English accents

12. British and American English

• shared development until c. 1750• thereafter: reciprocal influence,

particularly since c. 1930 (talkies, radio, TV, travel)

• spelling

• grammar

• vocabulary

NO r dropping

farmer

ˈfɑːrmər

ˈfɑːmə

ˈfɑːrmɚ

NO r dropping

beer, square, north, nurse, persuade, farmer, standard

bɪr, skwɛr, nɔrθ, nɝs, pɚˈsweɪd, ˈfɑrmɚ, ˈstændɚd

NO BATH broadening

æ → ɑː / _ [-voi +fric]bæθ → bɑːθ

Compare class-classic, pass-passage.

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.

pass, glass, grass, staff, raft, laugh, bath, path, after, castle

pass the marmalade

RP: ˈpɑːs ðə ˈmɑːməleɪd

GA: ˈpæs ðə ˈmɑːrməleɪd

scarf, staff, stand, command, alarmed

GA: skɑrf, stæf, stænd, kəˈmænd, əˈlɑrmd

LOT unrounding

a bottle of Scotch

ə ˈbɒtl əv ˈskɒtʃ

əˈbɑ(ː)tl əv ˈskɑ(ː)tʃ

loss of distinctive length

big [bɪ(ː)g]

God [gɑ(ː)d]

manner [ˈmæ(ː)nɚ]

bother ˈbɑ(ː)ðɚ]

father[ˈfɑ(ː)ðɚ]

Hello, Dali!

stop and start

RP: ˈstɒp ən ˈstɑːt

GA: ˈstɑp ən ˈstɑrt

developments before /r/

beer beer and beard

biːr biːr biːrd

bɪr bɪr bɪrd

RP bɪə

GA bɪr

RP bɪəd

GA bɪrd

NO centring diphthongs in GenAm

AmE developments before /r/

beer, beard chair, Mary more, force sure, jury

biːr tʃeːr moːr ʃuːr

bɪr tʃɛr mɔr ʃʊr

ʃɝ

seriousˈsɪriəs

nearer, mirror

sharingˈʃɛrɪŋ

herring

AmE developments before /r/

in many varieties, æ (TRAP) and ɛ (DRESS, SQUARE) merge before /r/

merry Mary married hairy Harry

ˈmɛri ˈmɛri ˈmɛrid ˈhɛri ˈhɛri