1. BEYOND THE BRITISH ISLES: NEW YORK ACCENT
North America: along the Atlantic Coast
The sharpest regional, social differences in speech
The earliest European settlements
the 13 colonies from 1776 came together to form the USA
Isogloss: rans horizontally from East→West

4. THREE MAIN SPEECH AREAS IN THE (NORTH) EAST (Kurath, 1949)
Main differences in vocabulary (to a lesser extent, in morphology, syntax, pronunciation)
North: New England, NY state (NY city, Boston, Massachussets)
Midland:from middle Atlantic states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
South: from Washington DC, Virginia, Carolinas

5. NORTH AMERICA By 1700 AC, most colonies had settled down
The original settlers: 1) from England
2) Scots-Irish (Ulster)
3) Welsh
4)Germans
In the South: closer bonds with England
black slave labour
From 18th c: expansion: beyond the Appalachians :Ohio, Indiana, Illinois

6. Further classification of the American accents
1)Eastern: non-rhotic; Boston, New England, NY city
2)Southern: non-rhotic South
3)Gen Am all areas that are NOT Eastern, NOT South; no marked local Eastern/Southern features - From Hudson Valley, Upstate NY, Pennsylvania
20th c:migration of: 1) Blacks from South→North and 2)Hispanics from Mexico, Puerto Rico

7. I) CANADA
English (2/3 as L1), French, Scottish Gaelic, Eskimo, Amerindian
To a British, Canadians: just other Americans
But Canadians WANT to be kept distinct from Am E; Canadians remained loyal to the British army when USA broke away..
Main speech characteristics of Canadian E:
A) full rhoticity, B)flat-Bath accent C) t-voicing

8. Main features of Canadian speech
The most reliable diagnostic for distinguishing Canadians from Americans:
The starting point of PRICE, MOUTH wrds
The absence of THOUGHT vs LOT opposition
‘I saw the White House’: [aɪ ˈsɑ ðə ˈhwəɪt ˈhʌʊs] typical Canadian
Canadian E: very homogeneous from Ottawa→Vancouver
Even today: lots of influence from Britain but American style dominates Canadian media

9. Canadian English: main features
Dialectologists: Canada: 3 dialect areas:
A) New foundland
B) Eastern Canada (Ontario)
C) Western Canada
Canadian English Vowels: ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʊ, ʌ, i,ei, aɪ, u, o, ɑʊ
LOT ɑ BATH æ NURSE ɜr=ɝ THOUGHT ɑ
STRUT ʌ CLOTH ɑ PALM ɑ GOAT o

10. The Canadian consonants
Similar to Gen Am
T-voicing/D-tapping, so /t-d/: neutralised
e.g.??

11. The Canadian consonants
Examples of Canadian t-voicing/tapping:
Matter-madder, petal – pedal, I hit it-I hid it
Other features: /l/→[ɬ] in most positions
wh→hw (in Ontario):whale[hweɪɬ],wale:[weɪɬ]
Yod dropping : tune: [tu:n], duke: [du:k]

12. NEW YORK CITY
New York and London: rivals for world’s most populous English speaking city
New York: approximately 8 million
Distinct Am accent (in vowels, phonetic realization)
Unique in social stratification bcs of accent
Unlike other Am accents: serious judgments on pronunciation: two born+bred New Yorkers may have very distinct pronunciation (Hubbel, 1950)

13. Brooklynese/NY speech
NY: resembles Birmingham, Liverpool, London: no other Am city’s speech evolves such disapproval
NY accent: NO OVERT or even COVERT PRESTIGE
“NY city: a great sink of negative prestige” (Labov, 1966)
Except old Blacks, NO New Yorker had a positive attitude towards their native accent

14. NY: a disparaged speech
For most Americans: NY an example to avoid
No phonological innovations from NY
Notable features of NY Speech:
1) (variable) non-rhoticity
2) quality of TRAP-BATH
3)CLOTH-THOUGHT
4)NURSE vowels
5) phonetic realisation of [t, d, ɵ,ð]

15. The vowel system of NY
ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʊ, i, eɪ, ɔɪ, ɑɪ, ɪʊ, əʊ, u, oʊ, ɪə, ɛə, æə, ɑə, ɜ, ʊə, ɔə
TRAP æ, æə, ɛə FLEECE i,ɪi MOUTH aʊ
LOT ɑ, ɑə PALM ɑə NEAR ɪ( r )
STRUT ʌ THOUGHT ɔə SQUARE ɛə ( r )
FOOT ʊ GOAT oʊ STARTɑə (r) ɑ (r)
BATH æə, ɛə GOOSE u,ɪʊ NORTH ɔə( r)
CLOTH ɔə PRICE ɑɪ FORCE ɔə HAPPY i
NURSE ɜ (r ) CHOICE ɔɪ CURE ʊə
any comments, which mergers?

16. The vowels NY
Diphthongal realisations of the monophthongs: CLOTH, THOUGHT, NORTH, FORCE: [ɔə] and BATH-TRAP: [æə, ɛə] and:
LOT-PALM,START: [ɑ, ɑə]
Other monophthongs: i→ɪi, u→ʊu
u: close to CV 8 but little lip roundness
The degree of diphthongization is greater in lower social classes

17. The vowels of NY /u/ in ‘duke’, ‘new’, ‘tune’: [ɪʊ]
In BATH-TRAP wrds; (also) [ɛə]: common ‘bad’:[bɛəd]=‘bared’
Saw=soar/sore: [ɔə]
God=guard: [gɑə]
[ɑɪ]: more back starting point in working class
‘Night-time’:[nɑɪttɑɪm] like??
/i-ɪə/, /eɪ-ɛə/→ø/-l ‘reel’=‘real’ (ɪə) ‘Bailey’=‘barely (ɛə)

18. Some inconsistencies-oddities of NY speech
‘Durham’: [dʊərəm]
‘donkey’: [dʌŋki]
‘won’t’: [wʊnt]
‘forward’: [foʊwəd]
‘always’: [oʊweɪz]
Also: variability in r-dropping
Pressure from Standard/Gen Am to restore /r/

19. LABOV’S EXPERIMENT FOR RHOTICITY IN NY (1966)
3 department stores checking the /r/ pronunciation in ‘fourth floor’
Findings: social stratification: different for age groups
In the lowest class department store: fewer rs
More rhotic pronunciations in middle, upper social class but in middle class, rhoticity increased with age
In highest status: rhoticity decreased with age

20. Labov’s experiment
Follow-up experiment: in their evaluation of recorded acents: NYorkers below 40: favorable towards rhoticity
In careful, deliberate speech (read aloud): more rhoticity appeared but in casual speech: fewer rs
Linking, intrusive rs DO appear: [nɪə] but [nɪərə], [aɪdɪə] but: ðɪ aɪdɪərɪz…
Hypercorrections: *[aɪdɪər], *[lɔər]
/r/: post-alveolar, labialised, and retroflex

21. NY speech: vowels Caricature for ‘thirty-third’: ‘toity-toid’ in NY
So, the NURSE vowel /ɜ/→[ɜɪ], [ɜ] or [ɝ]
CHOICE: [ɜɪ] ‘voice’:[vɜɪs], ‘join’:[dʒɜɪn]
[ɜɪ]: the most stigmatised NY city trait
Working/low-class: [ɜɪ], higher class: [ɔɪ]
BATH:[æ]→NY:[ɛə, ɪə],
‘bad: [bɛəd=bɪəd] low, white working class
3 way merger possible: ‘bared’-’beard’-’bad’

22. The NY vowels, consonants
CLOTH –THOUGHT: [ɔə,o:] lower class
[ɔ:ə, ɔ:]:upper mid class
LOT, START: LOT lengthening: [ɑ:]
ALVEOLAR Cs: produced with the tongue blade /t,d/: velarised, pharyngalised
Heavy aspiration/affrication in syllable initial, final position: ‘tin’, ‘din’: [tʰɪn], [dᶻɪn]
[ʔ]: lower status[bɑʔļ], only occasionally V-V
/ө, ð/: affriactes, or stops /өæŋks/→[ṱʰæŋks]
d→[d] ‘there’: [dɛə( r )]
Any Nyorker who uses [t, d or tө, dð] for /ө,ð/ sporadically: a higher class, not manual worker; if used a lot: NOT gone to highschool

23. Other features of NY accent
Glide cluster reduction: ‘white’, ‘when’: [hwaɪt], [hwen]: NOT any more, rather [w]
‘singer’, ‘long island’[sɪŋgə (r )], [lɔŋgaɪlənd]
L vocalisation : ‘sell’, ‘sold’ but NOT in ‘people’
In London: wider spectrum of l vocalisation
l→[ɬ] V-V: ‘jelly’, ‘belly’

24. NEW ENGLAND: CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSSETS , RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT

25. NEW ENGLAND Western part: Connecticut, Vermont: Gen Am
Eastern part: special features, substandard
Boston Mass: North Eastern New England: eastern Am pronunciation
Main pronunciation features of the East:
1) r-less 2) BATH-broadening
Nowadays: lots of pressure from Gen Am for homogeneity
Eastern New England: no more sets the fashion/innovations

26. New England’s pronunciation features
LOT ɒ NEAR iə
STRUT ʌ SQUARE æə
BATH a, æ START a
CLOTH ɒ NORTH ɒ
NURSE ɜ FORCE oə WHAT DO YOU NOTICE AS
FLEECE i CURE ʊə MAIN DIFFERENCES BWN
FACE eɪ happY i,ɪ NEW ENGLAND-NY??
PALM a lettER ə
THOUGHT ɒ
GOAT o
MOUTH aʊ

27. NEW ENGLAND: main features
Rhoticity: more evident nowadays bcs og Gen Am pressure
In NURSE wrds: r widely retained
Hypercorrections: ‘law’: [lɒr] Modern Boston
START : [a(: )]
BATH: a(: ), or [eə]‘half’ [haf] but now: pressure for /æ/
Easter New England: LOT+THOUGHT+CLOTH [ɒ]

28. Main differences bwn NY-East New England
LOT [ɑ] in NY [ɒ] in New England
START [ɑə] NY [a] “ ”
THOUGHT [ɔə] LOT-THOUGHT [ɒ]

29. The South: Virginia, Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Massissippi, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas

30. THE SOUTHERN PART OF NORTH AMERICA
Bailey (1969): southern accents: 3 types:
1) tidewater of East Virginia, East Carolinas
2)inner South Kentucky
3) outer South
Uniformity of southern accent:much exaggerated
South remained behind industrialization, education, rural nature, little influence from school teachers; speech: quaint
Lots of deviations from Gen Am/RP; traditional dialect

31. Main features of the Southern pronunciation of North America
‘deaf’:[dɪf], ‘wounded’ [waʊndɪd]
‘southern drawl’: length of stressed, accented syllables
PRICE [a
Northerners: look down on Southern Am E pronunciation
Southerners: assume a patriotic attitude or try to extirpate all Southern features

32. The vowels of the south part of North America
ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʊ, ʌ, ɑ, i, eɪ, æɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, æʊ, u, oʊ, ɔ
TRAP æɪ CLOTH ɔ
LOT a GOAT oʊ
STRUT ʌ GOOSE ʊ, ɪʊ
BATH æ, æɪ MOUTH æʊ
ɪ→eɪ /-ŋ ‘sing’ :[seɪŋ]
Rhoticity varies
Non-rhoticity: upper class whites, blacks
Rhoticity: lower class whites

33. Some features of the Southern pronunciation of North America
L : quite clear V-V, clear also before [aɪ], [ɔɪ]
ɬ→ᴓ/ - { +C, +labial, +velar} ‘help’ [hɛəp], ‘bulb’: [bʌəb]
In old fashioned tidewater /k, g/→front,
[c, ɟ]palatal
Winner= winter: [wɪnər]
Some [ʔ] fot /t/ ‘can’t you’: [kænʔjə]
s→∫/- r ‘shrink’: [sriŋk]
‘it’ : [hɪt]
‘isn’t’: [ɪdnt]]