English accents
12. British and American English
• shared development until c. 1750
• thereafter: reciprocal influence,
particularly since c. 1930
(talkies, radio, TV, travel)
• spelling
• grammar
• vocabulary
NO r dropping
farmer
ˈfɑːrmər
>
ˈfɑːmə
>
ˈfɑːrmɚ
NO r dropping
beer, square, north,
nurse, persuade, farmer,
standard
bɪr, skwɛr, nɔrθ,
nɝs, pɚˈsweɪd, ˈfɑrmɚ,
ˈstændɚd
NO BATH broadening
æ → ɑː / _ [-voi +fric]
bæθ → bɑːθ
pass, glass, grass, staff, raft, laugh, bath, path, after, castle
Compare class-classic, pass-passage.
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 the marmalade
RP:
ˈpɑːs ðə ˈmɑːməleɪd
GA:
ˈpæs ðə ˈmɑːrməleɪd
scarf, staff, stand, command, alarmed
GA: skɑrf, stæf, stænd, kəˈmænd, əˈlɑrmd
LOT unrounding
a bottle of Scotch
ə ˈbɒtl əv ˈskɒtʃ
>
ə ˈbɑ(ː)tl
əv ˈskɑ(ː)tʃ
loss of distinctive length
big
[bɪ(ː)g]
God
[gɑ(ː)d]
manner
[ˈmæ(ː)nɚ]
bother
[ˈbɑ(ː)ðɚ]
father
[ˈfɑ(ː)ðɚ]
Hello, Dali!
stop and start
RP:
GA:
ˈstɒp ən ˈstɑːt
ˈstɑp ən ˈstɑrt
developments before /r/
RP
bɪə
RP
bɪəd
GA
bɪr
GA
bɪrd
beer
beer and
beard
biːr
biːr
biːrd
bɪr
bɪr
bɪrd
NO centring diphthongs in GenAm
AmE developments before /r/
beer, beard
chair, Mary
more, force
sure, jury
biːr
tʃeːr
moːr
ʃuːr
bɪr
tʃɛr
mɔr
ʃʊr
>
serious
ˈsɪriəs
nearer, mirror
sharing
ˈʃɛrɪŋ
herring
ʃɝ
AmE developments before /r/
in many varieties,
æ (TRAP) and ɛ (DRESS, SQUARE)
merge before /r/
merry Mary married hairy Harry
ˈmɛri ˈmɛri ˈmɛrid ˈhɛri ˈhɛri