British accents and dialects Flashcards
what is language
a system of communication between humans
what are varieties of language
different idiosyncratic and nuanced subforms and styles
in what three ways are varieties of language distinguished
- phonology
- lexis
- grammar
what is an accent
way we pronounce words
what is a dialect
variety distinguished by social group or geographical location
what is an idiolect
variety used by individual speakers
what is a sociolect
variety used by a particular social group
what are the two historical influences of the Northern Irish accent
- Scotland
- The English North and Midlands
what are the features of the Northern Irish accent
- pronounced rhotic R on words ending with letter R
- a tight, rigid mouth makes the ‘ow’ vowel sound shorter and less round than other English accents
- use definitive words/phrases
- distinct rhythm in speech
- melodious intonation
key features of cockney accent
- Glottal stop
- H dropping
- replacement of /th/ with /v/
- back slang
- humorous rhyming slang
what is a vernacular accent
dialect used by a group of people
what is a register
variety of language used in certain contexts
what is a regiolect
variety of language restricted to a specific region
what is an ethnolect
variety of language used by a particular ethnic group
what is a Genderlect
variety of language related to a specific gender
what does David Crystal say is the value of accent
accents have a more important value than other indicator of your identity
when did representation of accent first appear in literature
- Shakespeare had mainly lower-class characters use accents
- Chaucer
when and why did people start making judgement about accents
middle of the 18th century as it was the century of correction and manners
According to Observer newspaper, what accents do 80% of business managers say are used by people who are unreliable
- Birmingham
- Glasgow
what is the accent we associate with university and the BBC
received pronounciation
when did RP become dominant
19th century and became known in the 20th century due to the BBC
why do people have mixed accents
- mobility
- influence
what’s a key feature of accents
they change every day
what is the phenomenon of an individual’s accent variation called
the accomadation theory
what is convergence
when accents become similar when speaking to others
what is divergence
when accents start to differ more when speaking to others
how have attitudes to RP changed
- RP had positive attitudes, it was more authoritative and educated
- but in the present, RP is considered posh, ‘untrustworthy’ and distant
what’s the most popular accents for telesales according to Crystal
- Edinburgh-Scots
- Yorkshire
what is Estuary English
the accent of the River Thames Estuary that lowly spread
what is the geographical location of RP
- RP isn’t tied to geographical location
- anyone can speak RP if they want
- very small percentage of people use it
how is RP compared to other accents
- RP is an accent of prestige
- it’s valued above others in matters of power and influence in society
what is a monophthong
vowel sound that remains constant throughout it realisation
what is a diphthong
vowel sound that changes slightly throughout its realisation
what alphabet is English written in and the effect of this
Roman alphabet and so there aren’t enough sound-letter correspondences
what are some stereotypes about the north
- friendly
- cheap
- cold
- rural
what are some stereotypes about the south
- unfriendly
- posh
- expensive
- urban
when did the original north-south divide begin
arose in the ninth century, after a peace treaty between the Danes and the Anglo-Saxons, which created a territorial border
what is the foot/strut distinction
- foot vowel for words like full, look, could
- strut vowel /A/ for words like cub, rub, hum
what was the findings of Petyt 1985
lower the social class, more frequent h-dropping
what was the findings of Labov 1963
language change is a process, as the more dialectal centralised /ay/ and /aw/ diphthongs becoming more frequent
when and why did RP start
- 18th century - the Industrial Revolution
- 19th century - railroad expansion
both of these factors led to social mobility - schools taught in RP
how has RP affected Scottish English
- 17th century there was adjustment of Scots to English
- Scots looked to English as a model of speech
- many English people moved to Scotland
how has the Queens English changed
- glottal stop
- l-vocalisation
- contemporary English
what is l-vocalisation
the /l/ turns into a vowel or semivowel
different reactions to the Queens English
- beautiful
- snobby
- outdated
what features are younger speakers bringing into English
- glottal stops
- l-vocalisation
what are some arguments for RP usage
- it’s beautiful
- easily understood
- frequently heard in media
- overt prestige
- basis of linguistic treatments of English pronunciation
- used in EFL teaching materials
what are some arguments against RP usage
- saying it’s beautiful is based on social prejudice
- many can’t distinguish RP from other accents
- difficult to acquire because of the amount of diphthongs
- its necessary to expose students to both RP and other accents
what is code-switching
when speakers switch between different language varieties, conveying different meanings in the process
what is Pidgin English
speakers of one or more languages come together and the lack of a common language results in an amalgamation of features
- has extremely simplified grammar
what is Creole
next step for Pidgin and its usually developed when children of Pidgin speakers expand the vocabulary and grammar features until its a fully functioning language
who is responsible for most of what we know about attitudes to English accents
Howard Giles
what did Howard Giles discover about RP
- associated with being competent, reliable and educated
- but also with being unfriendly, insincere and less persuasive
what is a common association with RP due to American films
in American sci-fi and horror films, RP was used by menacing characters
what does Trudgill (2000) say about dialects
distinguishes traditional dialects and mainstream dialects
- traditional dialects are very different from mainstream dialects and the population of people who use this accent is growing smaller
- mainstream dialects include standard English + mainstream non-standard English dialects
what is standard British English
- dominant variety of English
- characterised as the accepted, formal variety we use in writing
- dialect
what did Milroy & Milroy discover
a speakers idiolect is determined in part by their social network, rather than only being due to their social groups
what is dialect levelling
dialect losing the marked features they once had over time
- occurs due to the contact between dialects
- dialects don’t lose features, one feature must be replaced by another
