on San Francisco accent:
http://www.stanford.edu/~dialect/AZANLI_Talk
http://www.stanford.edu/~dialect/AZANLI_Talk
Distinguishing Western accents
>> ''There are many transplants in the Seattle area, but most people will speak the "General American" accent common in the midwest but mixed in with some flat California-style pronunciations. Nothing out of the ordinary here, in terms of accents. <<
Hmm. Well, it's nothing like the midwestern accent though. It's cot-caught merged. It does pretty well overlap with the California accent though, but without the crazy stuff that (some people there) have like extremely fronted /u/ and /o/. There are some words however that are pronounced like in Canadian English by most people (whereas these pronunciations are very rare in places like California or Colorado) like "bag" with a vowel almost like "vague" (but usually not merged with it), and tomorrow having an "or" sound rather than the "ahr" that California has. (For example, in Disneyland in California, there is a robot named "Tom Mahrrow"). Also there is some Canadian raising (but not as much as in Canada).
Hmm. Well, it's nothing like the midwestern accent though. It's cot-caught merged. It does pretty well overlap with the California accent though, but without the crazy stuff that (some people there) have like extremely fronted /u/ and /o/. There are some words however that are pronounced like in Canadian English by most people (whereas these pronunciations are very rare in places like California or Colorado) like "bag" with a vowel almost like "vague" (but usually not merged with it), and tomorrow having an "or" sound rather than the "ahr" that California has. (For example, in Disneyland in California, there is a robot named "Tom Mahrrow"). Also there is some Canadian raising (but not as much as in Canada).
Oh, and we do have the Canadian or California vowel shift as well. Sometimes when I listen to how I speak I notice that my e's do sound like /{/ (e.g. bed sounds like bad), and my a's do sound like "ah" sometimes (/a/). Also, my vowel in cot/caught can be quite rounded.
Portland dialect: http://www.pds.pdx.edu/Publications/Ward.pdf
''Also, my vowel in cot/caught can be quite rounded.''
Seattle newscasters seem to use the traditional Californian accent, with /A/ (listen how she pronounced PAULA, with /A/, and not with /Q/):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pSZsZdwVa9s
Seattle newscasters seem to use the traditional Californian accent, with /A/ (listen how she pronounced PAULA, with /A/, and not with /Q/):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pSZsZdwVa9s
-Labov defines the West negatively as an area that participates in neither the Canadian shift nor the Southern Shift, yet distinguishes it from the North and Midland by the complete merger of /o/ and /oh/. As opposed to the Inland North, the North is defined by an /ey/~/ow/ criterion, where the F2 of /ey/ is below 2200 Hz.
American English is particularly undefined in the Northeast, the North Central states and the Midland regions, all of which show a dense distribution of dialects that make regional identification difficult. Wolfram (1991) explains, “In American society, metropolitan areas have become the locus of change, and rural areas have been slower to change.
In this respect, language is just one of the areas in which this pattern of ‘cultural lag’ is indicated” (26).-
source:http://www.pds.pdx.edu/Publications/Ward.pdf
American English is particularly undefined in the Northeast, the North Central states and the Midland regions, all of which show a dense distribution of dialects that make regional identification difficult. Wolfram (1991) explains, “In American society, metropolitan areas have become the locus of change, and rural areas have been slower to change.
In this respect, language is just one of the areas in which this pattern of ‘cultural lag’ is indicated” (26).-
source:http://www.pds.pdx.edu/Publications/Ward.pdf
- http://www.pds.pdx.edu/Publications/Ward.pdf -
Wow, thanks for the article, on the page 51 you can read:
''
According to Labov (2002), the low back vowel merger in Canada usually occupies the low back rounded position, as opposed to the California movement (and elsewhere in the U.S.), where the merged
vowel occupies a low central unrounded position (IPA [a]).
Wow, thanks for the article, on the page 51 you can read:
''
According to Labov (2002), the low back vowel merger in Canada usually occupies the low back rounded position, as opposed to the California movement (and elsewhere in the U.S.), where the merged
vowel occupies a low central unrounded position (IPA [a]).
>> ''Also, my vowel in cot/caught can be quite rounded.''
Seattle newscasters seem to use the traditional Californian accent, with /A/ (listen how she pronounced PAULA, with /A/, and not with /Q/): <<
Newscasters are surely not typical of a dialect for a given region. For one thing, most are trained in accent reduction and speak with as neutral of an accent as possible. For another thing, they all sound rather the same whether they're from the North, South, East, or West. As well, they are reading a passage in a very formal register--it is not simply natural speech. Also, which allophone is used in the cot-caught merger is determined by many factors such as age, identification, gender, as well as mood, the environment of a particular word, whether the speaker is smiling or not--for c-c unmerged people that doesn't matter because they will automatically round or unround their lips as necessary.
Also, remember speakers with the Canadian shift (very similar to the California vowel shift), are spread throughout the West in an irregular pattern--and it is not regional specific. It is simply not as widespread as in Canada, but it can affect anyone in the Western dialect region.
Seattle newscasters seem to use the traditional Californian accent, with /A/ (listen how she pronounced PAULA, with /A/, and not with /Q/): <<
Newscasters are surely not typical of a dialect for a given region. For one thing, most are trained in accent reduction and speak with as neutral of an accent as possible. For another thing, they all sound rather the same whether they're from the North, South, East, or West. As well, they are reading a passage in a very formal register--it is not simply natural speech. Also, which allophone is used in the cot-caught merger is determined by many factors such as age, identification, gender, as well as mood, the environment of a particular word, whether the speaker is smiling or not--for c-c unmerged people that doesn't matter because they will automatically round or unround their lips as necessary.
Also, remember speakers with the Canadian shift (very similar to the California vowel shift), are spread throughout the West in an irregular pattern--and it is not regional specific. It is simply not as widespread as in Canada, but it can affect anyone in the Western dialect region.
'>> In Tucson, Arizona there is a LOW CENTRAL MERGER,
Don and dawn are both [da:n] (a = low central vowel)
source: ANAE by prof. Labov <<
Hmm. I don't see that. Which chapter? I looked through the chapter titled "The West" and I only see Tucson mentioned in about 3 or 4 contexts, none of which mention such an unusual phenomenon.'
It's in Chapter 10, on page 107., under Map 10.32.
Don and dawn are both [da:n] (a = low central vowel)
source: ANAE by prof. Labov <<
Hmm. I don't see that. Which chapter? I looked through the chapter titled "The West" and I only see Tucson mentioned in about 3 or 4 contexts, none of which mention such an unusual phenomenon.'
It's in Chapter 10, on page 107., under Map 10.32.
>>
According to Labov (2002), the low back vowel merger in Canada usually occupies the low back rounded position, as opposed to the California movement (and elsewhere in the U.S.), where the merged
vowel occupies a low central unrounded position (IPA [a]). <<
But doesn't California have the California vowel shift, and therefore different from the rest of the US in that respect? Also, I noticed that the ANAE doesn't ever mention the California vowel shift or indicate that California sounds any different than the rest of West.
According to Labov (2002), the low back vowel merger in Canada usually occupies the low back rounded position, as opposed to the California movement (and elsewhere in the U.S.), where the merged
vowel occupies a low central unrounded position (IPA [a]). <<
But doesn't California have the California vowel shift, and therefore different from the rest of the US in that respect? Also, I noticed that the ANAE doesn't ever mention the California vowel shift or indicate that California sounds any different than the rest of West.
>> According to Labov (2002), the low back vowel merger in Canada usually occupies the low back rounded position, as opposed to the California movement (and elsewhere in the U.S.), where the merged
vowel occupies a low central unrounded position <<
However, this is only in general. Both Canadians and Westerners use both variants--it's simply on average. In the same sentence, I can use [A] or [Q], and it has more to do with the environment of the words than anything else. For example if I said "Bother, father spilled hot coffee", then the "o" in Bother will probably be more round than that of "coffee", and hot will probably have the least rounded vowel.
vowel occupies a low central unrounded position <<
However, this is only in general. Both Canadians and Westerners use both variants--it's simply on average. In the same sentence, I can use [A] or [Q], and it has more to do with the environment of the words than anything else. For example if I said "Bother, father spilled hot coffee", then the "o" in Bother will probably be more round than that of "coffee", and hot will probably have the least rounded vowel.
How would you say words like 'bong' and 'doll'?
I always hear such words (in which the vowel is followed by a consonant that can be expected to have a strong retracting/raising effect on the preceding segment) pronounced with Q or not uncommonly even O by Americans who hace the cot-caught merger.
I always hear such words (in which the vowel is followed by a consonant that can be expected to have a strong retracting/raising effect on the preceding segment) pronounced with Q or not uncommonly even O by Americans who hace the cot-caught merger.
>> How would you say words like 'bong' and 'doll'?
I always hear such words (in which the vowel is followed by a consonant that can be expected to have a strong retracting/raising effect on the preceding segment) pronounced with Q or not uncommonly even O by Americans who hace the cot-caught merger. <<
Really? I actually (correctly) guessed that a store clerk was from the Midwest when she pronounced the word "dollar" which almost sound like "daller".
I always hear such words (in which the vowel is followed by a consonant that can be expected to have a strong retracting/raising effect on the preceding segment) pronounced with Q or not uncommonly even O by Americans who hace the cot-caught merger. <<
Really? I actually (correctly) guessed that a store clerk was from the Midwest when she pronounced the word "dollar" which almost sound like "daller".
''I actually (correctly) guessed that a store clerk was from the Midwest when she pronounced the word "dollar" which almost sound like "daller". ''
I don't understand, in the traditional Western dialect, DOLLAR rhymes with
CALLER, and both have the unrounded /A/ vowel rather the rounded /Q/.
/A/ to /Q/ is Californian/Canadian vowel shift. Californian vowel shift is much more frequent in Canada than the Californian one is in California.
If you consistently pronounce DOLL with /A/ but CALL, FALL with /Q/ you are low back unmerged.
-How would you say words like 'bong' and 'doll'?-
Both words have /A/ in traditional western dialects, including nonValleyGirl Californian, listen to this song /sAn(g)/: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bqpA5Acc8-c
/A/ is the merged vowel.
I don't understand, in the traditional Western dialect, DOLLAR rhymes with
CALLER, and both have the unrounded /A/ vowel rather the rounded /Q/.
/A/ to /Q/ is Californian/Canadian vowel shift. Californian vowel shift is much more frequent in Canada than the Californian one is in California.
If you consistently pronounce DOLL with /A/ but CALL, FALL with /Q/ you are low back unmerged.
-How would you say words like 'bong' and 'doll'?-
Both words have /A/ in traditional western dialects, including nonValleyGirl Californian, listen to this song /sAn(g)/: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bqpA5Acc8-c
/A/ is the merged vowel.