British accents and dialects have been said to have been subject to massive dialect levelling. Explain what this concept means, and discuss the extent to which this has in fact taken place (or is taking place in the present).
When referring to the process of dialect levelling, there are two key terms that are interchangeable; these are dialect supralocalisation and regional dialect levelling. There is a distinction between regional dialect levelling (RDL from now) and levelling. The term levelling refers to the broad linguistic changes that occur when speakers’ language choices accommodate each other. On the other hand, RDL is used to describe a geographical language change where interlocutors reduce the number of marked (or unusual) variants they use. This means speakers avoid the use of forms which are localised, and deemed a lower class of speaking, and use forms which have a wider geographical range of usage. It is also important to note the differences between a regional dialect and a social dialect. A regional dialect is distinguished by the regional variation within a
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These can collectively be defined as features of local dialects moving towards StE norms. For example lexical dedialectalisation is fairly easy to explain; Trudgill’s investigation into the different words for ‘ear’ shows that localised lexical choices such as ‘lug’ or ‘tab’ are being levelled into the standard word ‘ear’. An interesting thing to note is that, whilst London is said to have had the most influence on RP and StE, when discussing grammatical dedialectalisation the northern counties have influenced the southern counties. The main difference comes within the verb ‘to be’ (South: I bees, North: I am) and adding the present tense ending to verbs (South: we cries, North: we cry). Phonological dedialectalisation is the redistribution of different phonemes across the local
the use of a southern type dialect. Local color can be shown in a particular dialect,occupations, and Topography.
‘Language is considered one of the most important means of initiating, synthesising and reinforcing ways of thinking, feeling and behaviour which are functionally related to the social group.’ (Bernstein, 1959). Hence, language plays a crucial role in life and society. This essay focuses on analysing a case study of Oliver from the BBC1 documentary 7 up to 2000. The key aspect examined in this article will be the subject’s language, accent and the range of his vocabulary.
In the article “Do You Speak American?,” Robert MacNeil is trying to reach the american public, especially those who do not have a complete understanding of the ongoing changes that are happening to the English that is spoken throughout the United States. He uses a multitude of examples to prove this very fact. For one he wants to inform the people that one reason for this change is that average people now have more influence in the way language is spoken.Which to him is a good thing. He enjoys the new evolution that American English has undertaken. He believes that it is a step in the right direction. Another, example he uses are the changes different regions and/or group of people have made on the English language. He uses the different accents and dialect to show the growth and improvement that occurred. Even though, some linguist view these changes as wrong, MacNeil views them as necessary and as something that is unique to the United States. In essence, a necessary growth that only makes the United States grow into a better country. Thus, making it more diverse.
Finegan says this is something “living languages must do”. For me, I was raised in a military home in which we moved to a new region every couple of years. Coming from Germany, moving to Rochester, and then to Lowville, my dialect is a combination of all three speech communities. It is different than my parents, and will mostly be passed down to my children. As I age and move locations it is opted to change again as well. So it is not that I speak differently or incorrect than the rest of my family, my speech community is merely growing and changing as it is passed generation to generation. Richard Lederer stated in his article, “We are a teeming nations within a nation, a country that is like a world.” (150) He was portraying how our country, with a universal language, can be so diverted by each region’s version of the English language. I agree completely that although we all “sing” the same song of the American language, “we talk in melodies of infinite variety.” (150) The way our country was built was by different American regions doing their own work, for example, the south had plantations, where my ancestors were small town farmers who worked with manufacturing in mills and
Due to the certain accent’s stereotyping images, other “original English speaker” think they are uneducated, rude, and ignorance. TV comedy shows increased this negative image to audiences as making fun of their accent and laughed. The video introduced some words which are unfamiliar to us: cabinet is milkshake, gum band is rubber band, schlep is to carry, and pau hana means work is done. Those words and phrases are noticeable if they are native English speakers. On the other hand, I hardly notice those accents and dialects as a foreigner because I don’t have enough knowledge to judge what “standard English” is. In fact, we normally learn “standard English” in school as a foreigner, but we have a great chance to hear mixed dialects and accents everywhere because of mixed race society. Nevertheless, standard English accent is easier for me to understand. I easily distinguish and guess people’s hometown if they are foreigners by their accent. Still, it’s hard to recognize accents and dialect within states. Moreover, this video was difficult to understand because of the
Kistner, A. L. and M. K. Kistner. “The Five Structures of ‘The Changeling’.” Modern Language Studies 11.2 (1981): 40-53. Accessed March 29, 2014.
Vaux, Bert, and Scott A. Golder. "Dialect Survey Results." Harvard Dialect Survey. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
Another difficulty cultures deal with is language and the way people speak. In some cases, people struggle to belong by making changes in the way they speak the English language just to be assimilated. They attempt to use words and letters, as well as body language that fit in the norm; all in an attempt to denounce their original intonation and style of pronunciation. One ...
how the English language has changed in the many years from then until now. The
Telley, S.A. (2008) ‘Teenage dialect – Chapter one’, pp. 1-75. Available at: https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/1634 (Accessed 12 May, 2014).
A. A metropolitan region is a region consisting of one or more central cities and their surrounding suburbs. Metropolitan areas determine the changes in the structure and the dynamics of a particular region. For example, North East Ohio consists of Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown and their surrounding suburbs.
prevalent within a single dialect, a single national language or a single group of social language. It is one of the most significant “modes in the historical life and evolution of all languages … [and] language and languages change historically primarily by means of hybridization” (Bakhtin, 2011, 358). The conscious hybridization, on the other hand, is an intentional hybrid that is primarily applied as “an artistic device” (Bakhtin, 2011, p. 358). Bakhtin (2011) defines these hybrid constructions
The settlement of the British Isles by north Europeans followed by Norman French paints the backdrop to this essay which will focus on the period between the early 15th and 17th centuries, when a 'standard' English evolved. It will show that modern-day English is very different to that first introduced to the British Isles, but by identifying changes through time, its continuity can be demonstrated. Finally, it will suggest that present day English is in a position analogous to that which existed before the Norman invasion, when there were many varieties and dialects, and that this may lead to its decline as a global language, due to decreasing intelligibility.
Northern they had replaced the earlier Anglo-Saxon hives, but they were still alive. Such became the preferred Chancery form which had ousted bis, sych, seche and swiche. Which was replacing which. The auxiliary verbs appear more regularly in their modern forms: can, could, shall, should and would. A standardised spelling was developed which was divorced from the phonetic environment so that sound and spelling were becoming two separate systems.
In a sociolinguist perspective “the idea of a spoken standardized language is a hypothetical construct” (Lippi-Green, 2012, pp. 57). They are the form of Britain English and American English that are used in textbooks and on broadcasting. Giles and Coupland observe that “A standard variety is the one that is most often associated with high socioeconomic status, power and media usage in a particular community” (1991, p. 38). Both native speakers and learners of English, where English is taught as a second or foreign language (hereafter ESL/EFL), speak dialect of English in everyday conversation (Kachru, 2006, pp. 10-11; Owens 2012, p.