Abercraf English
Dialect of Welsh English
Abercraf English | |
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Native to | United Kingdom |
Region | Abercraf |
Indo-European
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Latin ( English alphabet ) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Glottolog | None |
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Abercraf English (also known as Abercrave English ) is a dialect of Welsh English , primarily spoken in the village of Abercraf , located in the far south of the traditional county of Brecknockshire , currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys .
Accent
Abercraf English is distinct from most other accents in its county due to separation by the Brecon Beacons , creating a substantial communication barrier between the localities. It is more appropriate to associate it with neighbouring Swansea Valley , particularly the speech in northern areas (esp. Ystalyfera ) since they are more similar to Abercraf than ones in most of its county, excepting Ystradgynlais . This could be seen from a survey where speakers could not discern the origins of the speech of Ystradgynlais and their hometown, but were able to discern Cwmtwrch with other villages in the valley. [1]
History
Abercraf was entirely Welsh-speaking until World War II , when English-speaking evacuees settled in the village. [1] It is a relatively young acquired dialect. This can be seen from generally less assimilation and elision and clear articulation unlike other accents in Brecknockshire or Glamorgan. [2] Being a more modern accent causes it to be restricted to the last two to three generations, with younger people being much more likely to speak it; although a lot of their daily lives is conducted in Welsh, thus causing English to be taught as a second language . [3]
Phonology
Consonants
Like many other accents in Britain, Abercraf's consonants generally follow that of Received Pronunciation , although it does have some unique innovations common for South Wales dialects: [4]
- As in Port Talbot , consonants can be geminated by any preceding vowel except long non-close vowels, and is most noticeable in fortis plosives and when they are in intervocalic positions. [5] [6]
- Strong aspiration for the voiceless plosives /p, t, k/ as [pʰʰ, tʰʰ, kʰʰ] in stressed syllables when in initial position. [4]
- Regular G-dropping , where the suffix -ing is pronounced as /-ɪn/ . [4]
- /r/ is regularly a tapped [ ɾ ] . [4]
- Marginal loan consonants from Welsh / r̥ , x , ɬ / may be used for Welsh proper nouns and expressions, yet [r̥] is often heard in the discourse particle right . [4]
-
The
-es
morphemic
suffix in words like
goes
,
tomatoes
is often voiceless
/s/
instead of
/z/
found elsewhere.
[4]
- Like with Scottish English , the suffix -ths such as in baths , paths and mouths is rendered as /θs/ instead of /ðz/ . [4]
- H-dropping is quite common in informal speech, although /h/ is pronounced in emphatic speech and while reading word lists. [4]
- /l/ is always clear, likewise there is no vowel breaking . [4] [7]
Vowels
Abercraf English is non- rhotic ; /r/ is only pronounced before a vowel. Like RP, linking and intrusive R is present in the system. [4] On the other hand, the vowel system varies greatly from RP, unlike its consonants, which is stable in many English accents around the world. [8]
Monophthongs
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Abercrave_English_monophthongs_chart.svg/220px-Abercrave_English_monophthongs_chart.svg.png)
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
short | long | short | long | short | long | |
Close | ɪ | iː | ʊ | uː | ||
Close-mid | eː | ɜː | oː | |||
Open-mid | ɛ | ɛː | ʌ | |||
Open | a | aː | ɒ | ɒː |
-
FLEECE
and
GOOSE
are close to cardinal
[
iː
]
and
[
uː
]
.
[11]
- The HAPPY vowel is always tense, being analysed as the FLEECE vowel, where conservative RP has the lax [ɪ] . [12]
- NURSE is unrounded and mid [ ɜ̝ː ] . Unlike accents in West Glamorgan which have a rounded [ øː ] , Abercraf's realisation is identical to RP; a similar articulation had also been recorded in Myddfai . [13]
-
There is no phonemic distinction between
STRUT
and
COMMA
, with the merged vowel being realised as open-mid
[
ɜ
]
in stressed syllables and as mid
[
ə
]
when unstressed. It is transcribed as
/ʌ/
because the stressed allophone is close to RP
/ʌ/
.
[14]
- When unstressed and spelt with an ⟨ e ⟩ , the DRESS vowel is preferred, such as cricket , fastest and movement . Likewise when spelt with ⟨ a ⟩ , it varies from TRAP to STRUT . [15]
- There is no horse–hoarse merger , with the first set pronounced as [ɒː] , and the second [oː] respectively. [12]
- Like all accents of Wales, the SQUARE – DRESS , PALM – TRAP and THOUGHT – LOT sets are based more on length rather than vowel quality; creating minimal pairs such as shared–shed , heart–hat and short–shot . [16] [17]
- The SQUARE – DRESS vowels are close to cardinal [ ɛ ] . [18]
- THOUGHT and LOT are close to cardinal [ ɒ ] . In the case of the former, its articulation is considerably more open than the corresponding RP vowel. [11]
- Pairs PALM – TRAP are relatively centralised, although TRAP may approach to the front. [11]
- The trap–bath split is completely absent in Abercraf English unlike other Welsh accents which have lexical exceptions. [12] [19]
Diphthongs
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Abercrave_English_diphthongs_chart.svg/220px-Abercrave_English_diphthongs_chart.svg.png)
Endpoint | |||
---|---|---|---|
Front | Back | ||
Start point | Close | ei | ɪu ou |
Open | ai ɒi | au |
The offsets of the fronting diphthongs are near-close [ ɪ ] , whereas the offsets of the backing diphthongs are close [ u ] . [20]
- The CHOICE onset is closer to open mid [ɔ] , despite its transcription as /ɒ/ . [18]
- There are no minimal pairs between PRICE words such as aye / I and Dai / Di , unlike in Port Talbot. Like in Myddfai, the onset of PRICE is more open [ ɐ̟ ] , compared to other Welsh accents such as West Glamorgan /ə/ . [13] [21]
- MOUTH has a near-open onset [ ɐ ] , sharing a similar vowel quality as Myddfai, which is also more open than /ə/ that of West Glamorgan. [22]
Abercraf has kept some distinctions between diphthong–monophthong pronunciations; they are shared among other south Welsh dialects such as Port Talbot. These distinctions are lost in most other dialects and they include:
- When GOOSE is spelt with ⟨ ew ⟩ , diphthongal /ɪu/ replaces monophthongal /uː/ , thus blew / blue and threw / through are distinct. [23]
- The sequence / j uː / is pronounced as /juː/ when ⟨ y ⟩ is represented in the spelling, otherwise /ɪu/ , as in you / youth as opposed to use / ewe . [23] When unstressed and after non- coronal consonants, /juː/ uses the FOOT vowel instead. [24] [25]
-
Absence of
toe–tow
and
pain–pane mergers
, therefore there are distinct monophthongal and diphthongal pronunciations of
FACE
and
GOAT
lexical sets. They are diphthongs
/ei/
and
/ou/
when the spelling contains
⟨
i
⟩
/
⟨
y
⟩
and
⟨
u
⟩
/
⟨
w
⟩
respectively, otherwise they are monophthongs
/eː/
and
/oː/
.
[23]
[26]
A good illustration is that of the word
play-place
/ˈpleipleːs/
.
[23]
Monophthongal pronunciations /eː/ and /oː/ are both close-mid; they match their cardinal equivalents. The diphthongal pronunciations have less movement compared to other south Welsh accents, with the onsets of each evidently being close-mid. [27] [28] Exceptions to this rule also exist similar to Port Talbot English, but FACE is slightly different in Abercraf: [23]- The monophthong is generally used before nasals and in the sequence ⟨ -atiV ⟩ , therefore strange and patience is pronounced /eː/ . [23]
- Certain minimal pairs that are not distinct in Port Talbot English, but are in Abercraf, such as waste / waist . In Port Talbot these two are pronounced monophthongally. [23]
NEAR and CURE are not centring diphthongs unlike RP, rather a disyllabic vowel sequence consisting of the equivalent long vowel as the first element and the COMMA vowel, such that these words are pronounced /niːʌ/ and /kɪuːʌ/ respectively. [23]
- Like Port Talbot English, NEAR has a monosyllabic pronunciation /jøː/ word-initially, including after dropped /h/ , making hear , here , year and ear all homophones. Likewise, heard also has this vowel. [4]
Phonemic incidence
Abercraf English generally follows West Glamorgan lexical incidence patterns. [29] [30] [19]
- The first syllable in area may use the FACE vowel instead of SQUARE . [31]
- Only one syllable is in co-op , being homophonous to cop . [31]
- Haulier has the TRAP vowel unlike other accents which have THOUGHT . [31]
- Renowned was once pronounced with [ou] , although this is a spelling pronunciation and standard [au] does exist. [32]
- Unstressed to regularly has FOOT over COMMA even before consonants. [15]
- Tooth has the FOOT vowel instead of GOOSE , which shares its pronunciation with the Midlands and Northern England. [31] [19]
- Want has the STRUT vowel, although this pronunciation was known among non-Welsh speakers of English. [31]
- The vowel in whole uses GOOSE instead of the usual GOAT . [31] [19]
Assimilation and elision
As mentioned above, there is less assimilation and elision than in other accents, however some consonants can be elided: [15]
- /n/ is assimilated as /m, ŋ/ in the appropriate environments as RP. Likewise, the /n/ in government is elided. [4]
- Unlike other colloquial accents in Britain, elision alveolar plosives /t, d/ before consonants is not common. /t/ was elided in first job and next week but not in soft wood , on the other hand /d/ is rarely elided in binds and old boy and clearly rendered in could be , headmaster and standard one . [33]
- /s/ is retracted to /ʃ/ before another /ʃ/ as in bus shelter but not before palatal /j/ in this year (see yod-coalescence ). [8]
The vowel /ə/ is not elided, thus factory , mandarin , reference always have three syllables, unlike many accents such as RP or even Port Talbot. [15]
Intonation
Abercraf English is considered to have a 'sing-song' or 'lilting' intonation due to having high amount of pitch on an unstressed post-tonic syllable, as well as pre-tonic syllables having a great degree of freedom, with a continuous rising pitch being common. [15]
Grammar
Vocabulary
References
- 1 2 Tench (1990) , p. 130.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 140–141.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 130, 140.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tench (1990) , p. 131.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , p. 139.
- ↑ Connolly (1990) , p. 126.
- ↑ Wells (1982) , p. 298.
- 1 2 Tench (1990) , p. 132.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , p. 133.
- ↑ Wells (1982) , pp. 380, 384–385.
- 1 2 3 Tench (1990) , pp. 135–136.
- 1 2 3 4 Tench (1990) , p. 137.
- 1 2 Tench (1990) , pp. 135–137, 141.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 133, 135–137.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Tench (1990) , p. 140.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , p. 136.
- ↑ Wells (1982) , p. 381.
- 1 2 Tench (1990) , p. 135.
- 1 2 3 4 Wells (1982) , p. 387.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 135–137.
- ↑ Wells (1982) , p. 385.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 136, 141.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tench (1990) , p. 134.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , p. 124.
- ↑ Wells (1982) , p. 386.
- ↑ Connolly (1990) , pp. 122–123.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 134–136.
- ↑ Wells (1982) , p. 384.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 137–138.
- ↑ Connolly (1990) , p. 124.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tench (1990) , p. 138.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 138, 141.
- ↑ Tench (1990) , pp. 131–132.
Bibliography
- Connolly, John H. (1990), "Port Talbot English", in Coupland, Nikolas; Thomas, Alan Richard (eds.), English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change , Multilingual Matters Ltd., pp. 121–129, ISBN 1-85359-032-0
- Tench, Paul (1990), "The Pronunciation of English in Abercrave", in Coupland, Nikolas; Thomas, Alan Richard (eds.), English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change , Multilingual Matters Ltd., pp. 130–140, ISBN 1-85359-032-0
- Wells, John C. (1982), Accents of English , Vol. 2: The British Isles (pp. i–xx, 279–466), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-52128540-2
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