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English Variety + Allophony

English Variety + Allophony. January 15, 2014. For Friday. Please take a stab at the following exercises from Chapter 2 of A Course in Phonetics before Wednesday: A 1-10 B 11-20 D 31-40 (American speaker) ( phonemic transcriptions) Here’s the online link:

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English Variety + Allophony

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  1. English Variety + Allophony January 15, 2014

  2. For Friday • Please take a stab at the following exercises from Chapter 2 of A Course in Phonetics before Wednesday: • A 1-10 • B 11-20 • D 31-40 • (American speaker) • (phonemic transcriptions) • Here’s the online link: • http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter2/exercises.htm • This will be a practice transcription exercise that we will go over together in class.

  3. 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 their American counterparts… • (for some, but not all, speakers) • Shift #1:  Unshifted: Unshifted: • Shift #2:  • There are also new shifts underway! • Shift #3:  “head” • Shift #4:  “hid” • Shift #5:  “hood”

  4. /u/-fronting • The final 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

  5. Moral of the Story #1 • Your phonemic system might be different from the “official” transcriptions in the book. • If you don’t believe what the book says, you may very well be right. • Pay attention to both your speech and the phonetic habits of those around you... • You might learn something!

  6. 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

  7. Corner Vowels

  8. X-Ray Videos

  9. The (American) Vowel Space

  10. The Canadian Shift, Diagrammed X

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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?

  14. 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

  15. 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…

  16. 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

  17. 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

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