5-1 GA Flashcards
Vowels, Phonemic features
BATH TRAP
BATH – TRAP merger: no opposition = both /æ/
Phonetically: with regional, social-stylistic and
positional variation, subject to raising and
tensing to [ɛː] → (bat)
Vowels, Phonemic features
LOT THOUGH
For some speakers: LOT – THOUGHT merger
(often called COT-CAUGHT merger)
unrounding, with a [ɑː] quality
- With a [ɔː] quality
Vowels, Realisational features
DRESS
DRESS is clearly [ɛ], not [e],
even for older speakers
Vowels, Realisational features
LOT
LOT: no labialisation / no (lip-) rounding
[ɑː]
Older speakers: [ɔ]
→ same with plot, job, province, mockery..
Vowels, Realisational features
CLOTH & THOUGHT
CLOTH and THOUGHT: main realisation is [ɔː]
But [ɑː] seems to be gaining ground
(particularly for THOUGHT because of the LOT – THOUGHT merger?).
→ law, cause, taught, author
Vowels, Realisational features
MOUTH
MOUTH can be [aʊ] or [æʊ]
[æʊ] is gaining ground
→ out, round, pronounce
Vowels, Realisational features
GOAT
GOAT has a rounded first element: [oʊ]
Consonants
Rhoticity and /r/
- GA is a rhotic accent: post-vocalic /r/ is pronounced: hard /ˈhɑːrd/
- Historically, this /r/ hasn’t disappeared as it has in most parts of England.
(The phonetic quality of /r/ is that of a retroflex approximant: like in Irish accents, there is more
retroflexion of the tongue than in an RP /r/. It is noted [ɻ] (vs. [ɹ] for the alveolar RP-type/r/).)
NURSE /ˈnɜːrs/ ~ [ˈnɜːɻs] dictionaries /nɝːs/
* START /ˈstɑːrt/ ~ [ˈstɑːɻt] dictionaries /stɑːrt/
* FORCE (& NORTH) /ˈfɔːrs/ ~ [ˈfɔːɻs] dictionaries /fɔːrs/
* lettER /ˈletər/ ~ [ˈ le əɻ]
Consonants
Rhoticity and /r/
- GA is a rhotic accent: post-vocalic /r/ is pronounced: hard /ˈhɑːrd/
- Historically, this /r/ hasn’t disappeared as it has in most parts of England.
(The phonetic quality of /r/ is that of a retroflex approximant: like in Irish accents, there is more
retroflexion of the tongue than in an RP /r/. It is noted [ɻ] (vs. [ɹ] for the alveolar RP-type/r/).)
NURSE /ˈnɜːrs/ ~ [ˈnɜːɻs] dictionaries /nɝːs/
* START /ˈstɑːrt/ ~ [ˈstɑːɻt] dictionaries /stɑːrt/
* FORCE (& NORTH) /ˈfɔːrs/ ~ [ˈfɔːɻs] dictionaries /fɔːrs/
* lettER /ˈletər/ ~ [ˈ le əɻ]
The rhoticity symbol / the rhoticity diacritic:
/˞/
→ /ɝ/ and /ɚ/
diphtongues centralisantes
/r/ and centring (GB) / centering (US) diphthongs
(les diphtongues centralisantes) : NEAR, SQUARE, CURE (RP: /ɪə, eə, ʊə/)
- Historically: no loss of /r/ in these diphtongs
NEAR [ˈnɪr] * SQUARE [ˈskwer] * CURE [ˈkjʊr]
- Note that its not impossible for a schwa [ə] to appear in the
pronunciation of certain speakers.
What type of process is flapping
a phonetic prOcess
Flapping in GA
[ɾ]
- /t/ is almost always realised as
an alveolar flap [ɾ] in a STRESSED SYLLABLE - between vowels (hitting)
- between /r/ & a vowel (better)
- between a vowel & a syllabic /l/ (letter)
- between words as linking (hatter)
symbol for flappig dico
Pronunciation dictionaries use
the symbol
[ t̬ ], as opposed to [ɾ]
Using [ t̬ ], is an exception as
they normally give phonemic
forms, not phonetic forms.
better → ˈbet̬ɚ
bitter → ˈbɪt̬ɚ
letter → ˈlɛt̬ɚ
hatter → ˈhæt̬ɚ
cat and mouse → ˈkæt̬ ən ‘maʊs
nt coalescence
(nt reduction)
I want to be free
I wanted
I want it
twenty
plenty
went away
nt coalescence
(nt reduction)
I want to be free → ˈwɑːnə
I wanted → ˈwɑːnɪd
I want it → ˈwɑːnɪʔ
went away → wen əˈweɪ
twenty → ˈtweni
plenty → ˈpleni
Problem with transcriptions in dictionaries
/l/
Dark /l/
Most GA speakers have [ɫ] (dark /l/) in all environments,
even in front of vowels.
Pill [ˈpɪɫ]
Like [ˈɫaɪk]
LATER YOD DROPPING
American innovation: /j/ elision is more generalised than in British English
/j/ elided after all coronal consonants (dental, alveolar, palatoalveolar)
Ex: tune, student, dune, new, numerous, enthusiasm, suit, presume,
lewd, allude
- /j/ remains after labials, velars and after /f, v/
ex : beauty, cute, few, viw
LATER YOD DROPPING exemple
news →
GA nu:z
GB ˈnjuːz
tune →
GA tu:n
GB ˈtjuːn
Various features
‘Weak’ endings
- Endings in <-ile> and <-ization> are « weak » in GA (vs. “strong” in RP)
→ missile, hostile
The <-ile> sequence is pronounced with /ɪl/ , /əl/ or /l/ -syllabic /l/ in GA
(vs aɪl in RP)
→ civilisation, realisation
<-ization> is /ɪˈzeɪʃn/ in GA (vs. /aɪˈzeɪʃn/ in RP)
‘Strong’ endings
Endings in <-ary, -ery, -ory, -ony> have a strong vowel in GA (vs. a weak
vowel in RP)
- momentary /ˈmoʊmənteri/ in GA (vs. /ˈməʊmənt(ə)ri/ in RP)
- cemetery /ˈseməteri/ in GA (vs. /ˈsemətri/ in RP)
- category /ˈkæt̬əɡɔːri/ in GA (vs. /ˈkætəɡ(ə)ri/ in RP)
- ceremony /ˈserəmoʊni/ in GA (vs. /ˈserəməni/ in RP
/w/ + <a></a>
After /w/, <a> is pronounced with /ɑː/ when it is not followed by /r/</a>
(e.g. war /ˈwɔːr/). The vowel does not exhibit lip rounding /
labialisation.
→ quality /ˈkwɑː/ (vs. /ˈkwɒ/ in RP)
→ watch /ˈwɑːtʃ/ (vs. /ˈwɒtʃ/ in RP).
Distributional / lexical- incidential features differences between British & AE
- these differences ar enumerous & complex
- they are complex because they are subject to change
- in the vast majority of cases, the change is towards the US preference
→ laboratory
GA laeˈbərtɔ:ri
GB ləˈbɒrətəri
→ schedule
GA ˈskedʒuːl
GB ˈʃɛdjuːl
→ privacy
GA ˈpraɪvəsi
GB ˈprɪvəsi
→ tomato
GA təˈmeɪtoʊ
GB təˈmɑːtəʊ
→ vitamin
GA ˈvaɪtəmɪn
GB ˈvɪtəmɪn
Suprasegmental features
High Rising Terminal is becoming very common in American
English (uptalk / upspeak).
- Rising intonation in declaratives, particulary with oung speakers (young women)
- it may sound as if a question has been asked
(HTR)
High Rising Terminal
