Contemporary Language Change (Phonological Change) Flashcards
What is phonological change
Change in the sound of English
What were accents like in early English
There were various regional accents which meant communication could be difficult and there was no one accent that everyone aspired to
Give an example of an Old English word
“Father”- a change in pronunciation of “ther”
Give an example of a Middle English book and the author
“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” by Chaucer
What was the great vowel shift
A major change in pronunciation in the 1400s. All long vowels changed their pronunciation and English was becoming standardised in the 15th & 16th century this has caused the spellings of English words.
Give an example of the great vowel shift
-i is always pronounced eg nice, dice
Who coined the term received pronunciation and when
Linguist AJ Ellis in 1869
What does received mean
Accepted or approved
Where did RP originate
In public schools and universities of 19th century Britain
What accent was RP based on
Accent of the south east midlands
What factors contributed to the growth in prestige of RP
When Lord Reith, g.m of the BBC adopted it in 1922 as a broadcasting standard now known as “BBC English”
What are the differences between RP pronunciations and those of the early 20th century
Use of glottal stops and other non-RP sounds by RP speakers
Give an examples of differences between RP pronunciations and those of the early 20th century
Early 20th- palace /e/, late 20th palace /ae/
Early 20th- black /e/, late 20th /ae/
How has the Queen’s speech altered from 20th to the 21st century
She is moving away from using RP to using more well known phrases today
According to David Crystal what does the future hold for RP
Prejudice of accents has changed as people see the regional accent as more down to earth and customer friendly
Why has RP changed in the last 20 years
Those who come from traditional RP background adapt regional features because they increase “street cred”
What regional features are now used by RP speaker
glottal stops, vocalisation of “L”, YOD, YOD dropping
What is Estuary English
A variety of modified regional speech of non regional and local South- Eastern English pronunciations and intonations. Result in the change of RP
What is the prescriptivist attitude towards phonological change
They criticise widespread use of glottal stops and non RP sounds
What is the descriptivist attitude towards phonological change
They see such language use as progressive language change
