Key Language Evolution Processes in Dialects

1. Processes Part 2

2. ProcessesPart 2 In the last slide show we looked at Residualisms, which leave scattered traces in modern dialects. We now turn to more prominent processes (Wells 3.1 Residualisms continued)

3. More Prominent Processes • FOOT-STRUT Split • NURSE Merger • Pre-Fricative Lengthening - BATH Broadening and CLOTH Raising • Yod Dropping • Long Mid Diphthonging

4. More Prominent Processes • FOOT-STRUT Split • NURSE Merger • Pre-Fricative Lengthening - BATH Broadening and cloth Raising • Yod Dropping • Long Mid Diphthonging

6. Some evidence that the original change was blocked by preceeding bilabial: thus cut but not put (but putt, punter) rush but not butcher (but but, butter, much)

8. blood good

9. More words in this group: • mood boot doom root tooth roof food • good book shook took look foot wood stood • blood flood • This group of words includes many words now spelt with single o: • mother, brother, other Many of these words have the vowel ó in Icelandic: móður góður blóð dóm rót fóður góður blóð fótur móðir bróðir Old English form: mód gód rót bóc fót blód flód móðor, bróðor, óðer

10. blood mother other good

11. Other strut words spelt with o instead of u were originally spelt with u: son come love < OE sunu, cuman, lufian - It may be that the spelling with o was a scribal device to make it easy to read the minims

12. sunu cuman blood mother other son come good blood mother other son come

13. http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/87/VARS/footstrut.html

14. More Prominent Processes • FOOT-STRUT Split • NURSE Merger • Pre-Fricative Lengthening - BATH Broadening and cloth Raising • Yod Dropping • Long Mid Diphthonging

16. http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/87/VARS/NurseMerger.html

17. In British accents, this did not happen if r was followed by a vowel: • hurry spirit very • In American accents a Second NURSE Merger has occurred: • hurry furry • And in Am. accents there have been other mergers of vowels before intervocalic r: • marry merry Mary

18. More Prominent Processes • FOOT-STRUT Split • NURSE Merger • Pre-Fricative Lengthening - BATH Broadening and cloth Raising • Yod Dropping • Long Mid Diphthonging

19. 1 lengthening only (BATH and CLOTH Lengthening) staff bath pass ask off cloth lost frost 2 phonemic splits: (BATH Broadening, CLOTH Raising) lexically inconsistent

20. Lexically inconsistent. • Leading eventually to: • BATH-TRAP Split • CLOTH-LOT Split

21. http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/87/VARS/trapbath.html

22. ( ) The TRAP vowel [æ] [a] [æ] [a] Old English 1000 ……………. Middle English 1500………….. Modern Southern English + American, S. Hemisphere… Modern Northern English + Scotland, Wales, Ireland …. [a] is the “Continental” a : der Mann, sandur, place, piazza, mañana …… Practice: æ a

23. More Prominent Processes • FOOT-STRUT Split • NURSE Merger • Pre-Fricative Lengthening - BATH Broadening and cloth Raising • Yod Dropping • Long Mid Diphthonging

24. Early Yod Dropping chute chew juice yew rude crew shrew grew blue flute flew glue

25. Generalized Yod Dropping

26. Later Yod Dropping is American:

27. For Yod Dropping and Yod Coalescence, see http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/87/VARS/YodEtc.html

28. More Prominent Processes • FOOT-STRUT Split • NURSE Merger • Pre-Fricative Lengthening - BATH Broadening and CLOTH Raising. • Yod Dropping • Long Mid Diphthonging

29. (GVS again):

33. http://www3.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/87/VARS/ LongMidDiph.html

34. Note that this variable may be combined with the Long Mid Mergers (last slide: Processes 1). LMM combines: pane and pain, daze and days, toeand tow ,nose and knows. Where LMM has NOT occurred, LMD may apply to only ONE of the pair. This means that we may have: - or other combinations (see Processes 1)

39. Divide: In N. Amer., Austral., etc.: A ridge or line of high ground forming the division between two river valleys or systems; a watershed; the Great (Continental) Divide, that of the Rocky Mountains; fig. a dividing or boundary line; spec. the boundary between life and death Wells uses the term to mean the juncture when British and American English began to go their separate ways.

40. p.211

41. WellsChapter 3 Middle English 1400 Wells 3.1 Residualisms "The Great Divide" 1600 Wells 3.2 British prestige innovations Wells 3.3 Some American innvoations Wells 3.4 Later British innvoations