ENS101G

Hljóðfræði 1
English Phonetics 1

Pétur Knútsson
accent
“voice”
accent
pronunciation
phonetic form
“S/he doesn’t speak
English with an
accent”
“S/he doesn’t speak
English with an
accent”
• Britain • USA
• Australia • Canada
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Britain • USA
• Australia • Canada
• New Zealand
• South Africa

• Scotland, Ireland, Jamaica / Africa / India

• Britain • USA
RP: “Received GA, AE: General
Pronunciation” American
BE: General British English
English
accent
pronuciation
phonetic form

dialect
vocabulary, grammar, syntax
grammatical form
accent
pronuciation
phonetic form

dialect
“s/he speaks dialect”
Linguistically,
there’s no such
thing as a corrupt
accent or a corrupt
dialect.
Linguistically,
there’s no such
thing as an ugly
accent or an ugly
dialect.
Linguistically,
there’s no such
thing as a beautiful
accent or a
beautiful dialect.
accent
pronuciation
phonetic form

dialect
vocabulary, grammar, syntax
grammatical form
accent
pronuciation
phonetic form

dialect
vocabulary, grammar, syntax
grammatical form
• Britain • USA
• Australia • Canada
• New Zealand
• South Africa

• France, Iceland, Japan,

Greece .........
• Britain • USA
• Australia • Canada
• New Zealand
• South Africa

INTERNATIONAL
ENGLISH
mayor
mayor
mare
 mayor
mare
stair bear there heir mayor
fissure
fisher
career
Korea
 “schwa”

evident abundant

vacant confident

valiant obedient
NUTRIENT PRESCIENT OMNISCIENT DISSENTIENT PRESENTIENT
TRANSIENT DARENT EVACUANT DILUENT CONTINUANT
PURSUANT CONSTITUENT AFFLUENT EFFLUENT REFLUENT
INFLUENT CONFLUENT CONGRUENT TRUANT OBSTRUENT
CUMBENT LAMBENT DECUMBENT RECUMBENT INCUMBENT
PROCUMBENT DECADENT PAGEANT ALLEGIANT REGENT SEJANT
PRECEDENT ANTECEDENT URGENT EMERGENT INSURGENT
DETERGENT ABSTERGENT VERDANT DIVERGENT CONVERGENT
ACCORDANT CONCORDANT DISCORDANT MORDANT MORDENT
STUDENT PRUDENT IMPRUDENT ARDENT ARGENT SERGEANT
SERJEANT PEDANT TRIDENT INDIGENT AGENT REAGENT
DIFFIDENT CONFIDENT INTELLIGENT UNINTELLIGENT NEGLIGENT
DILIGENT PRECEDENT DISSIDENT ACCIDENT EXIGENT OCCIDENT
INTRANSIGENT INCIDENT COINCIDENT EVIDENT PROVIDENT
IMPROVIDENT RESIDENT PRESIDENT INDULGENT FULGENT
EFFULGENT REFULGENT SCANDENT ABUNDANT
SUPERABUNDANT REDUNDANT PUNGENT DEFENDANT
RESPLENDENT PENDANT PENDENT DEPENDANT DEPENDENT
INTERDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT ASCENDANT ASCENDENT
DESCENDANT DESCENDENT TRANSCENDENT ATTENDANT
INTENDANT SUPERINTENDENT DESPONDENT RESPONDENT
 “schwa”
obey
attack
obtain
abstain
perhaps
particular
L1 L2
 L1 L2
preliterate: before postliterate: after
learning to read learning to read

“Home” Englishes International English

Over the past 500 – 600 years, English
spelling has not kept up with the
changes in pronunciation
Over the past 500 – 600 years, English
spelling has not kept up with the
changes in pronunciation
•In the year 1400, the words
• boot
• book
• blood
were all pronounced with the same
vowel, a long “oo” sound.
Not so today:

boot food moon lose rude blue

book good should Butch bush

full Buddha

blood flood mud judge love sun son

 L2
• Using L1 phonology for L2 sounds
• shell, sell
• measure, pressure
• sheep, ship
• think, sink
• Kata, kæta
 L2
• Using L1 phonology for L2 sounds
• Aiming at the “wrong” L2 sounds
 L1 L2
“Home” Englishes International English
Has its own Has a “filtered”
phonology or
impoverished
phonology
 L1 and L2 : Summary
• preliterate – postliterate
• does spelling or pronunciation come first?
• weak vowels or not?
• full or impoverished phonology?
L2 learners of English may not have much of a
problem when what they learn can be explained in
terms of letters. They find it for instance easy to
learn that there is a “silent w” in write, and that the
“silent e” at the end of stage changes the vowel “a”
to a n “ay”-sound. But if the changes involved
cannot be shown by letters, they may not be taught.
So the use of Schwa at the end of teacher, doctor and
beggar will not be taught.
 So what accent of English do we
concentrate on in this course?

• RP (British English)
• GA (American English)
• International English