Reading Working Papers in Linguistics 4 (2000) - The University of ...

SALIENCE IN LANGUAGE CHANGE
Table 1 Percentage use of variants of /a7/ (PRICE), Reading Working Class,
interview style
[aLF] [MNF] [MF] [OF] [PNF] [PF]
Elderly (2f, 2m) 0 12.4 47.8 21.8 1.7 15.7
Girls (n=8) 2.8 21.2 45.1 21.1 4.3 5.1
Boys (n=8) 0.6 19.1 63.7 13.7 2.7 0
Table 1 shows that, in Reading, there is a gradual loss of back-onset
and central-onset diphthongs (last three columns) in favour of low-back-onset
diphthongs [MF] (third column) – a levelling towards majority southern urban
speech, presumably spread by diffusion through contact. In Hull and parts of
the surrounding East Riding of Yorkshire, there is a striking allophonic
difference between two variants of PRICE, a monophthong [aQ] before voiced
consonants, as in ride, and a diphthong, typically [aF], before voiceless
consonants, as in bike. Table 2 shows the distribution among the Hull
subjects: the allophonic distinction is largely maintained by the younger
working-class speakers, with only one girl and one boy at times using
diphthongs in the ‘monophthong’ environment. Despite its localised nature,
there is little convergence with the south on this vowel and, more
interestingly, there is also little convergence with other northern accents,
which do not have this feature. While the Reading PRICE vowel is being
levelled, its Hull equivalent is maintaining a strongly localised pronunciation.
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