Monthly Archives: August 2011

Is the Glasgow Accent Being “Cockneyfied?”

I’ve often discussed Estuary English, the London-influenced accent spreading throughout England. One piece of evidence?  Young people in Glasgow seem to be adopting ‘Cockney’ pronunciations. If the Glasgow accent is indeed becoming more ‘Southeastern,’ this would be a powerful indicator of London’s … Continue reading

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

Language Log on the Accents in “The Wire”

Over at Language Log, Eric Bakovic has an interesting take on accent work in films and television. The first half of the piece discusses accents on the The Wire, one of the most linguistically fascinating series in the history of … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged | 18 Comments

Did We Speak More “Properly” 50 Years Ago?

Like countless others, I’m a fan of Mad Men. One of the things I find fascinating about the show is the choice its creators made about the speech of the characters. The series almost completely eschews regional dialects (it takes … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged | 13 Comments

But, buts, bus: The Scouse ‘T’

Scouse, the native accent of Liverpool, has comparatively unique features when compared to the surrounding area. Where Manchester and Leeds can arguably sound like variations of the same accent, Scouse seems to be in a world all its own. One … Continue reading

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Posted in British English | Tagged , | 10 Comments

When ‘Price’ and ‘Prize’ Don’t Rhyme

In recent years, I’ve noticed a growing phenomenon among American English speakers. People with otherwise “standard” accents exhibit a “non-standard” pronunciation of words like price, right, and kite. To use right as an example, this results in pronunciations which sound … Continue reading

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Posted in English Phonetics | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Just What is General American English?

I’ve spent the last week on vacation with my girlfriend’s extended family. Most of them are from various parts of Pennsylvania, a state noted for its relative diversity of accents. Indeed, this was my experience throughout the week: I heard … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged , | 33 Comments