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Author Archives: Ben
Shakespearean vs. Modern English
For many years, there was a “standard” accent used by Shakespearean actors. In the UK, this was Received Pronunciation (RP), the “standard British” accent you hear among Oxford professors and in Jane Austen films*. In America, classical actors used something … Continue reading
Dialect Profile: The Brummie Accent
In this series, we discuss different dialects using actual video or audio samples. NOTE: This page uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For information about this notation, please visit my page of IPA Resources. In case you didn’t know, “Brummie” … Continue reading
Dialect Blog Site Update #1
See that menu bar at the top of the screen? There’s a whole bunch of stuff up there. Stuff about accents, dialects and related topics. I am constantly expanding and refining this content. As such, I am going to post … Continue reading
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North America’s Strange “Island” Dialects
One of my missions in life is to convince non-Americans that we do not, in fact, all speak alike. Sadly, the media are against me: most foreigners get their ideas of how we speak from American television, where accents are … Continue reading
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Posted in Miscellaneous Accents and Dialects Tagged American Southern Accents, dialects in TV, Newfoundland Accent, unusual accents and dialects Comments Off on North America’s Strange “Island” Dialects
Speech Impediment vs. Dialect
In yesterday’s post, I talked a bit about Jonathan Ross’s famous pronunciation of “r,” and how I believe this is actually a dialect feature rather than a speech disorder or impediment. It’s worth taking a look at the overlap between … Continue reading
Jonathan Ross and the Letter R
For many years, Britons have mocked television host Jonathan Ross for his pronunciation of the letter “r.” Ross seems to replace this letter with a “w,” so it appears to oustiders that he pronounces his own name “Jonathan Woss.” In … Continue reading
Cockney: going the way of New York?
As I mentioned yesterday, Harry Mount of the Telegraph suggests that Cockney isn’t dying, but rather has migrated to the suburbs. I won’t comment just yet, but there is an obvious parallel here: the classic New York City dialect. Much … Continue reading
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Saturday News Roundup: Bad Boston Accents
A few dispatches from the word of accents and dialects: Americans prefer British accents to their own. Gothamis reports that New Yorkers hate their own accents. New York Magazine eviscerates the Boston accents in the new Kennedy miniseries Indian … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Boston accents, Brummie, Cockney, dialects in TV, New York Accent, News Roundup 6 Comments
Definition of the Day: Phonology
(In this series, we will look at linguistic terms that are important for studying dialects and accents) Merriam-Webster defines phonology as the following: the science of speech sounds including especially the history and theory of sound changes in a language … Continue reading
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AusTalk
As per Melbourne’s Herald Sun, a pair of Australian universities are working on a project called “AusTalk,” which will compile a database of 1000 speakers of Australian English. When finished, it will be one of the most comprehensive English accent … Continue reading