Accent and Dialect Flashcards
Geordie: Lexis
Bairn = Child Canny = Nice Hyem = Home
Geordie: Grammatical variations
- The Geordie grammar also has a way of its own with pronouns like ‘our’ pronounced ‘wor’ and words like ‘youse’ for ‘you’.
- Some areas use the historic present where the suffix ‘s’ is added to all forms of the verb
- Sometimes the plural marker is omitted on a small set of nouns as in ‘30 year’.
- Use the demonstrative pronoun ‘them’ instead of ‘those’.
- Multiple negation in terms like ‘ I can’t do nothing’.
Geordie: Phonological variations
- Most Geordie constant sounds are similar to standard English except for the famous ‘r’ sound pronounced ‘plasrter’ which goes back to the old French.
- Unique pronunciation of negative verb phrases such as ‘divn’t’
- But it is like the vowel sounds that give Geordie it’s unique sounds with words like ‘toon’, ‘broon’, and ‘poond’.
- Geordie intonation patterns are also different with a rising expression at the end of many sentences.
Geordie: Attitudes to the dialect
The Geordie accent appears at the top of many polls in terms of friendliness (YouGov 2014 poll )
Geordie: Theory
- David Crystal: The division between the upper and ,lower classes isn’t as sharp as it used to be.
- Linguistic experts at Manchester Met University found evidence of a pan-regional ‘general northern english’ accent among middle class northerners.
- Julia Snell: Teeside, children used dialectal forms to assert status in local use.
Scouse: Lexis
- I’m made up = I’m pleased
- Bevvie = Beer
- Got a cob on = Mildly annoyed
Scouse: Grammatical variation
- Plural personal pronoun ‘you’ has a plural ‘s’ suffix to make ‘yous’.
- Double negatives are used ‘I haven’t seen nothing’.
- the pronoun ‘me’ is commonly used instead of the possessive pronoun ‘my’. (Eg.) ‘That’s me mother’.
- The past tense of ‘come’ is ‘come’ and the past tense of ‘do’ is ‘do’.
Scouse: Phonological variation
- Scouse speakers pronounce their /t/ and /k/ sounds in the middle and at the end of words as fricative sounds
- Deleting the /t/ and /h/ sounds at the ends of words is common
- ‘Bath’ is pronounced with the short ‘a’ vowel
Scouse: Attitudes to the Dialect
The Scouse accent appears at the bottom of many polls in terms of attractiveness and trustworthiness.
Scouse: Theory
- 2007 study by Coupland and Bishop: Scouse an Brummie rate lowly in the accent hierarchy
- Research by Stewart, Ryan, and Giles: Non-standard accents tended to be rated more highly for solidarity than status
- Kevin Watson: The accent is maintaining it has covert prestige
Brummie: Lexis
- Cob = Bread roll
- Bawling = Shout and scream at someone
- Ello / alright = hello
Brummie: Grammatical Variation
- Some older Brummie speakers mark the plural nouns with an ‘en’ for example, ‘housen’. This feature was broadly used in the Middle English period.
Brummie: Phonological variation
- The vowel ‘I’ is often replaces with ‘oy’. This is similar to most Irish accents.
- The short /u/ in words like ‘hut’ is often lengthened to an /oo/ sound.
- Frequently drop the /h/ form many words and also omit the /t/ from the ends of words occasionally
- Downward intonation at the end of sentences
Brummie: Attitudes to the Dialect
Brummie rates lowly in the accent hierarchy. for social attractiveness, accents such as standard English and Scottish are positively evaluated, whilst accents such as Brummie and South African were typically downrated. For prestige, Birmingham also rates poorly on this scale.
Brummie: Theory
- Steve Thorne: overseas visitors finding it ‘lilting and melodic’
- Coupland and Bishop: Scouse and Brummie rate lowly in the accent hierarchy
- Central Office of Information (COI): 2009 study found that Brummies don’t like to hear their own accents in government advertising.
- Giles: Matched Guise experiment, Brummie rated lowest for intelligence.
