Pronunciation edit
![[]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Parentesi_Quadre.svg/30px-Parentesi_Quadre.svg.png){kind=small}
Vowels edit
- TRAP is pronounced as a more central [æ̈].[1] In [some circumstances], it can be lengthened, for example Cardiff English has bad, bag, mad and man pronounced as [aː].[2] In Powys, a pronunciation resembling its New Zealand and South African analogue is sometimes heard, i.e. trap is pronounced /trɛp/[3]
- The START vowel is often pronounced as an open central unrounded vowel [ɑ̈ː][4] and more often as a long open front unrounded vowel /aː/[3] In Cardiff, broader accents are typically raised [æː], with a nasal realisation [æ̃ː] being frequent.[5][6]
- In northern varieties, like female speakers of Geordie, the THOUGHT–GOAT merger may occur, where they merge into /ɔː/ (phonetically [oː]).[7]
Short monophthongs edit
- The vowel of end /ɛ/ is a more open vowel and thus closer to cardinal vowel [ɛ] than RP[1]
- In Cardiff, the vowel of "kit" /ɪ/ sounds slightly closer to the schwa sound of above, an advanced close-mid central unrounded vowel [ɘ̟][1]
- The vowel of "bus" /ʌ/ is pronounced [ɜ][9] and is encountered as a hypercorrection in northern areas for foot.[3] It is sometimes manifested in border areas of north and mid Wales as an open front unrounded vowel /a/ or as a near-close near-back rounded vowel /ʊ/ in northeast Wales, under influence of Cheshire and Merseyside accents.[3]
- The schwa tends to be supplanted by an /ɛ/ in final closed syllables, e.g. brightest /ˈbrəitɛst/. The uncertainty over which vowel to use often leads to 'hypercorrections' involving the schwa, e.g. programme is often pronounced /ˈproːɡrəm/[10]
Long monophthongs edit
- In broader varieties, particularly in Cardiff, the vowel of bird is similar to South African and New Zealand, i.e. a mid front rounded vowel [ø̞ː][11]
Diphthongs edit
- Most Welsh dialects do not have toe–tow or pain–pane mergers, resulting in diphthongs such as /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ when they are spelt with ⟨i⟩/⟨y⟩ or ⟨u⟩/⟨w⟩ respectively, otherwise they are monothphongs /eː/ and /oː/. An example that illustrates this distinction is the Abercraf pronunciation of play-place [ˈpleɪˌpleːs].[12] However, Cardiff English has lost these distinctions; both possessing a closer out-glide: [ei, ə̝u].[13]
- Fronting diphthongs tend to resemble Received Pronunciation, apart from the vowel of bite that has a more centralised onset [æ̈ɪ][14]
- Backing diphthongs are more varied:[14]
- The vowel of low in RP, other than being rendered as a monophthong, like described above, is often pronounced as [oʊ̝]
- The word town is pronounced with a near-open central onset [ɐʊ̝]
- Welsh English is one of few dialects where the Late Middle English diphthong /ɪu/ never became /juː/. Thus you /juː/, yew /jɪʊ̯/, and ewe /ɪʊ̯/ are not homophones in Welsh English.
Consonants edit
Consonants in all Welsh dialects are generally the same as RP, however they each have their own unique characteristics:
- Two Welsh consonants, [ɬ] and [x], are encountered in loanwords such as Llangefni and Harlech.[15][16][17]
- In the north-east, under influence of such accents as Scouse, ng-coalescence does not take place, so sing is pronounced as /sɪŋɡ/.[18]
- Rhoticity is largely uncommon, apart from some speakers in Port Talbot, whose NURSE vowel is pronounced as [əɾ ~ əɹ][19] and accents influenced by Welsh.[20]
- Like Scottish English and some South African accent, there is a tendency towards a tapped r ([ɾ]) instead of an approximant ([ɹ]) (which is the realisation in most accents in England).[21][15][22]
- In northern varieties influenced by Welsh, pens and pence merge into /pɛns/ and chin and gin into /dʒɪn/[16]
- Some gemination between vowels is often encountered, e.g. money is pronounced [ˈmɜn.niː][16]
- Also in northern accents, /l/ is frequently strongly velarised [ɫː]. In much of the south-east, clear and dark L alternate much like they do in RP[23]
References edit
- ^ a b c "English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change - Google Books". Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
- ^ Collins & Mees (1990), pp. 93–94.
- ^ a b c d "A Handbook of Varieties of English: CD-ROM. - Google Books". Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
- ^ "English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change - Google Books". Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
- ^ Coupland (1988:26–27), citing Wells (1982:373)
- ^ Collins & Mees (1990), pp. 95–96.
- ^ Wells 1982, p. 387.
- ^ Coupland & Thomas 1990, p. 95.
- ^ "English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change - Google Books". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bare_url_cwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change - Google Books". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
- ^ Coupland & Thomas 1990, p. 134.
- ^ Collins & Mees 1990, p. 97.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
google1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Connolly (1990), p. 121.
- ^ a b c Crystal (2003), p. 335.
- ^ Wells (1982), p. 389.
- ^ Wells (1982), p. 390.
- ^ Connolly (1990), pp. 121, 125.
- ^ Coupland (1990), p. 257.
- ^ Collins & Mees (1990), p. 91.
- ^ Tench (1990), p. 131.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
google2was invoked but never defined (see the help page).