Introduction
«Dialect» or «language». There is no universally accepted criterion for distinguishing a language from a dialect. A number of rough measures exist, sometimes leading to contradictory results. Some linguists do not differentiate between languages and dialects, i. e. languages are dialects and vice versa. The distinction is therefore subjective and depends on the user’s frame of reference.
Southern
English engages in r-dropping, that is, r’s are not pronounced after vowels, unless followed by another vowel. Instead, vowels are lengthened or have an /’/ off-glide, so fire becomes /fai’/, far becomes /fa: /, and so on.
- regular use of «broad a» (/a: /), where GA (General American) would use /æ/.
- «long o» is pronounced /’u/, where GA uses /ou/.
- final unstressed i is pronounced /i/, where GA uses /i: ).
- t between vowels retained as /t/ (or a glottal stop, in its variants), where GA changes it to /d/.
The English of well-bred Londoners, especially graduates of the public schools (e. g. Eton and Harrow) and «Oxbridge» universities, was the origin of «the Queen’s English» also known as as Received Pronunciation (RP), BBC, or "posh".
Task
COCKNEY
Originally the dialect of the working class of East End London. Besides the accent, it includes a large number of slang words, including the famous rhyming slang:
have a butchers — take a look [from butcher’s hook = look]
north and south — mouth
plates — feet [from plates of meat = feet]
boat race — face
skin and blister — sister
trouble — wife [from trouble and strife = wife]
dustbin lids — kids / children
whistle — suit [from whistle and flute = suit]
oily rag — fag = cigarette
jam jar — car
mince pies — eyes
pen and ink — stink
porkies — lies [from pork pies = lies]
titfer — hat [from tit for tat = hat]
apples and pears — stairs
Jimmy — urinate [from Jimmy Riddle = piddle]
Bertie Woofter — gay man [from Bertie Woofter = poofter]
China — mate / friend [from China plate = mate]
Khyber — buttocks [from Khyber Pass = ass]
rabbit and pork — talk
tea leaf — thief
taters — cold [from potato mold = cold]
dog and bone — phone
loaf — head [from loaf of bread = head]
Process
Estuary
ENGLISH
From London down the Thames and into Essex, Sussex, and even Kent, a new working and middle class dialect has evolved and is rapidly become «the» southern dialect. It combines some of the characteristics of Cockney with RP, but makes much less use of Cockney slang.
Evaluation
The dialect of the East Midlands, once filled with interesting variations from county to county, is now predominantly RP. R’s are dropped, but h’s are pronounced. The only signs that differentiate it from RP:
- ou > u: (so go becomes /gu: /).
- RP yu; becomes u: after n, t, d. . . as in American English.
The West Country
- r’s are not dropped.
- initial s often becomes z (singer > zinger)
- initial f often becomes v (finger > vinger).
- vowels are lengthened.
Conclusion
Dialects can be defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible."[1] English speakers from different countries and regions use a variety of different accents (systems of pronunciation) as well as various localized words and grammatical constructions; many different dialects can be identified based on these factors. Dialects can be classified at broader or narrower levels: within a broad national or regional dialect, various more localised sub-dialects can be identified, and so on. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions without any prior exposure.
Credits
- Wakelin, Martyn Francis (2008). Discovering English Dialects. Oxford: Shire Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7478-0176-4.
- ^ Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge University Press, 2003
- ^ Trudgill and Hannah, 2002
- ^ Daniel Schreier, Peter Trudgill. The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 2010 pg. 10