Understanding Phonetic Differences in Language Accents

1. English accents 9. Comparing pronunciation differences

2. Two approaches to a typology of accents • 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 (i) ˈfɑːrmər (ii)ˈfɑːmə r > Ø / _C and _|| ˈfɑːrmər > ˈfɑːmə farmer

3. Trubetzkoy 1931 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.

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. Two approaches to a typology of accents • 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 (i) ˈfɑːrmər (ii)ˈfɑːmə r > Ø / _C and _|| ˈfɑːrmər > ˈfɑːmə farmer

14. The historical/generativist approach • 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

15. The historical/generativist approach • 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

16. Disadvantages of the historical/generativist approach • 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)