Accent Features

Question 1

Features of RP

Answer 1

• Non-rhoticity (no rhotic /r/ sounds unless before a vowel)
• ‘Trap-bath split’ - many words that are in other accents pronounced with /æ/ are pronounced with /a:/ (e.g. bath, grass)
• Conservative vowel sounds - while other accents in the South have drastically changed their vowel sounds in recent years, RP’s have stayed mostly the same

Question 2

Examples of RP speakers

Answer 2

Dame Judy Dench,
Margaret Thatcher,
Christopher Hitchens

Question 3

Features of Cockney

Answer 3

• /æ/ -> /e/ (trap -> /trep/, cat -> /ket/)
• /eɪ/ -> /aɪ/ (day -> /daɪ/, mate -> /maɪt/)
• /aɪ/ -> /ɔɪ/ (buy -> /bɔɪ/, die -> /dɔɪ/)
• Non-rhoticity (no rhotic /r/ unless before a vowel)
• ‘Trap-bath split’ (some /æ/ sounds assimilated to /a:/ sounds)
• Glottals in medial position, rarely in final position
• /l/-vocalisation (/l/ sounds assimilated into /w/ in the final position)
• ‘th’-fronting (/θ/ -> /f/ and /ð/ -> /v/)

Question 4

Examples of cockney speakers

Answer 4

Danny Dyer, Phil Collins, David Beckham

Question 5

Features of Estuary English

Answer 5

• /l/-vocalisation (/l/ -> /w/ in final position)
• Glottals in medial position, rarely in final
• happY-tensing (Wells: /ɪ/ at end of adverbs & adjectives becomes /i:/)
• yod coalescence (/tju:sdeɪ/ -> /tʃu:sdeɪ/)
• stylistic variability - ‘good day’ and ‘cheers’ both acceptable

Question 6

Geordie accent features

Answer 6

• /u/ -> /ʊ/ (foot -> /fʊt/, could -> /kʊd/)
• /u:/ -> /ɪʊ/ (goose -> /gɪʊs/) - only in words with a root that ends in a vowel
• happY-tensing
• non-rhoticity
• /aɪ/ -> /ɛɪ/ (kite -> ‘kate’)
• /au/ -> /u:/ (aboot)

Question 7

Examples or Geordie speakers

Answer 7

Brian Johnson, Cheryl Cole

Question 8

Features of Uppercrust RP (“Queen’s English”)

Answer 8

• /ou/ -> /aɪ/ (house -> /haɪs/)
• /ɒ/ -> /ɔ:/ (off -> /ɔ:f/)
• /aʊə/ and /aɪə/ -> /a:/
• The /æ/ sound in ‘man’ is made more close – towards the /e/ in ‘men’
• The first sound of /əʊ/ as in ‘go’ is made nearer the front /e/ position

Question 9

Upper crust speakers

Answer 9

Brian Sewell, young Queen Liz

Question 10

Features of MLE

Answer 10

• indefinite pronoun ‘man’ - “it’s her personality man’s looking at”
• quotatives - “This is me” replacing “I was like” or “I said”
• no /h/ drop
• monophthongisation