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BBN-ANG-243 Advanced Phonology: Phonological Analysis

Variation, Accents

Kiss Zoltán / Szigetvári Péter / Törkenczy MiklósDept of English Linguistics, Eötvös Loránd University

(1) Topics discussed in this lecture

— Variation

— How do accents differ?

— some regional accents

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(2) Variability: categorical and non-categorical patterns

variation: different behaviour while some relevant conditions are identical only varieties exists

‘correctness’: no differences in value between variants

range of variation: any level of language may be involved

(3) Types of variation

(3.1) Free (unconditioned) variation vs. conditioned variation

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(3.1.1) Types of conditioned variation (conditioning factors)

(i) Time: synchronic vs. diachronic

jubilee 1935 Z!cYt9a?kh9\1977 Z$cYt9a?!kh9\

(ii) Space: regional accents

rhoticity (the distribution of .q.)

(iii) Social status: sociolects

rhoticity in New York City .q. (William Labov 1966)

variation across dept. stores: 'fourth floor' more prestigious/expensive > more rhotic

(iv) Others: style, gender, age, subject matter, medium, etc.

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(3.2) Intra-speaker variation (within the individual) vs. inter-speaker variation (within the community)

(3.3) Separation/interplay of factors

(i) free/conditioned & intra-speaker/inter-speaker

free conditioned

intra-speaker ugornak % ugranak pisi % pisa

inter-speaker Z$h9j?!mPlHj\ % Z$dj?!mPlHj\ Zj@9\ . Zj@9q\

(ii) social & regional

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(iii) social and gender (Labov's principles)

In a stable sociolinguistic stratification, men use a higher frequency of nonstandard forms than women.

In a change from a stable sociolinguistic stratification, women favour the incoming prestige forms morethan men.

(4) Variation in phonetics/phonology: accents. In what ways do accents differ?

(i) Inventory of phonemes may be different

(ii) realizational difference: allophones may be different

(iii) lexical distribution of phonemes may be different

(iv) phonotactics may be different

(v) morphophonological pattern (alternations) may be different

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non-rhotic accents: q can only occur before a V (post-lexical regularity)

rhotic accents: q can occur before V, C or 5

(5) Overview of some regional ( & some social) variation in English

(5.1) Rhoticity: rhotic and non-rhotic accents

_(#)V _ 5 _ (#)C

carry car is car card car that

non-rhotic q ! ! most of England, Australia, New Zealand, some US,

rhotic q q q most of US, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, some Engl.

intermediate systems ("semi rhotic"): some version of the non-rhotic pattern

réd, trúst, aróund ↔ cár/r/y, vér/y Upper South of US r Vstressed vs. r/ Vunstressed

bútter/ , pépper/ ↔ fár/e, stár/ North Yorkshire Vunstr r/ $ vs. Vstr r/ $

bar, better ↔ par/t, bear/d Jamaica r 5 vs. r/ C

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(i) within the US

PEAS The Pronunciation of English in the Atlantic States(1961)

blue lines (isoglosses) encircle rhotic areas

ANAE Atlas of North American English (2006)

bullets and stars: colours indicate frequency

! = non-rhotic

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(ii) in the UK (Scotland, Ireland, northwest ofWales = rhotic)

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(6) Regional variation in the British Isles (main vowel features)

(6.1) STRUT ZU\ and ZT\

North of England & Midlands

put ZoTs\ = putt ZoTs\

(one, none ZP\)

South & South Midlands

put ZoTs\ … putt ZoUs\

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(6.2) BATH ( ^ e+ S+ r ^ mC ): Z`\ and Z@9\

lex. set exx RP/South-east B North & Midlands A Scottish, N-Irish, South-west C

TRAP pat, bat, trap Z`\

Z`\

Z`\

BATH (a) dance, grant, demand

Z@9\BATH (b) path, laugh, grass

BATH (c) PALM

half, banana, can’t

Z@9\

START part, bar, start

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(6.3) FACE, GOAT: Long mid diphthonging

south-east, central south

diphthongal: ZdH+ DH\

elsewhere: SW England, far north of England,Wales, Scotland, Ireland

monophthongal: Zd9\

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(6.4) HAPPY

North Z!rHsH\

South Z!rHsh9\+ Z!rHsHi\

HAPPY = FLEECE

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(6.5) London Diphthong Shift FLEECE FACE PRICE CHOICE

MOUTH GOAT GOOSE

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(6.6) London: GOAT

ZPT . ?T\ ZPT . `T\

Popular London Cockney

_# Z?T\ Z`T\ go, toe, slow

_C….k. Z?T\ Z`T\ boat, road, most, bone

_k V Z?T\ Z`T\ POLAR, molar, Roland, cola

_.k.(#)C ZPT\ ZPT\ bold, shoulder, roll that

_.k. # ZPT\ ZPT\ roll, goal, bowl

_/k.#V ZPT\ ZPT\ ROLLER, rolling, goalie

_.k.##V ZPT\ ZPT\ roll about, hole in, pole axe, goal area

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(7) Something about regional variation in the US

(7.1) GenAm

Lexical set Gen/Trad BrE/CuBE: 4 groups AmE/GenAm: 3 groups

FORCE/NORTH N9 n9 N

THOUGHT N9 n9 @

LOT P N @

PALM @9 @9 @

START @9 @9 @

BATH @9 @9 z

TRAP z ` z

FORCE/NORTH before, boar, floor, sword, court, glory, memorial, ... / war, fork, fortune, order, warm, quart, ...

THOUGHT taught, daughter, bought, crawl, hawk, jaw, talk, walk, author, all, water, false, ...

LOT stop, Tom, honest, swan, knowledge, ...

PALM calm, balm, father, bra, ...

START part, bar, start, ...

BATH dance, grant, path, laugh, grass, half, banana, can't, ...

TRAP pat, bat, trap, man, hand, cancel, arrow, ...

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(7.2) MARRY=MERRY=MARY ZD\

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(7.3) New England English: BATH (GenAm Zz\(

conservative Boston Z@\ lexicalised Harvard, half, rather, aunt

lexicalised/variable last, dance

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(7.4) Southern American English

(i) Southern Shift PRIZE/PRICE `H = @9 `9 monophthongisation

FACE dH = Dh lowering

GOOSE t9 = | fronting

PRIZE/PRICE