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Tag Archives: Rhotic vs. Non-Rhotic
Scotland, Borders, Secession and Language
Scotland’s vote against independence prompted me to consider how I, as an American, distinguish the UK’s component parts. When I envision Scotland (or Wales, or England), I think of a unique language. Not Scots or Gaelic, necessarily, but “language” in a broader sense. It’s a … Continue reading
Posted in British English Tagged Northern Irish Accents, Rhotic vs. Non-Rhotic, scottish accents 19 Comments
“Courtney Act” and Non-Rhotic Puns
This season of RuPaul’s Drag Race featured Courtney Act (aka Shane Jenek), a renowned drag performer from Brisbane, Australia. In an early episode, Act/Jenek laments that Americans don’t get the pun in his stage name, which sounds similar to “caught in … Continue reading
Was Received Pronunciation Ever Rhotic?
People around the world associate Britain with non-rhoticity, the process whereby /r/ is dropped at the end of syllables such as ‘car‘ and ‘start.’ This impression largely stems from the fact that the non-rhotic Received Pronunciation (RP) was the standard for … Continue reading
Father-Bother in New England
When people think of New England accents, they tend to think of the fronted /a/ in words like ‘start’ and ‘car‘ (as in ‘pahk yuh car in Hahvuhd yahd’). This /a/ can sound to outsiders somewhat like the ‘a’ in … Continue reading
How George Washington Spoke (Brief Thoughts)
It’s the Fourth of July, the day when we Americans celebrate our nation’s independence from Britain. To celebrate (sort of), I am going to watch the HBO miniseries John Adams. At the time of the series’ release, I was intrigued by … Continue reading
A New (Rhotic?) Dialect in New Zealand?
Needless to say, I was quite intrigued by this recent article at Stuff.co.nz about a new urban dialect spoken in South Auckland, New Zealand. A unique type of youthful, urban speech has emerged, not dissimilar to Multicultural British English in terms of … Continue reading
Accents or Dialects I Haven’t Heard
A question I get asked a lot (as anyone with a passion for accents and dialects is probably asked) is whether there are any varieties of English I haven’t heard. There’s no easy answer, of course, since accents aren’t clearly defined … Continue reading
The New England/East Anglia Connection
A commonly held assumption is that New England accents are cousins of East Anglian accents in the UK. It’s an impression shared even by non-linguists, as this interview with British actor Tom Wilkinson from some years back attests (he discussed hanging out with Maine … Continue reading
The Cornish Accent?
Half of my last name is ‘Trawick,’ which is a Cornish surname. Or rather, Anglicized Cornish–it apparently derives from ‘Traweek.’ I’ve seen a few competing ‘Trawick’ etymologies, but after some ancestral research, this seems the most plausible contender. As such, I’ve developed … Continue reading
How Non-Rhotic Accents Become Rhotic
While we’re on the topic of rhotic and non-rhotic accents, I’ll address a frequently asked question: why do non-rhotic accents switch so quickly to rhotic? And vice versa? Since World War Two, both the US and Britain have experienced massive … Continue reading