Phonological Change Flashcards
1
Q
List the examples of phonological change:
A
- increased use of the ‘schwa’
- ‘th’-fronting
- ‘in’-endings
- ‘RP’ toning down
- uptalk
- great vowel shift (C14th - C18th)
2
Q
Explain how the increased use of ‘schwa’ is an example of phonological change
A
- increasingly used in present day English, e.g. ‘about - uhbout, balance - balunce’.
- makes it easier to articulate sounds.
3
Q
What is ‘th’-fronting?
A
- some speakers replace the ‘th’ sound with ‘f’, saying ‘fink’ rather than ‘think’.
- this is a feature of Estuary English, based in East London.
- cockney
4
Q
Explain the use of ‘ing’ endings before the C19th
A
- before C19th ‘ing’ was pronounced as ‘in’ (like in many regional accents today), even by mid/upper classes.
5
Q
Explain toning down / decreasing popularity of RP (Received Pronunciation)
A
- RP: the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in South England, widely accepted as standard elsewhere.
- in the 1960s, with working class teens going to uni and the emergence of celebs with regional accents, RP lost some desirability.
6
Q
What is uptalk?
A
- when a declarative is said as though it is a question.
- since early 90s, uptalk has increased.
- may be due to influence of media, not wanting to sound aggressive.
- e.g. Marylin Monroe
7
Q
What was the Great Vowel Shift?
A
- C14th - C18th.
- long vowels of Middle English changed significantly, from ‘long’ to ‘short’.
- whilst English spelling was becoming standardised, pronunciation was changing, e.g. ‘speck’ to ‘speak’, ‘nam’ to ‘name’.
- degree of shifts can be noticed in regional dialects.
E.g. South vs North
8
Q
What is functional theory and give an example
A
- Halliday suggests language changes in order to suit needs of users.
9
Q
What is convergence and give an example.
A
- changing how you speak in order to fit into a social group, e.g. using the word ‘mate’ or ‘fam’.
- Mick Jagger converged to put on a ‘pop star’ persona, accent sounded lower class but came from a middle class background.
- politicians nowadays converge and avoid RP accents to sound relatable.
10
Q
What is divergence and give an example
A
- using language in order to stand out by changing the way they speak, e.g. teens wanting to be seen as different to their parents.
- Margaret Thatcher had speaking coaches to teach her to speak at a lower pitch.
11
Q
List the factors which influence people to change the way they speak:
A
- convergence
- divergence
- social factors
- upwards convergence
- American English (influences British English pronunciation)
12
Q
How might social factors influence the way people speak?
A
- people adapt the way they speak depending on the context of the situation.
- we may imitate the speech of people we admire or respect in some way.
- we may use a different accent or speak in a different way with our parents compared to when we are speaking with our friends.
13
Q
What is upward convergence?
A
- moving your lang / accent closer to RP, e.g. job interviews, public speeches etc.
14
Q
What is MLE?
A
- multicultural London English
- a youth dialect, a social etc (the dialect of a particular social class).
- originated from a combination of racial backgrounds: Carribean, Asia, Greece, Africa.
15
Q
What are features of MLE?
A
- (h) dropping is slowly dying down, e.g. not many people saying ‘ot’ (hot), ‘eating’ (heating), or ‘ere’ (here).
- monophthongs, e.g. (/eI) ‘Pay, way, take’.
- /u/ tongue is positioned to front of the mouth, e.g. Do yOU know whO’s dOing the fOOd -> sounds French.
- MLE started moving to Kent and the Kent accent started disappearing.
