seminar 2

Types of variation in form

• Spelling - color vs. colour

• Phonology - BATH: [bæθ] vs. [bɑːθ]

• Vocabulary - AmE vs. EngE: elevator vs. lift, chips

• Grammar - Did you eat yet? vs. Have you eaten yet?

• Pragmatics - Requests:

Can you send me the report?

I was wondering if you could send me…

Standard lexical sets

Sets of words that typically have the same vowel in all varieties,

however they are pronounced. Each set is represented by a keyword.

Example descriptions:

• In GenAm, BATH is [æ]

• RP has a TRAP-BATH split

• In GenAm, TRAP and BATH are unsplit

Tools for describing phonological variation

The IPA chart

Standard lexical sets

Some important terms for describing…

Consonants:

• Rhoticity & non-prevocalic /r/

• Intervocalic /t/

• Tap/flap /ɾ/

Vowels

• Monophthongization

• Widening (diphthongs)

• Lowering, raising, fronting, backing

• Mergers & splits

Grammatical variation

Relatively little variation between standard Englishes

• Frequency rather than +/-

• Main differences occur between standard and non-standard varieties,

e.g.

• Switched concord: We sees, He go

• Double negation: We ain’t seen nothin’ yet. • Double modals: I might could do that. • Invariant tag questions: Canadian, eh? She’s your sister, innit?

• Different 2nd person plural pronoun (youse, yous, yees, y’all)

L1-English majority

Low-contact and high-contact varieties:

• England, Wales, Scotland

• Northern Ireland, Ireland

• The US, Canada

• Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

• The Caribbean

• A few Islands

L1-English majority: Main distinguishing criteria

• BATH: /ɑː/ or /æ/

• Rhoticity: +/- nonprevocalic /r/

• Closeness in front vowels /e/, /æ/, e.g. pen, pan

• Front or back PALM & START

• LOT-THOUGHT merger

• Intervocalic /t/ voiced or not