Accent Theory

Question 1

Explain what accent is.

Answer 1

Accent is the sounds that you make when you are speaking.

Question 2

What does ‘IPA’ stand for?

Answer 2

International Phonetic Alphabet

Question 3

There is a divide in England between the north and the _ _ _ _ _.

Answer 3

South

Question 4

The northern pronunciation of ‘bath’ is?

Answer 4

baeth

Question 5

What is the southern pronunciation of bath?

Answer 5

ba:th

Question 6

What is the southern pronunciation of ‘put’

Answer 6

p^t

Question 7

What is the term for when an accent doesn’t include /h/ at the start of words such as ‘hospital’?

Answer 7

‘h-dropping’

Question 8

What is the symbol for a glottal stop?

Answer 8

/?/

Question 9

The glottal stop sound has been spreading rapidly throughout many English accents over the last few decades in process known as - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Answer 9

‘t-glottalisation.’

Question 10

How is the the final sound in ‘car’ pronounced in London, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle?

Answer 10

/a:/

Question 11

In much of South West England and a small pocket in North West Lancashire, how is the final vowel sound in ‘car’ pronounced?

Answer 11

/r/

Question 12

In much of South West England and a small pocket in North West Lancashire, the final vowel sound in concrete noun ‘car’ is it pronounced /r/. What is this term known as?

Answer 12

‘post vocalic r’ or ‘non-prevocalic r’

Question 13

What are accents that contain the ‘non-prevocalic r’ or ‘post vocalic r’ called?

Answer 13

Rhotic accents

Question 14

What did Labov look at in his Department Story Study?

Answer 14

The link between accent and overt prestige.

Question 15

Which sound did Labov investigate?

Answer 15

The pronunciation of the non pre-vocalic /r/.

Question 16

Whose accent did Labov investigate?

Answer 16

The speech of New York shop assistants.

Question 17

The shop assistants had to repeat their answer of ‘fourth floor’ to see if their pronunciation had changed. What does this tell us about their speech?

Answer 17

Their speech had become careful rather than spontaneous.

Question 18

What are the names of the stores that Labov carried out his experiment in?

Answer 18

Saks (upper class), Macy’s (middle class) and Klein’s (lower class).

Question 19

Which store used the /r/ sound the most?

Answer 19

Saks, the upper class store.

Question 20

Which store used the /r/ sound the least?

Answer 20

Klein’s, the lower class store.

Question 21

Which shop showed the greatest change from the low prestige form to the high prestige when asked to repeat themselves?

Answer 21

Macy’s

Question 22

The findings from Labov’s study suggests that accent is not just dependent on where you’re from but also the _ _ _ _ _ you wish to perform.

Answer 22

class

Question 23

The findings from Labov’s study suggests that people choose to change their accent in order to appear to be of a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ class

Answer 23

higher

Question 24

The findings from Labov’s study suggests that people change their accent when they’re being _ _ _ _ _ _ _ about their speech.

Answer 24

careful

Question 25

In Martha's Vineyard's Study, what is the name of the group of people who live on the island with their families and who work in the island's traditional fishing industry?

Answer 25

The Chilmark Fishermen

Question 26

In Martha's Vineyard's Study, what is the name of the people who live on the island but moved there as adults? They're usually rich and most are well-educated.

Answer 26

The Islanders

Question 27

What does Labov call the tourists who visit the island in the summer? They're ordinary people from all over America or from other countries. The islanders and the Chilmark Fishermen find them annoying.

Answer 27

The Summer People

Question 28

Why is the change in vowel sounds (in Labov's Martha's Vineyard's Study) seen as odd?

Answer 28

Because the changes described here are to a more low prestige form despite the fact that the island was often crammed with posh visitors who use high-prestige forms.

Question 29

Why did the islanders change their accent?

Answer 29

The accent marked them as different from the summer people whom the islanders resented.

Question 30

The findings in Labov's Martha's Vineyard's Study suggest that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ as well as region affects accent.

Answer 30

identity

Question 31

The findings in Labov's Martha's Vineyard's Study suggest that we use accents to mark _ _ _ _ _ membership

Answer 31

group

Question 32

The findings in Labov's Martha's Vineyard's Study suggest that we use accents to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ourselves from groups.

Answer 32

distance

Question 33

Social network theory looks at the effect that the _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of your social group has on your language.

Answer 33

Size and diversity

Question 34

Your 'social network' is the people you know and the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ between them.

Answer 34

relationships

Question 35

If the people you know tend to know each other, what kind of network do you have?

Answer 35

A closed network

Question 36

If the people who you know haven't met each other, what type of network do you have?

Answer 36

An open network

Question 37

If the people you know are either friends, or relatives or workmates or people in your class, the connections between you are _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Answer 37

Uniplex

Question 38

If the people you know are friends, and you go to college together and you work together and you play football together, the connections between you are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Answer 38

Multiplex

Question 39

A "_ _ _ _ " is normal, expected behaviour.

Answer 39

norm

Question 40

A "_ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ mechanism" is the thing that pressures you to obey the norms.

Answer 40

norm-enforcement

Question 41

Where did Milroy and Milroy conduct their study?

Answer 41

Belfast

Question 42

Which social class did Milroy and Milroy investigate?

Answer 42

Working class

Question 43

Milroy and Milroy gave each individual studied a "Network _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Score" according to to how open or closed their network was.

Answer 43

Strength

Question 44

After giving each individual a "Network Strength Score", Milroy and Milroy then measured each person's use of Belfast _ _ _ _ _ _ features.

Answer 44

Accent

Question 45

In Milroy and Milroy's study, the vowel /ae/ in 'hat,' becomes?

Answer 45

/ ): /

Question 46

Milroy and Milroy found that people with a high Network Strength Score, (i.e. those with closed network), used the features of the Belfast accent _ _ _ _ than those with a low score (i.e. an open network).

Answer 46

more

Question 47

Milroy and Milroy claimed that which network functions as a norm-enforcement mechanism?

Answer 47

Closed networks

Question 48

Milroy and Milroy claimed that which gender used more Belfast accent features?

Answer 48

Men

Question 49

Milroy and Milroy claimed that men used more accent features because they were more likely to belong to _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ social networks associated with traditional working class male roles.

Answer 49

tight-knit

Question 50

Which gender used less accent features?

Answer 50

Women

Question 51

Why did women usually used fewer Belfast accent features than men?

Answer 51

Because they belonged to less dense social networks.

Question 52

What is the name of the theorist who came up with the accommodation theory?

Answer 52

Howard Giles

Question 53

Convergence is when speakers change their speech so that it is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ their interlocutor's.

Answer 53

more like

Question 54

Convergence d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the social distance between people.

Answer 54

decreases

Question 55

Divergence is when speakers change their speech so that it's _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the person they're speaking to

Answer 55

less like

Question 56

Divergence has the effect of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ differences between people.

Answer 56

emphasising

Question 57

Who came up with the Cardiff Study?

Answer 57

Coupland

Question 58

Coupland found that there is a predictable link between the accent of a Cardiff speaker and their education and _ _ _ _ _ _.

Answer 58

Income

Question 59

The use of glottalisation, g-dropping, h-dropping, and the flapped /t/, all increase the _ _ _ _ _ the speakers' class

Answer 59

Lower

Question 60

Nik Coupland recorded a travel agent at work in the city and observed the way that she changed her accent to suit her clients. What did he call this?

Answer 60

Style shifting

Question 61

Coupland discovered that the recording of the travel agent's speech was almost as good an indicator of the client's _ _ _ _ _ _ as the clients' own speech.

Answer 61

region

Question 62

Coupland discovered that the travel agent's choice of accent was also as good an indicator of the clients' education and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Answer 62

social status

Question 63

Where did Estuary English originate?

Answer 63

Estuary English originated in the Thames Valley estuary.

Question 64

Estuary English falls on a continuum between which 2 accents?

Answer 64

Estuary English falls on a continuum between RP and Cockney.

Question 65

What has happened to Estuary English?

Answer 65

Estuary English has spread rapidly over the country.

Question 66

Give an example of someone from an aristocratic family who uses features of Estuary English.

Answer 66

Prince Harry.

Question 67

Name 2 features of Estuary English.

Answer 67

The glottal stop and the velarised /l/

Question 68

According to Kohlmeyr, why might an RP speaker use Estuary English?

Answer 68

RP speakers use Estuary English to disguise their privilege.

Question 69

According to Kohlmeyr, why might speakers with regional accents use Estuary English?

Answer 69

Speakers with regional accents use Estuary English to sound more sophisticated.