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American English (AmE), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States; the de facto common language used in government, education and commerce; and an official language of most U.S. states. Since the late 20th century, American English has become the most influential form of English worldwide.
The Mid-Atlantic accent, or Transatlantic accent, is a nickname for various accents of English that are perceived as blending features from both American and British English. Most commonly, it refers to accents of the late 19th century to mid-20th century spoken by the Northeastern American upper class, as well as related accents in the early half of the 20th century taught at American schools of acting, which incorporated features of Received Pronunciation, the prestige variety of British English. Consequently, this speaking style also became associated with certain Hollywood actors in that era.
English phonology is the system of speech sounds used in spoken English. Like many other languages, English has wide variation in pronunciation, both historically and from dialect to dialect. In general, however, the regional dialects of English share a largely similar phonological system. Among other things, most dialects have vowel reduction in unstressed syllables and a complex set of phonological features that distinguish fortis and lenis consonants.
The close and mid-height front vowels of English have undergone a variety of changes over time and often vary by dialect.
There are a variety of pronunciations in Modern English and in historical forms of the language for words spelled with the letter ⟨a⟩. Most of these go back to the low vowel of earlier Middle English, which later developed both long and short forms. The sound of the long vowel was altered in the Great Vowel Shift, but later a new long A developed which was not subject to the shift. These processes have produced the main four pronunciations of ⟨a⟩ in present-day English: those found in the words trap, face, father and square. Separate developments have produced additional pronunciations in words like wash, talk and comma.
The International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects complies all the most common applications of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent pronunciations of the English language.
In English, many vowel shifts affect only vowels followed by in rhotic dialects, or vowels that were historically followed by that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of vowel distinctions and so fewer vowel phonemes occur before than in other positions of a word.
Most dialects of modern English have two close back vowels: the near-close near-back rounded vowel found in words like foot, and the close back rounded vowel found in words like goose. The STRUT vowel, which historically was back, is often central as well. This article discusses the history of these vowels in various dialects of English, focusing in particular on phonemic splits and mergers involving these sounds.
In phonetics and phonology, checked vowels are those that commonly stand in a stressed closed syllable, while free vowels are those that can stand in either a stressed closed syllable or a stressed open syllable.
Australian English (AuE) is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, it is one of the most regionally homogeneous language varieties in the world. Australian English is notable for vowel length contrasts which are absent from most English dialects.
North American English regional phonology is the study of variations in the pronunciation of spoken North American English —what are commonly known simply as "regional accents". Though studies of regional dialects can be based on multiple characteristics, often including characteristics that are phonemic, phonetic, lexical (vocabulary-based), and syntactic (grammar-based), this article focuses only on the former two items. North American English includes American English, which has several highly developed and distinct regional varieties, along with the closely related Canadian English, which is more homogeneous geographically. American English and Canadian English have more in common with each other than with varieties of English outside North America.
Like many other languages, English has wide variation in pronunciation, both historically and from dialect to dialect. In general, however, the regional dialects of English share a largely similar phonological system. Among other things, most dialects have vowel reduction in unstressed syllables and a complex set of phonological features that distinguish fortis and lenis consonants.
The cot–caught merger, also known as the LOT–THOUGHT merger or low back merger, is a sound change present in some dialects of English where speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in words like cot versus caught. Cot and caught is an example of a minimal pair that is lost as a result of this sound change. The phonemes involved in the cot–caught merger, the low back vowels, are typically represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet as and or, in North America, as and. The merger is typical of most Indian, Canadian, and Scottish English dialects as well as some Irish and U.S. English dialects.
In the history of English phonology, there have been many diachronic sound changes affecting vowels, especially involving phonemic splits and mergers.
A lexical set is a group of words that share a particular phonological feature.
English diphthongs have undergone many changes since the Old and Middle English periods. The sound changes discussed here involved at least one phoneme which historically was a diphthong.
Dublin English is the collection of diverse varieties of Hiberno-English spoken in the metropolitan area of Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. Modern-day Dublin English largely lies on a phonological continuum between two extremes.
One aspect of the differences between American and British English is that of specific word pronunciations, as described in American and British English pronunciation differences. However, there are also differences in some of the basic pronunciation patterns between the standard dialects of each country. The standard varieties for each are in fact generalizations: for the U.S., a loosely defined spectrum of unmarked varieties called General American and, for Britain, a collection of prestigious varieties most common in southeastern England, ranging from upper- to middle-class Received Pronunciation accents, which together here are abbreviated "RP". However, other regional accents in each country also show differences, for which see regional accents of English speakers.
The sound system of New York City English is popularly known as a New York accent. The accent of the New York metropolitan area is one of the most recognizable in the United States, largely due to its popular stereotypes and portrayal in radio, film, and television. Several other common names exist based on more specific locations, such as Bronx accent, Brooklyn accent, Queens accent, Long Island accent, North Jersey accent. Research supports the continued classification of all these under a single label, despite some common assumptions among locals that they meaningfully differ.
Port Talbot English (PTE) is a variety of Welsh English spoken in Port Talbot, generally by the working class.
References
- ↑ Barber (1997), pp. 108, 111.
- ↑ Mazarin, André (2020-01-01). "The developmental progression of English vowel systems, 1500–1800: Evidence from grammarians". Ampersand. 7: 100058. doi: 10.1016/j.amper.2020.100058 . ISSN 2215-0390.
- ↑ Trudgill, Peter; Gordon, Elizabeth; Lewis, Gillian; Maclagan, Margaret (2000). "Determinism in new-dialect formation and the genesis of New Zealand English". Journal of Linguistics. 36 (2): 299. ISSN 0022-2267.
- ↑ Wells (1982), pp. 245, 339–40, 419.
- 1 2 Wells (1982), pp. 136–37, 203–6, 234, 245–47, 339–40, 400, 419, 443, 576.
- 1 2 Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 171.
- ↑ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 169.
- ↑ "Bolly Definition & Meaning". Merriam-Webster . Retrieved 2022-12-09.
- ↑ "LA English meaning". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ↑ "Prog Definition & Meaning". Merriam-Webster . Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ↑ "possible". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "jostle". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "impostor". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "profit". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "Gothic". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "Boston". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "foster". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ "want". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
- ↑ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 189.
- ↑ Thomas, Erik R. (2004). Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider (ed.). A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology. De Gruyter. p. 306.
- 1 2 Warburton, Jasmine (September 2020). "The Merging of the goat and thought Vowels in Tyneside English: Evidence from Production and Perception" (PDF). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ↑ Ostalski (2009), pp. 106–107.
- ↑ Wells (1982), pp. 360, 375.