English accents 7 Historical change ii Innovations reflected

English accents 7. Historical change (ii) Innovations reflected in RP etc. , but not everywhere in Britain and not in most American English

developments before /r/ RP bɪəd GA bɪrd beer and beard biːrd bɪərd bɪər bɪəd

developments before /r/ beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr tʃeːər moːər ʃuːər tʃɛər mɔər ʃʊər Pre-r breaking biːər Pre-schwa laxing bɪər

r dropping farmer ˈfɑːrmər > ˈfɑːmə

developments before /r/ beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr biːər tʃeːər moːər ʃuːər bɪər tʃɛər mɔər ʃʊər tʃɛə mɔə ʃʊə r dropping bɪə resisted in rhotic accents

developments before historical /r/ beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr biːər tʃeːər moːər ʃuːər bɪər tʃɛər mɔər ʃʊər bɪə tʃɛə mɔə ʃʊə tʃɛː mɔː (ʃʊː) monophthonging bɪː

BATH broadening æ → ɑː / _ [-voi +fric] bæθ → bɑːθ pass, glass, grass, staff, raft, laugh, bath, path, after, castle Some words resisted this change: math(s), mass, tassel, dash. Compare class-classic, pass-passage. Others were coined or borrowed later: gas. 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.

TRAP-BATH split æ → ɑː / _ n [-voi -son +cor] slænt → slɑːnt slant, grant, aunt, can't, dance, chance, answer, chancel, branch, ranch; also demand, Alexander, example Some words resisted this change: ant, cant, manse, cancer, cancel; stand, grand, ample aunt vs. ant, answer vs. cancer, example vs. ample These words also retained /æ/ in the Leeward Islands and in most of Australia.

lexical incidence: BATH words • typical southern accent TRAP BATH START æ ɑː ɑː gas, pass, farce æ ɑː ɑː • typical northern accent TRAP BATH START a a aː gas, pass, farce a a aː

hw 1800) > w (in educated speech in London by resisted in Scotland Ireland (for a time) in North America

suffix vowel weakening cemetery ˈsemɪteri → ˈsemɪtəri → ˈsemɪtri testimony ˈtestɪmoʊni → ˈtestɪməni

suffix vowel weakening Discuss necessary February ordinary

suffix vowel reduction? • The ending -ary is reverting to a strong vowel

suffix vowel stressed! • In -arily, the suffix vowel is becoming not only strong but stressed