Reading Working Papers in Linguistics 4 (2000) - The University of ...
Reading Working Papers in Linguistics 4 (2000) - The University of ...
Reading Working Papers in Linguistics 4 (2000) - The University of ...
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P. KERSWILL & A. WILLIAMS<br />
Summary for consonants<br />
• Consonantal features spread from the south to the north. (We can add the<br />
<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g use <strong>of</strong> labiodental [K] for /r/ <strong>in</strong> the north, follow<strong>in</strong>g a southern<br />
<strong>in</strong>novation - see Foulkes & Docherty <strong>2000</strong>.) <strong>The</strong> successful ones are those<br />
which (i) are natural and (ii) have low prestige<br />
• Explanations <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> a restricted def<strong>in</strong>ition <strong>of</strong> salience fail (i) because<br />
<strong>of</strong> the circularity <strong>of</strong> ‘extra-strong salience’ and (ii) because the factors <strong>of</strong><br />
phonological contrast and phonetic difference do not serve to group<br />
consonantal features <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> their sociol<strong>in</strong>guistic behaviour<br />
• Northern identity factors mean that southern features perceived as ‘posh’<br />
are not adopted <strong>in</strong> the north. <strong>The</strong>re is less resistance to ‘posh’ features <strong>in</strong><br />
the south<br />
• We may ultimately not be able to expla<strong>in</strong> why one feature is adopted while<br />
another is not; l<strong>in</strong>guistically arbitrary factors may play part<br />
Vowels<br />
In terms <strong>of</strong> vowels, the study showed no evidence at all <strong>of</strong> convergence<br />
between North and South. Instead, we see <strong>in</strong>dependent, relatively local<br />
developments lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> some cases to divergence, and <strong>in</strong> other cases the<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>tenance <strong>of</strong> very localised features (Williams & Kerswill 1999). <strong>The</strong><br />
vowel <strong>of</strong> PRICE illustrates the difference between the regions.<br />
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