June 22, 2012

Features of the Bristol accent


I have spent the week in Bristol and have enjoyed hearing the Bristolian accent. Here is a summary of some of the features, as outlined by Yvonne Wren and colleagues in a paper that is currently in submission for publication:
 
Vowels:
1. Use of [ə] for /ʌ/ (as in ‘putt’).
2. Use of [a] for /ɑː/ (as in ‘bath’)
3. Slightly longer or fuller vowels than RP e.g. mad [maˑd]; job [ʤɑˑb]; also - bucket [bəˑkɪˑʔ] rather than /bʌkɪˑʔ/; goodness [ˈgʊdnɛs] rather than /gʊdnəs/ or /gʊdnɪs/.

Consonants:
1. Post vocalic /ɹ/ as in [fɑɹm]
2. Presence of /l/ following word final /ə/ (as in ‘Americal’) and also medially in e.g. ‘drawling’ and ‘chimley’. (This is a feature known as Bristol ‘l’ and is confined to the local area of Bristol. ‘Eva’ and ‘evil’ would be homonyms in a child who shows this feature.)
3. Use of [f] for /θ/
4. Use of glottal stop for /t/ before a pause e.g. Pete – [piːʔ]