Tag Archives: Rhotic vs. Non-Rhotic

That’s the Idear: Intrusive ‘R’

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Ben

Generations of Americans have puzzled over the British tendency to add ‘r’s where (it seems to us) ‘r’s don’t belong.  This can be found in such phrases as “an idear of it,” “pastar and sauce,” and  “sawr and conquered.”  Termed r insertion (or intrusive r), … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in American English | Tagged , , | 40 Comments

How Do Falkland Islanders Speak?

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Ben

English has a number of isolated speaker communities throughout the world.  Among the most isolated are the Falkland Islands, which comprise a sparsely populated British territory of about 3,000.  To date, I’ve only found one speech sample of someone truly … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in Miscellaneous Accents and Dialects | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Is the Glasgow Accent Being “Cockneyfied?”

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Ben

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 →

Share

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

The Overlooked Philadelphia Accent

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Ben

I should really know more about the Philadelphia Accent than I do. I have several friends who live in Philadelphia, my lovely girlfriend was born in the city (and raised nearby), and I’ve lived most of my life in the … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in American English | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

When did Americans Stop “Talking British?”

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Ben

As the title of this post suggests, I often hear questions along the lines of, “when did Americans stop talking like British people?” Many readers, of course, know that history offers no such easy answers. But it’s a topic worth … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in American English | Tagged | 97 Comments

The “Trubbow” with L-Vocalization

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Ben

Listen to a three-year-old say “doll,” and it will probably sound like “dow.”  Along the same lines, a young child’s “trouble” becomes “trubbow,” “fall” becomes “foe,” “bell” becomes “bew.”  Or so it sounds to the average listener.  This  is what is … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in English Phonetics | Tagged , , , | 83 Comments

Arrr, Matey! The Origins of the Pirate Accent

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Ben

Ask people to imitate a pirate, and they instinctually adopt the “pirate accent” immortalized in film and television. This unique brogue is renowned for it’s strong “r” sound, as in “yarrr” and “arrrrr.” Pirate imitators may wonder, “What accent am … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 45 Comments

R-lessness in the American South: RIP?

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Ben

Whatever happened to non-rhotic Southern accents? For those of you joining us from the everyday world (one where “non-rhotic” isn’t a household word) a non-rhotic accent is one where the “r” is dropped at the end of words or syllables. … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in American English | Tagged , , | 50 Comments

The Wild World of the English “R”

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Ben

Compared to other languages, consonants in English don’t vary that much from dialect to dialect. Our vowels are all over the map, but our consonants don’t change much. For example, the English “m” hasn’t budged since the days of Old … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in English Phonetics | Tagged , | 25 Comments