English accents

1. English accents 9. Comparing pronunciation differences

2. Structuralist oriented towards the phonemic systems involved requires a static synchronic description of what each accent is like e.g. /r/ is or is not found nonprevocalically Historical/generativist oriented towards dynamic phonological rules or processes requires a dynamic account of how each accent got that way e.g. the r deletion rule has or has not applied Two approaches to a typology of accents (i) ˈfɑːrmər (ii)ˈfɑːmə r > Ø / _C and _|| ˈfɑːrmər > ˈfɑːmə farmer

3. Les différences phoniques existant entre deux dialectes peuvent être de trois sortes: elles peuvent concerner le système phonologique ou bien la réalisation phonétique des divers phonèmes ou encore la repartition étymologique des phonèmes dans les mots. D’après cela nous parlerons de différences dialectalesphonologiques, phonétiques et étymologiques. Phonic differences between two dialects may be of three kinds: they may concern the phonological system or the phonetic realization of the various phonemes, or the etymological distribution of the phonemes in words. Accordingly we shall speak of phonological, phonetic and etymological differences between dialects. Trubetzkoy 1931

4. systemic (= phonological) differences • relate to the phonemic system (= the phonological inventory), e.g. • the size and nature of the vowel system • presence/absence of specified oppositions, e.g. • FOOT and STRUT, /ʊ - ʌ/, push and rush • THOUGHT and LOT, /ɔː - ɒ/, stalk and stock • /eː - ɛɪ /, late and eight • also subsystemic differences, e.g. • vowels before /r/, merry and marry

5. phonetic (= realizational, allophonic) differences • relate to details of articulation, e.g. • aspiration or nonaspiration of /p, t, k/ • environments in which aspiration is used • type of /r/ used ([ɹ, ɻ, ʋ, ɾ, ʁ…]) • quality of a specific vowel, e.g. DRESS [e, e̞, ɛ̝, ɛ ̈,…]START [aː, ɑː…]GOAT [o, oː, ɵː, ɔː, oʊ, əʊ, ʌʊ…]

6. distributional ('etymological') differences • relate to which phonemes are used in which words, e.g. • does zebra have /iː/ or /e/? • does graph have /æ/ or /ɑː/? • does transition have /s/ or /z/? • where is the stress in controversy?

7. distributional ('etymological') differences • two types: • phonotactic (structural): restrictions on the distribution of phonemes, e.g. • environments in which /r/ is permitted • whether the cluster /hw/ is permitted • lexicophonetic (selectional, incidential):phonemic makeup of particular lexical items, e.g. • /f/ or /v/ in nephew • /aɪ/ or /iː/ in either and neither • /æ/ or /ɑː/ in BATH words

8. test yourself Are the following differences between accents systemic (phonological), phonetic, or distributional? 1. In accent A, soft has the same vowel as THOUGHT; in accent B, the same vowel as LOT. 2. In accent C, rot and rat sound identical, as do block and black and all other LOT-TRAP pairs; in accent D, they are distinct in pronunciation. 3. In accent E /l/ is always clear. In accent F it is clear before vowels, but dark elsewhere.

9. test yourself 1. In accent A, soft has the same vowel as THOUGHT; in accent B, the same vowel as LOT. distributional (lexicophonetic)

10. test yourself 2. In accent C, rot and rat sound identical, as do block and black and all other LOT-TRAP pairs; in accent D, they are distinct in pronunciation. systemic (phonological)

11. test yourself 3. In accent E /l/ is always clear. In accent F it is clear before vowels, but dark elsewhere. phonetic (realizational)

12. disadvantages of Trubetzkoy's approach • It depends on the phoneme theoryand shares its shortcomings, e.g. difficulty in coping with • neutralization, e.g. /iː ~ ɪ/ in happy • indeterminacy, e.g. l vocalization, as [mɪok] milk • items marginal to systems, e.g. /x/ • no place for rules, e.g. the t-to-r rule, as [geɹ ɒf] get off assimilation, as [ʃtɹɒŋ] strong

13. Structuralist oriented towards the phonemic systems involved requires a static synchronic description of what each accent is like e.g. /r/ is or is not found nonprevocalically Historical/generativist oriented towards dynamic phonological rules or processes requires a dynamic account of how each accent got that way e.g. the r deletion rule has or has not applied Two approaches to a typology of accents (i) ˈfɑːrmər (ii)ˈfɑːmə r > Ø / _C and _|| ˈfɑːrmər > ˈfɑːmə farmer

14. compares the historical (diachronic) sound-changes which the accents in question have undergone, or the synchronic rules they operate now, e.g. one accent has a rule, another doesn't r dropping [ˈfɑː(r)mə(r)] farmer g deletion [ˈsɪŋ(g)ə]singer split of FOOT and STRUT put - cut t voicing shutter - shudder diphthong shift PRICE vowel The historical/generativist approach

15. the details of a rule or its environment differ in different accents, e.g. yod dropping [s(j)uːt] suit;[n(j)uː] new preglotttalization [ˈeɪ(ʔ)prən]apron smoothing [fa(ɪ)ə]fire The historical/generativist approach

16. tends to confuse diachrony and synchrony; has no place to describe lexical transfers, e.g.questions such as zebra with /iː/ or /e/, envelope with /e/ or /ɒ/(= lexicophonetic differences) Disadvantages of the historical/generativist approach