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Yearly Archives: 2011
‘Couple Dialects’
Couples speak their own languages. Whether these could be called ‘dialects’ or not is up for debate. But couples certainly seem to engage in code shifting, the act of changing one’s mode of speech depending on context. They engage in different … Continue reading
Anovver Fing About Th-Fronting
In our discussions of dialect evolution in the UK, a common denominator is th-fronting. To review: th-fronters turn ‘th‘ words into ‘f’ or ‘v’ words: ‘thing’ becomes ‘fing,’ ‘bother’ becomes ‘bovver,’ and ‘both’ becomes ‘bof.’ It’s a feature common in … Continue reading
Dialects and Registers
One afternoon some years ago, an overheard conversation on the subway piqued my interest. A few train stops before my apartment, a pair of young men got on the car and sat across from me. After exchanging a few friendly greetings … Continue reading
How People Think They Make Sounds
When I was younger, I believed I made the English /r/ sound with my lips. When I visualized this consonant, I pictured myself making a tight half-pout. I saw /r/, in essence, as a more emphatic version of/w/. So it … Continue reading
Polar Bears and Cross Dressers
One of the handful of slips the excellent British actor Hugh Laurie made on House (he speaks with an American accent on the show) was when he had a line with the term ‘cross dresser.’ Every vowel and consonant was technically correct, … Continue reading
The Paths of ‘Geezer’
Something that’s puzzled me about the speech of young British co-workers is the term ‘geezer.’ In America, this word refers, impolitely, to an elderly man. More accurately, I’d say it’s used more in theory than practice: it’s one of those … Continue reading
French Stress and Broad A’s
We Americans perhaps assume that the British pronounce ‘foreign’ words more inaccurately than we do. As evidence, one might cite such foreign loans as ‘Mario,’ ‘pasta,’ and ‘cliché!’ At first glance, it might look as if Americans stress the correct … Continue reading
The Odd Vowel Out
Years back, an actor asked me a dialect ‘riddle’ of sorts: is there any vowel represented by the International Phonetic Alphabet that does not exist in any accent of English? I don’t know how to answer that question; it depends … Continue reading
The Changing Dialect of Hip Hop
This morning, I stumbled upon the newest music video of Irish hip-hop artist Lethal Dialect. Take a listen: As you may notice, this young man raps in a thick Dublin accent. Anyone accustomed to American hip hop is likely to … Continue reading
When Twitter Words are Spoken Words
Since the dawn of the written word, great minds have noted the separation between spoken and written language. Yet with social media, we have perhaps bridged this gap. The conventions of texting, chatting, and emailing dictate a conversational tone, an … Continue reading