English accents
6. Historical change (i)
final [g] after [ŋ]
sɪŋg
compare
ˈsɪŋgɪŋg
ˈsɪŋgə
[g] retained in northwest England, lost elsewhere
ˈfɪŋgə
the sound [x]
loch lɒx, lɒk
The phoneme /x/ remains in
Scottish English but has
disappeared from English English
Bach bɑːx, bɑːk
(German [bax])
…though sometimes
used in foreign words
loss of [x]
x→f
x → zero
cough, rough, laugh…
high, bough, daughter…
Loughborough ˈlʌfbərə
x→θ
Keighley
x→ʃ
Greenhalgh
long mid mergers
pane peːn
pain peɪn
toe
tow
fall together
late leːt
eight eɪt
toː
toʊ
fall together
nose
noːz
knows noʊz
distinction remains in parts of Wales
and the north of England
long mid diphthonging
face feːs  feɪs
day
deɪ
goat goːt  goʊt ( gəʊt)
monophthongs remain in parts of the north of
England, and in Wales, Scotland and Ireland; also
in the Caribbean, and in Indian and African English
FOOT-STRUT
put
pʊt
cut
kʊt  kʌt
split
full
fʊl
dull
dʊl  dʌl
Except in the north of England, /ʊ/ and /ʌ/
have become separate phonemes
strong short vowel systems
• typical southern system
(6 vowels)
KIT
ɪ
FOOT
• typical northern system
(5 vowels)
KIT
ɪ
FOOT-STRUT
ʊ
DRESS
e
STRUT
DRESS
ʌ
æ
TRAP
ʊ
ɒ
LOT
ɛ
TRAP
a
ɒ
LOT
NURSE
merger
serve
sɛrv  sɝːv ( sɜːv)
curve
kʊrv  kʌrv
 kɝːv ( kɜːv)
These vowels remain
distinct in Scottish and
some Irish English
pearl pɛrl  pɝːl
curl
kʊrl  kɝːl