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Accent Analyzing
Ah I had heard something of it but never seen it described in such detail, thanks for the link.
I'd be interested if you know of any mergers in Received Pronunciation that are separate in General American, for example.
Rob, I don't know of any mergers, but I do know of a few things that Americans have preserved which have changed or have been lost in RP, such as rhoticity (pronunciation of the R). RP as well as other dialects has undergone the trap-bath split so that those two words have two different vowel sounds while they have remained the same in General American.
Also, I know of a few instances in which different vowels are used in the two different accents. For instance, in my accent the word "caw" uses the same vowel as "car", rather than "core" like in RP. This as well as the cot-caught merger has led to "awesome possum" rhyming perfectly in my accent/
I hadn't heard the example 'awesome possum' before but upon pronouncing them as perfect rhymes in my head, I can quite see exactly what you mean. Very interesting. One of the most stark differences between my girlfriend and I is with the phrase 'bottle of water' - both vowels and consonants (T/D pronunciation etc.)
So, any ideas where Lauren comes from? Even a general area of the States? I can pick out broad differences in accent but am trying to improve my understanding of the differences within North America.
I just realized that the links I previously posted aren't working anymore, so I've uploaded the rainbow passage to Putfile.
http://media.putfile.com/The-Rainbow-Passage-24 Guest, I don't really understand why you don't understand me. I have the cot-caught merger, so because of this, the words "awesome possum" rhyme, while they do not in Rob's accent and possibly yours.
I was the guest above (forgot to type in my name) and have a read again - I said that I CAN see exactly what you mean!
Oh, I'm sorry! I misread what you wrote. :/
Also, how exactly do you and your girlfriend differ in pronouncing "bottle of water"? Where is she from? The cot-caught merger can cause some amusing misunderstandings. For instance, "Don" and "Dawn" are homophones in my accent; so upon hearing me talk about a woman I knew, a friend who doesn't have the merger asked me why "Dawn" had a boy's name. Also, when I was reading about an Eastenders character called Dawn Swann, I wondered why they would give her such a stupid name. I then remembered that Dawn and Swann don't rhyme in British English.
She has lived all over the place. One parent is Zimbabwean, one is Belgian, but she went to an international school in Denmark and now studies in England. As such she has an odd Americanised accent full of influences from all the nationalities she encountered at the international school, yet her first language that she was brought up speaking IS English. Very intriguing.
Heh Dawn Swann, love it. Course it's not just pronunciation; don't get me started on the misinterpretations of things like 'fanny pack'!!
Wow. I bet her accent would be interesting to hear.
Oh, fanny. Haha. What a word. Here it's completely harmless, but as I understand it means something a bit different in Britain and is quite vulgar.
Though you wouldn't want to use the word in polite conversation, it sounds more comical than vulgar to me - it's what you'd use to describe the female reproductive organs when you're in the playground and under the age of 8!
So what's your background then Brian, where does your interest in language and phonetics spring from? Myself, I work as a web developer and spend all day coding but I have a fascination with the English language and its development. I'd be interested in any books you knew that are perhaps recognised texts within this sphere; not having studied it academically it's more of a side interest.
Lauren: California
Rob: You accent is very cultivated, but I think you're originally from the North of England Brian: Western PA
Guest: That could mean Canada or other parts of the American West as well...but listen to her "long o" sounds
When inside a word, they sound like the Upper Midwestern/Canadian "Fargo-type" [o:] and when at the end of words they are like the Lower Midwest/Mid-Atlantic (Midland) strongly diphthongized and centralized [@U] This strong variation is a trademark of California, as far as I know |