(12) Non-standard Varieties of English

- basilectal varieties = used by lower socio-economic classes and middle classes in informal situations

Scottish English (SE)

= an alternative standard to RP within the British Isles

Vowel Differences

- SE vowel inventory: lack of RP diphthongs /ɪə, eə, ʊə/

- RP distinction btw /ɑ:/ x /æ/, /u:/ x /ʊ/, /ɔ:/ x /ɒ/ > SE loss of these distinctions (homophony of ‘Sam x psalm’, ‘ant x aunt’, ‘soot x suit’, ‘caught x cot’)

- RP diphthongs /ɪə, eə, ʊə/ > SE sequences of vowel + /r/ (‘beard’ /bɪ:rd/, ‘fare’ /feɪr/, ‘dour’ /du:r/)

- RP diphthong /eɪ/ > SE monophthong [e:]

- RP diphthong /əʊ/ > SE monophthong [o:] (‘coat’ [ko:t])

- SE short vowel duration before voiced stop or a nasal (‘spoon, brood’)

Consonant Differences

- SE consonant inventory: the phonemic status of /ʍ/

- RP [ɹ] > SE voiced tap [ɾ] (‘red’ [ɾed], ‘trip’ [tɾɪp])

- RP /l/ > SE dark [ł] in all positions

- RP /t/ > SE glottal stop [ʔ] in intervocalic positions (‘butter’ ['bʌʔə])

- RP /w/ > SE distinctive phonemes /w/ = labial-velar semi-vowel (‘witch’) x /ʍ/ = voiceless labial-velar fricative (‘which’)

- SE /x/ = voiceless velar fricative (‘loch’)

Cockney English

- together with NortE most common within Britain, often underlies regional forms of RP

- NOT *‘London English’: as much a class dialect as a regional one, traces of CockE pronunciation spread also among middle-classes of the area

- in comparison with GA and SE wrt RP: no systemic differences, few lexical ones, much realisational differences

Vowel Differences

- RP short front vowels > CockE closer short front vowels (‘sat x set x sit’: ‘sat’ sounds like ‘set’, ‘set’ sounds like ‘sit’)

- RP short vowel /ʌ/ > CockE more forward, almost like Cardinal vowel 4 [a]

- RP long vowels /i:/, /u:/, /ɔ:/ > CockE diphthongs [ɪi], [ʊu], [ɔʊ] morpheme-medially or [ɔwə] morpheme-finally (‘bead’ [bɪid], ‘boot’ [bʊut], ‘sword’ [sɔʊd], ‘saw’ [sɔwə]

- RP diphthongs /eɪ/, /aɪ/, /əʊ/, /aʊ/ > CockE [aɪ], [ɑɪ], [æʊ], [a:] (‘late’ [laɪt], ‘light’ [lɑɪt], ‘load’ [læʊd], ‘loud’ [la:d])

Consonant Differences

- RP /h/ > CockE omission (‘hammer’ /'æmə/

- RP /θ, ð/ > CockE replacement by /f, v/ (‘think’ /fɪŋk/, ‘father’ /'favə/)

- RP [ł], i.e. /l/ when not prevocalic > CockE vocalic [ʊ] (‘milk’ [mɪʊk])

- RP /t/ > CockE glottal stop [ʔ] when intervocalic (‘butter’ [bʌʔə]

- RP [p, t, k] > CockE glottal stop before a consonant (‘soapbox’ ['sæʊʔbɒks], ‘statement’ [staɪʔmənt], ‘technical’ ['teʔnɪkəl])

Estuary English

= a middle-class pronunciation of the Thames estuary

- a type of Regional RP heavily infl. by CockE

- RP [p, t, k] > [ʔ] before a consonant

- RP [ł] > [ʊ]

Northern English

= a general term for the disparate pronunciation systems in the north of England (north of a line from the River Severn to the Wash, incl. Birmingham)

- together with CockE most common within Britain

Vowel Differences

- RP distinction btw /ʊ/ and /ʌ/ > NortE no distinction

- RP /ɑ:/ > NortE /æ/ before a voiceless fricative or a nasal followed by another consonant (‘past’ /pæst/, ‘laugh’ /læf/, ‘aunt’ /ænt/)

- RP /ə/ in prefixes > NortE full vowel (‘advance’ /æd'væns/, ‘consume’ /kɒn'sju:m/, ‘observe’ /ɒb'zз:v/)

Consonant Differences

- RP /r/ > NortE [ɾ]

- RP allophonic difference btw [l] and [ł] > NortE no allophonic difference

- RP /ŋ/ > NortE /ŋg/ (‘singing’ [sɪŋgɪŋg])

Australian English (ANE)

- typical of an E pronunciation of the southern hemisphere

- shares many features with CockE

- no systemic differences, few lexical ones, mostly realisational differences

Vowel Differences

- RP /ɑ:/ > ANE [a:] (‘father’ [fa:ðə], ‘part’ [pa:t])

- RP /i:/, /u:/ > ANE [ɪi], [ʊu]

- RP short front vowels > ANE closer short front vowels

- RP /eɪ/, /aɪ/ > ANE [aɪ] and [AAɪ]

Consonant Differences

- RP /h/ > ANE omission

- RP /l/ > ANE [ł]

- ANE: no vocalisation of /l/, no glottal stop