Chapter: Geographical Varieties and Accents of English

Question 1

1. Explain the notion of received pronunciation.

Answer 1

When British English is taught the accent presented as a model for the learner will be Received Pronunciation.
- Received in the sense of ‘accepted in the best society’ (19th century)
- RP remains an indicator of social status, better education
- Originally from London, nowadays it is a social accent

Question 2

2. What are the three types of Received pronunciation? Explain/describe each type.

Answer 2

1. General:
   - Found in most books describing British English
   - found in dictionaries
   - taught to foreign learners
2. Conservative:
   - also called Refined RP
   - considered to be posh and is associated with upper-class
   - is viewed as affected, used mainly by older speakers
3. Regional:
   - General RP accent with the inclusion of regional markers
   - reflect geographical rather than social variation

Question 3

3. Name and explain at least three tendencies in modern general RP (Received Pronunciation).

Answer 3

1. Loss of j
   In sequences /s(j)u:/, /z(j)u:/ and /l(j)u:/, /j/ tends to disappear
   Example
   Susan /’su:zn/
2. Monophthongization of diphthongs
   Diphthongs /eə/, /ιə/, /ʊə/ tend to be monophthongized into /ɛ:/, /ɪ:/, /ɔ:/
   Example
   Here /hɪ:/
3. Replacement of /t/ by /?/ before consonants
   Consonant /t/ tends to be replaced by a glottal stop /?/ before consonants
   Example
   Not now /nɒ? ‘naʊ/

Question 4

4. Give at least three pronunciation differences between the Cockney dialect and RP (Received Pronunciation)

Answer 4

1. /h/ dropping/
   Word-initial consonant /h/ is dropped in all words
   Example
   Heavy /’evi/
2. Replacement of /t/ and /k/ by a glottal stop
   In Cockney, glottal stop /?/ is used instead of /t/ and /k/ in all syllable-final positions
   Example
   Water /’wɔ:?ɐ/
3. Diphthongization of Monophthongs /i:/ and /u:/
   Monophthongs /i:/ and /u:/ tend to be diphthongized in Cockney to /əi/ and /əu/
   Example:
   Tea /təi/

Question 5

5. Where is the Estuary accent spoken? Give at least one feature distinguishing the Estuary accent from general received pronunciation.

Answer 5

The Estuary accent is spoken in the area of Thames Estuary.
- It is a mixture of RP and local accents (especially Cockney)
- it is both a social and regional accent
1. Diphthong shift
General RP diphthongs /eɪ/, /aɪ/ and /əʊ/ are pronounced as /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/ and /aʊ/
Example
Day /daɪ/

Question 6

6. Give at least two vowel-related, two consonant-related, and two stress-related features distinguishing the General American Accent(GA) from the General Received pronunciation(RP).

Answer 6

Vowel-related features:
1. Pronouncation of BrE /ɑ:/
In GA can be pronounced in 2 ways:
a) /æ:/ dance /dæ:ns/
b) /ɑ:/ car /kɑ:r/
2. Pronounciation of BrE /ʌ/
In GA can be pronounced in 2 ways:
a) /ʌ/ up /ʌp/
b) /ə/ worry /wəri/
ə sa píše s čiarkou za ním, vyzerá ako malé L
Consonant-related features
1. Pronouncation of /r/
In RP, /r/ is pronounced only when followed by a vowel, e.g rat
In GA, the letter /r/ is always pronounced and it can function either as a vowek or a consonant, e.g teacher
2. Quality of /r/ in RP and GA
The consonant /r/ has different quality in BrE and AmE:
a) In RP it is pronounced as a retracted postalveoral approximant
b) in GA it can be pronounced either as a retroflex approximant or a bunched approximant
Stress-related features
1. 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate
-Have stress on second syllable in BrE but on first one in AmE
Example
Dictate (BrE) /dɪk’teɪt/
Dictate (AmE) /’dɪkteɪt/
2. Some words have a different stress pattern in AmE and BrE
Example
Weekend (BrE) /,wi:k’end/
Weekend (AmE) /’wi:kend/