English accents

7. Historical change (ii)

Innovations reflected in RP etc., but not

everywhere in Britain and not in most

American English

developments before /r/

beer beer and beard

biːr biːr biːrd

bɪər bɪər bɪərd

bɪə bɪər bɪəd

RP bɪə

GA bɪr

RP bɪəd

GA bɪrd

developments before /r/

beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury

biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr

Pre-r breaking

biːər tʃeːər moːər ʃuːər

Pre-schwa laxing

bɪər tʃɛər mɔər ʃʊər

r dropping

farmer

ˈfɑːrmər

ˈfɑːmə

developments before /r/

beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury

biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr

biːər tʃeːər moːər ʃuːər

bɪər tʃɛər mɔər ʃʊər

r dropping

bɪə tʃɛə mɔə ʃʊə

resisted in rhotic accents

developments before historical /r/

beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury

biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr

biːər tʃeːər moːər ʃuːər

bɪər tʃɛər mɔər ʃʊər

bɪə tʃɛə mɔə ʃʊə

monophthonging

bɪː tʃɛː mɔː (ʃʊː)

BATH broadening

æ → ɑː / _ [-voi +fric]bæθ → bɑːθ

Some words resisted this change: math(s), mass, tassel, dash. Compare class-classic, pass-passage.

Others were coined or borrowed later: gas.

bath vs. math(s), castle vs. tassel, pass vs. gas

This change was resisted in the north of England as well as in north America.

pass, glass, grass, staff, raft, laugh, bath, path, after, castle

TRAP-BATH split

æ → ɑː / _ n [-voi -son +cor]slænt → slɑːnt

Some words resisted this change: ant, cant, manse, cancer, cancel; stand, grand, ample

aunt vs. ant, answer vs. cancer, example vs. ample

These words also retained /æ/ in the Leeward Islands and in most of Australia.

slant, grant, aunt, can't, dance, chance, answer, chancel, branch, ranch; also demand, Alexander, example

lexical incidence: BATH words

• typical southern accent

TRAP æBATH ɑːSTART ɑː

gas, pass, farce

æ ɑː ɑː

• typical northern accent

TRAP aBATH aSTART aː

gas, pass, farce a a aː

resisted in Scotland and Ireland and (for a time) in North America

(in educated speech in London by 1800)

suffix vowel weakening

cemetery ˈsemɪteri → ˈsemɪtəri → ˈsemɪtri

testimony ˈtestɪmoʊni → ˈtestɪməni

suffix vowel weakening

Discuss

necessary

February

ordinary

suffix vowel reduction?

• The ending -ary is reverting to a strong vowel

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necessary

February

ordinary

suffix vowel stressed!

• In -arily, the suffix vowel is becoming not only strong but stressed

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10%

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b. -1933 1934-1953 1954-1973 since 1973