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English Variety + Allophony

English Variety + Allophony. September 18, 2013. A Word of Caution. The vowel system of English can vary greatly from one dialect to another. Ex: the vowels of Canadian English have shifted away from the General North American standard… (for some, but not all, speakers) Shift #1:.

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English Variety + Allophony

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  1. English Variety + Allophony September 18, 2013

  2. A Word of Caution • The vowel system of English can vary greatly from one dialect to another. • Ex: the vowels of Canadian English have shifted away from the General North American standard… • (for some, but not all, speakers) • Shift #1: • Shift #2: • Examples:

  3. /u/-fronting • The third element of the shift involves the “fronting” of the vowel /u/. • Compare: • Los Angeles • Saskatoon • Note that not every Canadian does this. • Calgary • Also note that North American vowel systems are diverging: • Chicago • Saskatoon • New York City Source: http://accent.gmu.edu

  4. What’s Going On? • Vowel articulations can be characterized along four dimensions: • Height (of tongue body) • high, mid, low • Front-back (of tongue body) • front, central, back • Roundedness (of lips) • rounded vs. unrounded • “Tenseness” • tense/lax

  5. Corner Vowels

  6. X-Ray Videos

  7. The (American) Vowel Space

  8. The Canadian Shift, Diagrammed X

  9. Further Observations • In the Canadian vowel shift: • However, this rule only applies to native . • For borrowed words,  [a] or [æ] • For example: • pasta • Mazda • gracias • garage • Also note: William Shatner.

  10. Moral of the Story #2 • Phonology is important. • Sounds exhibit patterns in a language. • Remember: • Specific allophones of a phoneme often emerge in specific phonetic contexts. • Ex: the flap in English. • appears when /t/ or /d/ precede an unstressed syllable • metal metallic • The production of specific allophones is often specified by phonological rule.

  11. Patterns • There is an interesting rule regarding the production of in some English dialects. • Compare Canadian English with English English • CEEE “care” “park” “read” “other” “ride” “carrot” “cart” • Do you see any patterns?

  12. The Rules • In English English: • surfaces as when it precedes vowels • Examples: read, carrot • surfaces as when it appears at the end of a syllable or word • Examples: care, other • makes a preceding vowel long when it appears before a consonant in the same syllable • Examples: park, cart

  13. Rhotic vs. Non-Rhotic • Note: English is divided up between “rhotic” dialects and “non-rhotic” dialects • rhotic: appears everywhere • non-rhotic: disappears, sometimes • Rhotic dialects: • Canadian English, General American, Irish English, Scots English… • Non-Rhotic dialects: • English English, Australian English, some areas of the American East Coast…

  14. Overheard in New York • Old lady with heavy accent, pointing to a closed store: • What’s that? • Young lady: I’m not sure. • Old lady: Is that a pahwn shop? • Young lady (startled): No, that looks like a pawn shop… • Old lady: That’s what I said--a pahwn shop. • Young lady (relieved): Ohhh, I thought you said ‘porn shop’! • Old lady: No, I said, ‘pahwn’, not ‘pahwn.’ • Young lady: Oh, you say them exactly the same! Source: www.overheardinnewyork.com

  15. Overheard in New York Old lady: I do? Young lady: Yeah! Saw ‘aw.’ Old lady: Ahw. Young lady: Now say ‘or.’ Old lady: Ahw. Young lady: No, it’s orrr. With an R. Old lady: That’s what I said -- ‘ahw’. Source: www.overheardinnewyork.com

  16. Vowel Systems before , part 1 • Rhotic dialects vary in the number of vowel distinctions that can be made before . • System 1: five vowels fear Coors weary fare four wary lorry far sorry • No distinctions between: Also: no or ‘fur’

  17. Vowel Systems before , part 2  System 2: four vowels fear weary fare four, Coors wary lorry far sorry • Also missing distinction: • Only four vowel phonemes: • /i/ /o/ • /e/ /a/

  18. Vowel Systems before , part 3  (Canadian) System 3: five (?) + three vowels fear Coors weary fare four wary lorry, sorry far  (Canadian) System 4: five (?) + two (?) vowels fear Coors weary, wary fare four lorry, sorry far

  19. Vowel Systems before , part 4  System 5: lots of vowels before fear Coors weary lurid fare four Mary lorry far merry Murray marry sorry

  20. Canadian Raising • Another characteristic of Canadian English is the “raising” of the first part of the diphthongs and . • In both cases, [a]  • “Raising” because low  mid • This happens only in certain sound environments: • “out” “loud” • “write” “ride” • “pipe” “bribe” • “like”

  21. Canadian Raising (Canadian) Jon (American) Steve “house” “howl” “bike” “bile” • For fun: switch Jon’s vowels in “bike” and “bile” • Also compare: • (Canadian) Aaron: • (American) Steve: • And, lastly, (Canadian?) Amber:

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