, simply [bα? ks], [si? mpli], where it is known as «glottal reinforcements». The use of glottal stop by advanced RP speakers produces a «clipped» effect on a foreigner.

7. Palatalized final [k’] is often heard in words week, quick, etc.: [wik’], [kwik'].

8. Linking and intrusive [r]. It has been estimated that all English accents are divided into «rhotic» or «r-full» and «non-rhotic» or «r-less». Rhotic accents are those which actually pronounce [r] corresponding to orthographic «r». RP is a non-rhotic accent but most speakers of it do pronounce orthographic «r» word-finally before a vowel: It is a far away country. It is known as linking «r». Failure by students to pronounce it does not usually affect comprehension but may result in their sounding foreign.

As a further development and by analogy with linking «r», «r» is inserted before a following vowel even though there is no «r» in spelling. This «r» is known as intrusive «r». The actual situation is that younger RP speakers do have it after [a] as in idea of, China and,

It is said that nowadays in colloquial fluent speech there is a strong tendency towards elision, reduction and assimilation. This tendency is reflected in the pronunciation of the young generation: tutor [t©u:tə], second year [sekənd¯ia], perhaps you [pə'hp©u:], gives you [giv¯u:], as you know [ə¯ju: 'nª]; in the transcribed texts of British textbooks: him [im], he [i:], her [3], his [iz], can [kn], from [firm], than [n], them [m], some [sm], suppose [spªz], have to [hafta], usually [ju:¯wəli], last time [la:staim], and there was no one [ən ər wz'nª w¬n]; even in the traditional spelling: C'm on, baby, Sorry 'bout that Oh, le'mme see. Oh, I dunno. Must’ve put’em all together. Why d'you ask? What d’ja think? Alright!

9. Combinative changes. Sound combinations [tj, dj, sj] are pronounced as [t©, d¯,©] respectively, e.g. actual [ktjual] – [ktjual], graduate ['grdjªeit] – [grd¯ªeit], issue ['isju:] – [i©u:].

In the clusters of two stops, where the loss of plosion is usually observed, each sound is pronounced with audible release, e.g. active [ktiv] – [ktiv], sit down [sitdaªn] – [sit 'daªn].

Non-systematic Variations in RP Phonemes

Some free phonemes have appeared under the influence of the written image of words, their spelling.

Unstressed prefixes ex – and con – have gained orthographical pro-nunciation: excuse [iks'kju:z] – [eks'kju:z], exam [ig'zm] – [eg'zm], continue [kəntinju:] – [kan tinju;], consent [kən sent] – [kan'sent].

The days of the week: Sunday [s¬ndi] – [s¬ndei], Monday – [m¬ndei].

Note also free variants in often: [afən] – [aft(ə) n].

Other cases: economics [ika'namiks] – [eka'namiks].

Now by way of conclusion we would like to state that not all the changes are recognized as a norm by most affected advanced RP speakers. Some of these changes are quite stable, some tend to disappear. The language is a living body and its oral aspect is most vitally changeable. But one should realize the importance of most recent developments, which, in opinion of many prominent phoneticians, may lead to radical changes in the whole inventory of vowel and consonant phonemes.

Regional Non-RP Accents of England

As was stated above, we grouped regional accents of England into southern and northern ones. This division is very approximate of course, because there are western and eastern accents but their main accent variations correspond either with southern or northern accentual characteristics. Thus we would like to point out here the main differences between southern and northern accents.

In vowels

One of the main differences between these groups of accents is in the phoneme inventory – the presence or absence of particular phonemes. Typically, the vowel [A] does not occur in the accents of the north; e.g.

	South	North
blood	[bl¬d]	[blªd]
one	[w¬n]	[wαn]
but	[b¬t]	[bət]

We can also note that many northern speakers while they do not have [A] have [u;] rather than [u] in words such as hook, book, look. They therefore distinguish pairs like book and buck, which in the south sound [buk] and [DAK], in the North as

	South	North
Book	[bu:k]	[buk]
Buck	[b¬k]	[buk]

Another well-known feature which distinguishes northern and southern accents concerns the vowels and [a].

Before the voiceless fricatives [f, ½, s] and certain consonant clusters containing initial [n] or [m], is pronounced in the north instead of [a].

	South	North
path	[pa:½]	[p½]
dance	[da:ns]	[dns]

Note: Speakers with more strongly regional southern substandard accents may not have the contrast or, at most, have a contrast that is variable.

In the south, however, [K] is often pronounced as [a]:

A = in path

B – [a] in path

C = [a] contrast absent or in doubt

One more major north-south differentiating feature involves the final [i:] like in words city, money, etc. In the north of England they have [i]. In the south of England these words are pronounced with [i] e.g.

South North

city [siti:] ['siti]

money [m¬ni:] [mani]

In consonants

It has been mentioned above that some English accents are «rhotic» or «r-ful» and other are non-rhotic or «r-less». Rhotic accents are those which actually pronounce [r], corresponding to orthographic «r» in words like bar and farm. This [r] sound is post-vocalic and is most often heard in Scotland, Ireland and in the southwest of England. The map on p. 222 shows the spread of post-vocalic [r] (A = post-vocalic [r] present, B = post-vocalic [r] absent).

In most regional accents the glottal stop is more widely used than in RP. In some areas, especially the north-east of England, East Anglia and Northern Ireland, the glottal stop may also be pronounced simultaneously with the voiceless [p, t, k], most strikingly between vowels: pity [pit? i:]

Many non-RP speakers use [n] in the suffix «– ing» instead of; sitting [sitin]. In an area of western central England which includes Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool they pronounce [g]: singer [sige], wing [wig].

Now about [j] – dropping. In most accents [j] is dropped after [t, s]: student [stjudənt], suit [sat]. In parts of the north the change has progressed a good deal further, it has been lost after [½]: enthusiasm [an'½u:ziəzm].

In large areas of eastern England [j] is lost after every consonant. In London [j] is lost after [n, t, d]: news [nu:z], tune [tu:n].

Southern English Accents

We now turn to an examination of regional non-RP accents of England and we shall first give a brief outline of the group of Southern accents.

As was stated above, educated Southern speech is very much near-RP accent whereas non-standard accents are very much near Cockney. Therefore we shall focus our attention on the rather detailed description of uneducated London accent – Cockney.

Cockney accent. It has been long established that Cockney is a social accent – the speech of working-class areas of the Greater London. Here are some pronunciation peculiarities of it.

In vowels

1. [¬] is realized as [i]: blood [b¬d] – [blid];

2. is realized as or [i]: bag [bg] – [bg], [big];

3. [i] in word-final position sounds as [ij: city [siti] – [siti:];

4. when [o:] is non-final, its realization is much closer, it sounds like [o:]: pause [po:z] – [po:z]; when it is final, it is pronounced as [o:ə]: paw [po:] – [po:ə];

5. the diphthong [ei] is realized as [i] or [ai]: lady [leidi] – [lidi:], [laidi:];

6. RP [3ª] sounds as [ª]: soaked [sªkt] – [sªkt];

7. RP [aª] may be [ə]: now [naª] – [nə],

In consonants

1. [h] in unstressed position is almost invariably absent;

2. [?] is widely spread in Cockney speech: paper [pi? pa], butterfly [b¬'təflai];

3. The contrast between [½] and [f] is completely lost: thin [½in], booth [bu:f];

4. The contrast between [] and [v] is occasionally lost: weather [weva];

5. when [] occurs initially it is either dropped or replaced by [d]: this [dis], them [(d)əm];

6. [1] is realized as a vowel when it precedes a consonant and follows a vowel, or when it is syllabic: milk [mivk], table [teibv]; when the preceding vowel is, [1] may disappear completely;

7. is replaced by [n] in word-final position: dancing [da:nsin] or it may be pronounced as [ik] in something, anything, nothing: [n¬fik];

8. [p, t, k] are heavily aspirated, more so than in RP;

9. [t] is affricated, [s] is heard before the vowel: top [trap].

Northern and Midland Accents

Midland accents, Yorkshire, for example, West Midland and North-West accents have very much in common with Northern ones. Therefore they are combined in this book into one group; peculiar realization of vowels and consonants will be marked, of course, when each subgroup is described separately.

The counties of northern England are not far from the Scottish border, so the influence of Scotch accent is noticeable, though there are of course many features of pronunciation characteristic only of northern English regions. The most typical representative of the speech of this area is Newcastle accent. It differs from RP in the following:

In vowels

1. RP [¬] is realized as [u]: love [l¬v] – [lªv];

2. RP final [i] sounds like [i:]: city [siti] – [siti:];

3. words like dance, chance which in RP have [a] are pronounced with: [dns], [t©ns];

4. [ei], [ª] are either monophthongs, or much narrower diphthongs than the ones in the south of England, or they may even sound as opening diphthongs [le], [ªo]: bay [be:], [bie], plate [ple:t], [phet], boat [bo:t], [bªo t];

5. words that have «al» in spelling – talk, call, all, are pronounced with [a]: [ta:k], [ka:l], [a:l];

6. RP words with [3:] are pronounced with in a broad Tyneside accent: first [fist], shirt [f:t]; so first, forced; shirt, short are homonyms;

7. [ai] is [i]: right [rit];

8. words which in RP have [au] may have [it], e.g. about [abut].

In consonants

1. [1] is clear in all environments;

2. [h] is usually present in all positions;

3. – ing is [in]: shilling [©ilin];

4. [p, t, k] between vowels are accompanied by glottal stop [?]: pity [pit? i:];

5. in parts of Northumberland and Durham [r] may be uvular (in its production the tongue and the uvular, not the tongue and the alveolar ridge take part),

Yorkshire accents

Yorkshire and Bradford accents are identical with northern vowel features in points 1, 3, 4 (only many speakers pronounce words which have «ow», «ou» in spelling with [au]: know [nau]; with northern con-sonant features in point 3.

Now having accomplished the description of regional non-RP ac-cents of England we would like to say that we didn't attempt to give a detailed account of all the regional differences in accents of remote ru-ral areas. Rather we concentrated on urban accents which can be heard when one travels throughout the country and which are most likely to be encountered by foreign tourists. International features were not dealt with.

Welsh English

As everyone probably knows Wales is a bilingual area. This speech situation in linguistics is known as exoglossic. In Wales English dominates over Welsh in urban areas, in the west and north-west of the country the balance being in favor of Welsh, where English is learnt at schools as a second language. At the moment nationalistic feelings are rather strong in Wales and we are witnessing a movement in favor of the revival of the Welsh language and its spread in all areas of Wales.

However, Welsh English at the level of educated speech and writing is not much different from that of English. Most differences are found at the level of more localized dialects.

In this chapter we shall give a brief outline of Welsh English pronunciation standard.

The principal phonological differences between WE and RP are the following:

In vowels

1. The distribution of [] and [a] is as in the north of England. Last, dance, chance, etc. tend to have rather than [a].

2. unstressed orthographic «a» tends to be [se] rather than [a], e.g.: sofa [so:f];

3. there is no contrast between [¬] and [a]: rubber [rəbə];

4. [i] at the end is a long vowel: city [siti:];

5. in words like tune, few, used we find [iu] rather than [ju:]: tune [tiun];

6. [ei], [ª] may become monophthongs: bake [b:k], boat [bo:t];

7. the vowel as in girl is produced with rounded lips approaching [o:];

8. the vowels [iə], [ªə] do not occur in many variants of Welsh English: fear is [fi:jə], poor is [pu-wə].

In consonants

1. W. Eng. is non-rhotic, [r] is a tap, or it is also called a flapped [r]. Intrusive and linking [r] do occur.

2. Consonants in intervocalic position, particularly when the preceding vowel is short are doubled: city [siti].

3. Voiceless plosives tend to be strongly aspirated: in word final position they are generally released and without glottalization, e.g. pit

4. [1] is clear in all positions.

5. Intonation in Welsh English is very much influenced by the Welsh language.

Scottish English

We must first make clear that the status of Scottish English is still debated. Some linguists say that it is a national variant. Others say that it is a dialect.

English has been spoken in Scotland for as long as it has been spoken in England. In the Highlands and Islands of northern and western Scotland, however, Gaelic is still the native language of thou-sands of speakers from these regions. A standardized form of this language, known as Scots, was used at the court and in literature until the Reformation. Then it was gradually replaced by English. Incidentally a number of writers and poets of the likes of R. Burns retained their native language.

Nowadays educated Scottish people speak a form of Scottish Standard English which grammatically and lexically is not different from English used elsewhere, although with an obvious Scottish accent. We must admit, however, that non-standard dialects of Scotland still resemble Scots and in many respects are radically different from most other varieties of English. It is very difficult to understand them for students who learn RP.

At the moment there is currently a strong movement in Scotland for the revival of Scots. Nevertheless Scottish Standard English is still more prestigious and in this book we concentrate on Scottish English as used and spoken by educated urban Scots.

As for the status of Scottish English, in this book it will be treated as a dialect though it is fair to say that there is much in favor of calling it a national variant of English.

Vowels