BEYOND THE BRITISH ISLES NEW YORK ACCENT North

BEYOND THE BRITISH ISLES: NEW YORK ACCENT North America: along the Atlantic Coast The sharpest regional, social differences in speech The earliest European settlements the 13 colonies from 1776 came together to form the USA Isogloss: rans horizontally from East→West

THREE MAIN SPEECH AREAS IN THE (NORTH) EAST (Kurath, 1949) • Main differences in vocabulary (to a lesser extent, in morphology, syntax, pronunciation) • North: New England, NY state (NY city, Boston, Massachussets) • Midland: from middle Atlantic states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia • South: from Washington DC, Virginia, Carolinas

NORTH AMERICA • • By 1700 AC, most colonies had settled down The original settlers: 1) from England 2) Scots-Irish (Ulster) 3) Welsh 4)Germans In the South: closer bonds with England black slave labour From 18 th c: expansion: beyond the Appalachians : Ohio, Indiana, Illinois

Further classification of the American accents • 1)Eastern: non-rhotic; Boston, New England, NY city • 2)Southern: non-rhotic South • 3)Gen Am all areas that are NOT Eastern, NOT South; no marked local Eastern/Southern features - From Hudson Valley, Upstate NY, Pennsylvania • 20 th c: migration of: 1) Blacks from South→North and 2)Hispanics from Mexico, Puerto Rico

I) CANADA • English (2/3 as L 1), French, Scottish Gaelic, Eskimo, Amerindian • To a British, Canadians: just other Americans But Canadians WANT to be kept distinct from Am E; Canadians remained loyal to the British army when USA broke away. . • Main speech characteristics of Canadian E: • A) full rhoticity, B)flat-Bath accent C) t-voicing

Main features of Canadian speech • The most reliable diagnostic for distinguishing Canadians from Americans: • The starting point of PRICE, MOUTH wrds • The absence of THOUGHT vs LOT opposition ‘I saw the White House’: [aɪ ˈsɑ ðə ˈhwəɪt ˈhʌʊs] typical Canadian E: very homogeneous from Ottawa→Vancouver Even today: lots of influence from Britain but American style dominates Canadian media

Canadian English: main features Dialectologists: Canada: 3 dialect areas: A) New foundland B) Eastern Canada (Ontario) C) Western Canada Canadian English Vowels: ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʊ, ʌ, i, ei, aɪ, u, o, ɑʊ • LOT ɑ BATH æ NURSE ɜr=ɝ THOUGHT ɑ • STRUT ʌ CLOTH ɑ PALM ɑ GOAT o • • •

The Canadian consonants • Similar to Gen Am • T-voicing/D-tapping, so /t-d/: neutralised e. g. ? ?

The Canadian consonants • • • Examples of Canadian t-voicing/tapping: Matter-madder, petal – pedal, I hit it-I hid it Other features: /l/→[ɬ] in most positions wh→hw (in Ontario): whale[hweɪɬ], wale: [weɪɬ] Yod dropping : tune: [tu: n], duke: [du: k]

NEW YORK CITY • New York and London: rivals for world’s most populous English speaking city • New York: approximately 8 million • Distinct Am accent (in vowels, phonetic realization) • Unique in social stratification bcs of accent • Unlike other Am accents: serious judgments on pronunciation: two born+bred New Yorkers may have very distinct pronunciation (Hubbel, 1950)

Brooklynese/NY speech • NY: resembles Birmingham, Liverpool, London: no other Am city’s speech evolves such disapproval • NY accent: NO OVERT or even COVERT PRESTIGE • “NY city: a great sink of negative prestige” (Labov, 1966) • Except old Blacks, NO New Yorker had a positive attitude towards their native accent

NY: a disparaged speech • • For most Americans: NY an example to avoid No phonological innovations from NY Notable features of NY Speech: 1) (variable) non-rhoticity 2) quality of TRAP-BATH 3)CLOTH-THOUGHT 4)NURSE vowels 5) phonetic realisation of [t, d, ɵ, ð]

The vowel system of NY • ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʊ, i, eɪ, ɔɪ, ɑɪ, ɪʊ, əʊ, u, oʊ, ɪə, ɛə, æə, ɑə, ɜ, ʊə, ɔə • TRAP æ, æə, ɛə FLEECE i, ɪi MOUTH aʊ • LOT ɑ, ɑə PALM ɑə NEAR ɪ( r ) • STRUT ʌ THOUGHT ɔə SQUARE ɛə ( r ) • FOOT ʊ GOAT oʊ STARTɑə (r) ɑ (r) • BATH æə, ɛə GOOSE u, ɪʊ NORTH ɔə( r) • CLOTH ɔə PRICE ɑɪ FORCE ɔə HAPPY i • NURSE ɜ (r ) CHOICE ɔɪ CURE ʊə • any comments, which mergers?

The vowels NY • Diphthongal realisations of the monophthongs: CLOTH, THOUGHT, NORTH, FORCE: [ɔə] and BATH-TRAP: [æə, ɛə] and: • LOT-PALM, START: [ɑ, ɑə] • Other monophthongs: i→ɪi, u→ʊu • u: close to CV 8 but little lip roundness • The degree of diphthongization is greater in lower social classes

The vowels of NY • /u/ in ‘duke’, ‘new’, ‘tune’: [ɪʊ] • In BATH-TRAP wrds; (also) [ɛə]: common ‘bad’: [bɛəd]=‘bared’ • Saw=soar/sore: [ɔə] • God=guard: [gɑə] • [ɑɪ]: more back starting point in working class • ‘Night-time’: [nɑɪttɑɪm] like? ? • /i-ɪə/, /eɪ-ɛə/→ø/-l ‘reel’=‘real’ (ɪə) ‘Bailey’=‘barely (ɛə)

Some inconsistencies-oddities of NY speech • • ‘Durham’: [dʊərəm] ‘donkey’: [dʌŋki] ‘won’t’: [wʊnt] ‘forward’: [foʊwəd] ‘always’: [oʊweɪz] Also: variability in r-dropping Pressure from Standard/Gen Am to restore /r/

LABOV’S EXPERIMENT FOR RHOTICITY IN NY (1966) • 3 department stores checking the /r/ pronunciation in ‘fourth floor’ • Findings: social stratification: different for age groups • In the lowest class department store: fewer rs • More rhotic pronunciations in middle, upper social class but in middle class, rhoticity increased with age • In highest status: rhoticity decreased with age

Labov’s experiment • Follow-up experiment: in their evaluation of recorded acents: NYorkers below 40: favorable towards rhoticity • In careful, deliberate speech (read aloud): more rhoticity appeared but in casual speech: fewer rs • Linking, intrusive rs DO appear: [nɪə] but [nɪərə], [aɪdɪə] but: ðɪ aɪdɪərɪz… • Hypercorrections: *[aɪdɪər], *[lɔər] • /r/: post-alveolar, labialised, and retroflex

NY speech: vowels • Caricature for ‘thirty-third’: ‘toity-toid’ in NY • So, the NURSE vowel /ɜ/→[ɜɪ], [ɜ] or [ɝ] • CHOICE: [ɜɪ] ‘voice’: [vɜɪs], ‘join’: [dʒɜɪn] • [ɜɪ]: the most stigmatised NY city trait • Working/low-class: [ɜɪ], higher class: [ɔɪ] • BATH: [æ]→NY: [ɛə, ɪə], ‘bad: [bɛəd=bɪəd] low, white working class 3 way merger possible: ‘bared’-’beard’-’bad’

The NY vowels, consonants • • CLOTH –THOUGHT: [ɔə, o: ] lower class [ɔ: ə, ɔ: ]: upper mid class LOT, START: LOT lengthening: [ɑ: ] ALVEOLAR Cs: produced with the tongue blade /t, d/: velarised, pharyngalised Heavy aspiration/affrication in syllable initial, final position: ‘tin’, ‘din’: [tʰɪn], [dᶻɪn] [ʔ]: lower status[bɑʔļ], only occasionally V-V /ө, ð/: affriactes, or stops /өæŋks/→[ṱʰæŋks] d→[d] ‘there’: [dɛə( r )] • Any Nyorker who uses [t, d or tө, dð] for /ө, ð/ sporadically: a higher class, not manual worker; if used a lot: NOT gone to highschool

Other features of NY accent • Glide cluster reduction: ‘white’, ‘when’: [hwaɪt], [hwen]: NOT any more, rather [w] • ‘singer’, ‘long island’[sɪŋgə (r )], [lɔŋgaɪlənd] • L vocalisation : ‘sell’, ‘sold’ but NOT in ‘people’ In London: wider spectrum of l vocalisation l→[ɬ] V-V: ‘jelly’, ‘belly’

NEW ENGLAND: CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSSETS , RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT

NEW ENGLAND • Western part: Connecticut, Vermont: Gen Am • Eastern part: special features, substandard • Boston Mass: North Eastern New England: eastern Am pronunciation • Main pronunciation features of the East: • 1) r-less 2) BATH-broadening • Nowadays: lots of pressure from Gen Am for homogeneity • Eastern New England: no more sets the fashion/innovations

New England’s pronunciation features • • • LOT ɒ STRUT ʌ BATH a, æ CLOTH ɒ NURSE ɜ FLEECE i FACE eɪ PALM a THOUGHT ɒ GOAT o MOUTH aʊ NEAR iə SQUARE æə START a NORTH ɒ FORCE oə CURE ʊə happ. Y i, ɪ lett. ER ə WHAT DO YOU NOTICE AS MAIN DIFFERENCES BWN NEW ENGLAND-NY? ?

NEW ENGLAND: main features • Rhoticity: more evident nowadays bcs og Gen Am pressure • In NURSE wrds: r widely retained • Hypercorrections: ‘law’: [lɒr] Modern Boston • START : [a(: )] • BATH: a(: ), or [eə]‘half’ [haf] but now: pressure for /æ/ • Easter New England: LOT+THOUGHT+CLOTH [ɒ]

Main differences bwn NY-East New England • LOT [ɑ] in NY • START [ɑə] NY • THOUGHT [ɔə] [ɒ] in New England [a] “ ” LOT-THOUGHT [ɒ]

The South: Virginia, Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Massissippi, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas

THE SOUTHERN PART OF NORTH AMERICA Bailey (1969): southern accents: 3 types: 1) tidewater of East Virginia, East Carolinas 2)inner South Kentucky 3) outer South Uniformity of southern accent: much exaggerated South remained behind industrialization, education, rural nature, little influence from school teachers; speech: quaint • Lots of deviations from Gen Am/RP; traditional dialect • • •

Main features of the Southern pronunciation of North America • ‘deaf’: [dɪf], ‘wounded’ [waʊndɪd] • ‘southern drawl’: length of stressed, accented syllables • PRICE [a • Northerners: look down on Southern Am E pronunciation • Southerners: assume a patriotic attitude or try to extirpate all Southern features

The vowels of the south part of North America • • • ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʊ, ʌ, ɑ, i, eɪ, æɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, æʊ, u, oʊ, ɔ TRAP æɪ CLOTH ɔ LOT a GOAT oʊ STRUT ʌ GOOSE ʊ, ɪʊ BATH æ, æɪ MOUTH æʊ ɪ→eɪ /-ŋ ‘sing’ : [seɪŋ] Rhoticity varies Non-rhoticity: upper class whites, blacks Rhoticity: lower class whites

Some features of the Southern pronunciation of North America • L : quite clear V-V, clear also before [aɪ], [ɔɪ] • ɬ→ᴓ/ - { +C, +labial, +velar} ‘help’ [hɛəp], ‘bulb’: [bʌəb] • In old fashioned tidewater /k, g/→front, [c, ɟ]palatal Winner= winter: [wɪnər] Some [ʔ] fot /t/ ‘can’t you’: [kænʔjə] s→∫/- r ‘shrink’: [sriŋk] ‘it’ : [hɪt] ‘isn’t’: [ɪdnt]]