English Notes. THE ADOLESCENTS AND THE ENGLISH LEARNING

THE ADOLESCENTS AND THE ENGLISH LEARNING

Activity 11 a

Notes

Varieties of English

Received pronunciation

Denotes the speech of educated people living in London and the southeast of England and of other people elsewhere who speak in this way.

If the qualifies educated be assumed, RP is then a regional dialect, as contrasted withLondon Cockney, which is a class dialect.

Other varieties of English are well preserved in spite of the leveling influences of film, television, and radio.

In the Northern dialect RP:

*/a:/ (the first vowel sound in “father”) is still prononunces /ae/ (a sound like the a in “fat”) in words.

*run, rung: /^/

Midland dialects

Diphthongs in “throat” and “stone” have been kept apart, whereas in RP they have fallen together.

Cheshire Derby Stafford Warwick: Received Pronunciation “signing” is pronounced with a g sounded after the velar nasal sound (as in RP “finger”)

Norfolk. “skellington” and “solintary” for “skeleton” and “solitary”, showing an intrusive n just as does “messenger” in RP fromFrench messenger, “passenger” from French passage.

East Anglian

Some words show consonantal metathesis (switch position), as in “signify” and substitution of one liquid or nasal for another, as in “chimbly” for “chimney”

Dialects “yat” comes from the old singular geat, whereas RP “gate” comes from the plural.

Northern Ireland

Is conservative and is clearer and more easily intelligible than many dialects.

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