Graphic method of indicating sounds and intonation

Sounds. Long sounds are marked /:/ (/α:/, /i:/). Special rules for writing sounds /α:/, /ı/, /æ/ in transcription. Sounds should be written in block letters, separately from each other.

Intonation. Special intonation patterns for different types of sentences. Stressed syllables are marked: -; unstressed syllables – ·; pauses between sense groups look like:│; pauses in the end of a sentence:║. The falling tones are usually marked ↓, \; the rising tones ↑, /. If the intonation goes down, the last stressed syllable looks like a rounded line down. If it’s followed by any syllables, they are marked on a lower level with dots ···. If the intonation goes up, and the last syllable is stressed, it looks like a rounded line up; if the syllable, preceding the last one, is stressed, it’s marked - and the last syllable is marked · on a higher level.

Rhythm

Rhythm is a regular occurrence of stressed syllables. When several stressed syllables come close together (Ann came too late) the speed of the utterance is noticeably slower, than in the case when there’s some unstressed syllables between the stressed ones. Then unstressed syllables flow away more rapidly than the stressed ones. If the number of unstressed syllables in one interval is greater than in the neighbouring one, they are pronounced more quickly to make the intervals more or less regular (\Ann could have\ bought you some other book – the 2^nd interval is pronounced more rapidly).

In connected speech under the influence of rhythm many words can change their stressing. Such are words with 2 strong stresses. Under definite rhythmical conditions one of the 2 stresses becomes weaker. If such a word, used in the final position, is preceded by a stressed syllable, its first stress becomes weaker. E.g.: She lives down↓stairs. A ↓downstairs room.

Assimilation

Assimilation is the influence of one sound on the neighboring one so that they appear to have similar features. Both consonants and vowels undergo changes in connected speech, but consonants are more effected by assimilation. This term is applied only to neighboring consonants. When vowels influence consonants or vice versa, we use the term accommodation.

Assimilation can be complete (articulation of one sound changes entirely under the influence of the other so that the articulation of both becomes the same: <horse-shoe>) and incomplete (if the articulation of one sound is influenced by the other sound only in one respect. The effected phoneme retains its typical feature (tenth: <θ>; interdental sound <θ> influences the alveola sound <n>, so it also becomes interdental).

Assimilation can also be analyzed from the point of view of the influence. If the preceding consonant influences on the following, assimilation is progressive. If the preceding consonant is influenced by the one that follows, it is called regressive assimilation.

Welsh English

Some of the features of Welsh English are:

- Distinctive intonational differences, including a rising intonation at the end of statements - sometimes characterised as "sing-song".

- Lengthening of all vowels is common in strong valleys accents.

- The vowel /ʌ/ in English words such as "bus" is pronounced [ə], instead of the [ɐ] used in England. Thus, in Welsh English, the vowel sounds in "bus" and "the" are identical.

- In some areas, pronouncing [ɪ] as [ɛ] e.g. "edit" and "benefit" as if spelt "edet" and "benefet".

- A strong tendency (shared with Scottish English) towards using an alveolar trill [r] (a 'rolled r') in place of an approximant [ɹ] (the r used in most accents in England).

- Yod-dropping is rare after any consonant so rude and rood, threw and through, chews and choose, for example, are usually distinct.

Scottish English

Phonological characteristic of Scottish English:

- Scottish English is a rhotic accent, meaning /r/ is pronounced in the syllable coda. While other dialects have merged /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ʌ/ before /r/, Scottish English makes a distinction between the vowels in herd, bird, and curd. Many varieties contrast /o/ and /ɔ/ before /r/ so that hoarse and horse are pronounced differently. /or/ and /ur/ are contrasted so that shore and sure are pronounced differently, as are pour and poor.

- There is a distinction between /w/ and /hw/ in word pairs such as witch and which.

- The phoneme /x/ is common in names and in SSE's many Gaelic and Scots borrowings, so much so that it is often taught to incomers, particularly for "ch" in loch. Some Scottish speakers use it in words of Greek origin as well, such as technical, patriarch, etc. The pronunciation of these words in the original Greek would support this.

- /l/ is usually velarized

- Vowel length is generally regarded as non-phonemic. Certain vowels (such as /i/, /u/, and /ж/ are generally long but are shortened before nasals and voiced plosives. However, this does not occur across morpheme boundaries so that crude contrasts with crewed, need with kneed and side with sighed.

- Scottish English has no /ʊ/, instead transferring Scots /u/. Thus pull and pool are homophones.

- Cot and caught are not differentiated in most Central Scottish varieties, as they are in some other varieties.

- In most varieties, there is no /ж/:/ɑː/ distinction; therefore, bath, trap, and palm have the same vowel.

- The happY vowel is most commonly /e/ (as in face), but may also be /ɪ/ (as in kit) or /i/ (as in fleece).

- /θs/ is often used in plural nouns where southern English has /рz/ (baths, youths, etc); with and booth are pronounced with θ.

Irish English

Hiberno-English – also known as Irish English

Hiberno-English retains many phonemic differentiations.

- With some local exceptions, /r/ occurs postvocally, making most Hiberno-English dialects rhotic

- /t/ is not usually pronounced as a plosive where it does not occur word-initially; instead, it is pronounced as a slit fricative

- The distinction between w /w/ and wh /hw/, as in wine vs. whine, is preserved.

-/ɒː/ and /o/ in horse and hoarse is preserved, though not usually in Dublin or Belfast.

- A distinction between [ɛɹ]-[ʌɹ]-[ʌɹ] in herd-bird-curd may be found.

- /l/ is never velarised

- The /aɪ/ in "night" may be pronounced in a wide variety of ways, e.g. [əɪ], [ɔɪ], [ʌɪ] and [ɑɪ], the latter two being the most common in middle class speech, the former two, in popular speech.

- The /ɔɪ/ in "boy" may be pronounced [ɑːɪ] (i.e. the vowel of thought plus a y) in conservative accents

- In some varieties, speakers make no distinction between the [ʌ] in putt and the [ʊ] in put, pronouncing both as the latter

- Any and many are pronounced to rhyme with nanny, Danny by very many speakers, i.e. with /a/

- /eɪ/ often becomes /ɛ/ in words such as gave and came (becoming "gev" and "kem")

- /dj/ becomes /dʒ/, e.g. dew/due, duke and duty sound like "Jew", "jook" and "jooty".

     /tj/ becomes /tʃ/, e.g. tube is "choob", tune is "choon"

     /nj/ becomes /n/, e.g. new becomes "noo"

The following show neither dropping nor coalescence:

+ /kj/; + /hj/; + /mj/ Dublin English

As with London and New York, Dublin has a number of dialects which differ significantly based on class and age group. These are roughly divided into three categories: "local Dublin", or the broad-working class dialect (sometimes referred to as the "working-class", "inner-Dublin" or "knacker" accent); "mainstream Dublin", the typical accent spoken by middle-class or suburban speakers; and "new Dublin", an accent among younger people (born after 1970).