INNOVA Research Journal 2017, Vol 2, No. 8, 79-85.

ISSN 2477-9024

Dialect Analysis of English

Evelyn Almeida
Universidad Central del Ecuador
Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE

Anna Shkivera
Universidad de Nuevo Mexico, Estados Unidos
Autor para correspondencia: [email protected], [email protected]
Fecha de recepción: 13 de Mayo de 2017 - Fecha de aceptación: 10 de Agosto de 2017

Resumen: El propósito principal de este artículo es entender mejor la fonología de una

región/variedad socioeconómica de inglés basada en dos grabaciones del sitio web de
International Dialects of English Archieve (IDEA). En este context, Hansen, Yapanel, Huang &
Ikeno (2004), reconoce que "Cada individuo desarrolla un estilo de habla característico a una
edad temprana que depende en gran medida de su entorno lingüístico (es decir, de la lengua
materna hablada), así como de la región donde el idioma se habla "(p.1). En este estudio,
queremos analizar cómo la pronunciación de la pronunciación del hablante de inglés es diferente
al inglés que conocemos (inglés americano) y cómo su entonación difiere de la entonación que
estamos familiarizados. Por último, queremos analizar si el perfil del hablante (edad, educación,
género, experiencia con el inglés y antecedentes socioeconómicos) influye en su pronunciación
en inglés. Para este estudio transcribimos la grabación de forma escrita y fonética utilizando el
Alfabeto Fonético Internacional (IPA) y luego realizamos un análisis comparativo.
Palabras clave: análisis del dialecto, ingles estándar, transcripcion fonética.

Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to understand better the phonology of a
region/socioeconomic variety of English based on two recording from the International Dialects
of English Archieve website (IDEA). As Hansen, Yapanel, Huang, & Ikeno (2004) state, “Every
individual develops a characteristic speaking style at an early age that depends heavily on his
language environment (i.e., the native language), as well as the region where the language is
spoken” (p.1). In this study, we want to analyze how the speaker’s pronunciation of English
sounds is different from the English we know (American English) and how their intonation
differs from the intonation patterns with which we are familiar. Finally, we want to analyze if the
speaker’s profile (age, education, gender, experience with English, and socioeconomic
background) influence in their English pronunciation. For this study, we transcribed the
recording in a written and a phonetic form using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and
then we conducted a comparative analysis.
Key words: dialect analysis, standard english, phonetic transcription

Introduction

The purpose of the study is to understand better the phonology of a region/socioeconomic

variety of English based on two recording from the International Dialects of English Archieve
website (IDEA). As Hansen, Yapanel, Huang, & Ikeno (2004) state, “Every individual develops
a characteristic speaking style at an early age that depends heavily on his language environment

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(i.e., the native language spoken), as well as the region where the language is spoken” (p.1). In
this study, we want to answer the following questions: 1) How is the speaker’s pronunciation of
English sounds different from the English we know (American English)? 2) How does their
intonation differ from the intonation patterns with which we are familiar? And 3) how does the
person’s profile (age, education, gender, experience with English, and socioeconomic
background) influence in their English pronunciation? To answer these questions we transcribed
the recording in a written and a phonetic form using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
and then we did a comparative analysis.

Background

The recordings we are focusing are under the category England 18. According to the
information provided on the website (IDEA), the recordings were made by Lise Olson, 31 years
old. The recording #1 (Comma gets a cure), probably was made at speaker’s usual settings of
work – the theater. However, we are not sure where the recording #2 (Liverpool) was made. We
think the recording #2 must have been done in a closed space but not in a studio. The recording
#1 is scripted speech and recording #2 is unscripted speech and therefore is improvised by the
speaker. We know that Lise was born in United Kingdom, Liverpool.

The transcription #1. Comma gets a cure.

Written transcription
[...] Pause longer than 3 seconds
[.] Pause shorter than 3 seconds
[ ! ] filler sound
xxx: unintelligible

Well, here’s a story for you. Sarah was a nurse who had been working in a xxx territory. She
was very happy to start a new job. On her first morning, she washed her face, put on a plain
white dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit and headed for work. When she got there, there
was a woman with a goose waiting for her. The letter implied that the animal could be suffering
from a rare form of foot and mouth disease, which was surprising because normally you would
only expect to see it in a goose. Sarah was sentimental, so this made her feel sorry for the bird.
The goose began to strut around the office like a lunatic, which made an unsanitary mess. The
goose's owner, Merry Harrison, kept calling Comma, Comma which Sarah thought was an odd
choice for a name. Comma was strong and huge, so it would take some force to trap her, but
Sarah managed by gently stroking the goose's lower back with her palm and singing to her. Her
efforts were not futile. Very soon, Comma began to tire, and Sarah gave her a relaxing bath.
Washed her and laid her on a cloth of diagnosis. Almost immediately, Sarah remembered an
effective treatment that required her to measure out a lot of medicine. The treatment was very
expensive, but Mrs. Harrison a millionaire lawyer thought it was a fair price for a cure.

Phonetic transcription

XXX unintelligible

(:) long vowel

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1. wɛl hɪəz ə stɔ:ri fɔ: jə:

2. se:rə wəz ə nɜ:s hu: hæd bi:n we:kɪŋ ɪn e XXX tɛrɪtəri
3. ʃi: wəz veri ha:pi tu: stɑ:t ə nju: ʤɒb
4. dɪs taɪm ɪn nɔ:θ skwe nɪəðə dju:k stri:t taʊə
5. ɒn hɜ: fɜ:sʔ mɔ:nɘn ʃi wɒʃt hɜ: feɪs pʊt ɒn ə pleɪn waɪt drɛs
6. ænd ə fli:s ʤækɪt pɪkt ʌp hɜ: kɪt ænd hɛdɪd fɔ: wɜ:k
7. wɛn ʃi: gɒt ðeə ðeə wəz ə womən wɪð ə gu:s weɪtɘn fɔ: hɜ:
8. də womən geɪv se:rə ə lɛtə fɒm ðə vɛt
9. də lɛtər ɪmplaɪd dæt ðə ænɪməl kʊd bi: sʌfərɘn fɒm ə reə fɔ:m
10. ɒf fʊt ænd maʊθ dɪzi:z wɪʧ wəz səpraɪzɘn bɪkɒz nɔ:məli
11. ju: wʊd əʊnli ɪkspɛkt tu: si: ɪt ɪn ə gu:s
12. se:rə wəz sɛntɪmɛntl səʊ ðɪs meɪd hɜ: fi:l sɒri fɔ: ðə be:d
13. ðə gu:s bɪgan tu: strʌt əraʊnd ði ɒfɪs laɪk ə lu:nətɪk
14. wɪʧ meɪd ən ʌnsænɪtəri mɛs
15. ðə gusɪz əʊnə mɛri hærɪsn kɛp kɔ:lɘn kɒmə kɒmə
16. wɪʧ se:rə θɔ: wəz ən ɔd ʧɔɪs fɔ: ə neɪm
17. kɒmə wəz strɔŋɡ ænd hju:ʤ səʊ ɪt wʊd teɪk sʌm fɔ:s tu: trap ɜ
18. bʌt se:rə mænɪʤd baɪ ʤɛnli strəʊken ðə gu:sɪz ləʊə bæx
19. wɪð hɜ: pɑ:m ænd sɪŋen tu: ɜ:
20. hɜ:ri ɛfəts we: not fju:taɪl
21. vɛri su:n kɒmə bɪgæn tu: taɪər ænd se:rə geɪv hɜ: ə rɪlæksɪŋ bɑ:θ
22. wɒʃt ɜ: ænd leɪd hɜ: ɒn ə klɒθ ɒv daɪəgnəʊsɪs
23. ɔ:lməʊst ɪmi:djətli se:rə rɪmɛmbəd ən əfɛktɪv tri:tməntʔ
24. ðæt rɪkwaɪəd hɜ: tu: mɛʒər aʊʔ ə lɒʔ ɒv mɛdsən
25. də tri:tmənʔ wəz vɛri ɪkspɛnsɪv bʌʔ misəs hærɪsn ə mɪljəneə
26. lɔ:jə θɔ:t ɪt wəz ə feə praɪs fɔ: ə kjʊə

Analysis

The phonemic representation of the words in a language is not identical for every speaker of
that language. Lise’s pronunciation of English sound very different from the English we know.
Lise uses British English and in particular, Liverpool English (LE) which is the variety of
English spoken in Liverpool and much of the surrounding county of Merseyside, in the
northwest of England (Watson, 2007, p.351). Here are some phonological differences between
American English we speak and Lise’s Liverpool English:

a) The fricative /ð/ are often produced as a stop [d] and usually is in a word-initial position.
Examples:
the [də] in lines #8, 9; this [dɪs] in line #4; that [dæt] in line #9.

b) Post-vocalic /r/ in the coda position is absent in many words in such examples:
for [fɔ] in lines #1, 12, 16; her [hɜ] in lines #5, 6, 7, 12, 17, 19, 21, 21, 24, 26;
there [ðeə] in line # 7; force [fɔ:s] in line #17; bird [be:d] in line #12.

c) The speaker uses the alveolar trill /r/ instead of the approximant /ɹ/:
remembered [rɪmɛmbəd] in line #23; treatment [tri:tmənʔ] in line #25;
praise [praɪs] in line #26.

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d) Word final /t/ sounds are replaced by glottal stops:

first [fɜ:sʔ] in line #25; treatment [tri:tməntʔ] and but [bʌʔ] in line #25;
out [aʊʔ] and lot [lɒʔ] in line #24.

e) Word-initial /h/ sounds can be deleted:

her [ɜ:] in lines #17, 19, 22.

f) The speaker uses alveolar nasal stop [n] for the velar nasal stop /ŋ/ in the context of V +
ing endings:
waiting [weɪtɘn] in line #7; suffering [sʌfərɘn] in line #9;
surprising [səpraɪzɘn] in line #10; calling [kɔ:lɘn] in line #15
stroking [strəʊken] in line #18; singing [sɪŋen] in line #18.

g) The speaker uses a low-back vowel / a / instead of low-front / æ / in the example:

happy [hapi] in line #3.

h) The speaker uses a mid-back vowel /ə/ instead of low-back /a/ in the example:
was [wəz] in lines #2, 3, 7, 10, 12, 16, 17, 25.

i) The speaker uses a short mid-back vowel /ə/ instead of a long front-back vowel /u:/ in the
in the example:
you [jə] in line #1.

Transcription #2. Liverpool

[...] Pause longer than 3 seconds

[.] Pause shorter than 3 seconds
[ ! ] filler sound
xxx: unintelligible

Written transcription

Liverpool’s a city that attracts a lot of attention. xxx its people tend to be quite outgoing.
Um, and they also tend to have quite a lot of get-up-and-go. It’s also a city that’s been through a
lot of, of difficulties over the last thirty years. And before, really, um but in particular the last
thirty years. Very high unemployment, and because of that a lot of Liverpudlians have traveled
to other parts of the country to find work. There's also been a lot of bad press about the city. Um,
people have an image that is perpetuated by the media really, of, of the way that the people of
Liverpool are and who they are. Um, one of the biggest stereotypes, I would say, is of the
comedian or, like, the chirpy xxx that kind of comes along and entertains. And you find like
when you travel away, as I did when I first moved away, people kind of want to stick you in a
cage and prod you with a stick so you’ll entertain them, with jokes or whatever. Um, one of the
things that like feeds into that is the different expressions that we have. Um, we do have a lot of
different ways of saying things, um, that people find odd or find amusing. Um, we don’t say
things straightforwardly really. [ ! ] Um, somebody who’s on their own is “on the Bill” or is a
“Billy-no-mates.” Somebody who, I don´t know, lots of things, those, all those sort of things.

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Phonetic transcription

1. ˈlɪvəˌpuːlz ə ˈsiti ðæt əˈtrækts ə lɒt ɒv əˈtɛnʃ(ə)n. xxx ɪts

2. ˈpiːpl tɛnd tuː biː kwaɪt aʊtˈgəʊɪŋ. əm, ænd ðeɪ ˈɔːlsəʊ tɛnd tuː
3. hæv kwaɪtə lɒt ɒv gɛt-ʌp-ænd gəʊ. ɪts ˈɔːlsəʊ ə ˈsiti ðæts biːn θruː
4. ə lɒt ɒv, ɒv ˈdɪfɪkəltiz ˈəʊvə ðə lɑːst ˈθɜːti jɪə
5. z. ænd bɪˈfɔː, ˈrɪəli, əm bʌt ɪnpəˈtɪkjʊlə ðə lɑːst ˈθɜːti jɪəz.
6. ˈvɛri haɪ ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmə
7. nt, ænd bɪˈkɒz ɒv ðæt ə lɒt ɒv ˌlɪvəˈpʌdlɪənz
8. hæv ˈtrævld tuː ˈʌðə pɑːts ɒv ðəˈkʌ
9. ntri tuː faɪnd wɜːk. ðeəz ˈɔːlsəʊ biːn ə lɒt ɒv bæd
10. prɛs əˈbaʊt ðə ˈsiti. əm, ˈpiːpl h
11. æv ən ˈɪmɪʤ, ðæt ɪz pəˈpɛʧʊeɪtɪd baɪ ðəˈmɛdɪə
12. ˈrɪəli, ɒv, ɒv ðə weɪ ðæt ðə ˈpiːpl
13. ɒv ˈlɪvəˌpuːl ɑːr ænd huː ðeɪ ɑː. əm, wʌn ɒv ðə ˈbɪgɪst
14. ˈstɪərɪətaɪps, aɪ wʊd seɪ, ɪz
15. ɒv ðəkəˈmiːdjən ɔː, laɪk, ðə ˈʧɜːpi xxx ðæt kaɪnd
16. ɒv kʌmz əˈlɒŋ ænd ˌɛntəˈteɪnz.
17. ænd juː faɪnd laɪk wɛn juː ˈtrævl əˈweɪ, æz aɪ dɪd
18. wɛn aɪfɜːst muːvd əˈweɪ, ˈpiːpl
19. kaɪnd ɒv wɒnt tuː stɪk juː ɪn ə keɪʤ ænd prɒd juː wɪð ə
20. stɪk səʊ juːl ˌɛntəˈteɪn ðɛ
21. m, wɪð ʤəʊks ɔːwɒtˈɛvə. əm, wʌn ɒv ðə θɪŋz ðæt laɪk
22. fiːdz ˈɪntuː ðæt ɪz ðə ˈdɪfr
23. ənt ɪksˈprɛʃənz ðæt wiː hæv. əm, wiː duː hæv ə lɒt ɒv
24. ˈdɪfrənt weɪzɒv ˈseɪɪŋ θɪŋz,
25. əm, ðæt ˈpiːpl faɪnd ɒd ɔː faɪnd əˈmjuːzɪŋ. əm,
26. wiː dəʊnt seɪ θɪŋz streɪtˈfɔːwədli
27. ˈrɪəli. wiː tɛnd tuː faɪnd *ən ˈɪmɪʤfɔːr ɪt, ə ˈmɛtəfə, ɔː
28. wɒtˈɛvə. əm, ˈsʌmbədi huː
29. z ɒn ðeər əʊn ɪz “ɒn ðə bɪl” ɔːr ɪz eɪ“ˈbɪlinəʊmeɪts.
30. ˈsʌmbədi huː, aɪ dɒn´tiːnəʊ
31. , lɒts ɒv θɪŋz, ðəʊz, ɔːl ðəʊz sɔːt ɒv θɪŋz.

Analysis

The pronunciation we have seen in this piece of speech is mainly Liverpool English as
Watson mentions in his article “Liverpool English” there are some similarities between LE’s
phonological system and those of Irish Englishes. (p. 351).

a) One of the patterns found in the pronunciation is the use of the long /u:/ for example the
word Liverpool in line 1 and 8 Liverpool /ˈlɪvəˌpuːl/, the word to line 5, 11 and 15 /tuː/,
and the word do in line 13 /duː/.

b) The high front vowel /i/ is pronounced as long and tense in any context as stated in the
article of Marrotta and Barth "Acoustic and Sociolinguistic Aspects of Lenition in

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Liverpool English". Examples of this phenomenon as in words such as city on line 1, 3,

and 6 /ˈsiti/.

c) Another phonetic feature found in this speech is the pronunciation of the word work
/wɜːk/ in line 6. The /r/ at the end of the word is not pronounced, while in American
English and as we have learned the pronunciation is /wɜrk/. The same phenomenon
happens in the word whatever in line 15 /wɒtˈɛvə/. This is also mention by Watson “Post-
vocalic /r/ is absent in LE, so that words like car, farm, park are r-less” (p. 352).

d) Other difference that we could identify is the different use of the diphthong /oʊ/ for /əʊ/
as in the case of no in line 16 /nəʊ/ and in line 3 go /gəʊ/.

Discussion and Conclusion

Before entering into the discussion, we want to establish the difference between dialect and
accent. According to Hansen, et. al. (2004) “Dialect is defined as “a regional variety of a
language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.” Accent on the other hand, is
defined as “the relative prominence of a particular syllable or a word in pronunciation
determined by a regional or social background of a speaker” (p. 1). In this context, both
recordings present a British English accent, which is relatively new for us because we have the
experience only with American English variety. The speaker tends to speak very fast with a
raising and falling intonations. The first words of each sentence are usually stressed more than
the following ones. However, the intonation of last part of the sentences rises. These aspects
have also been studied by Nance, Kirkham and Groarke, stated that “Liverpool is firmly within
the group of northern British cities that typically use typologically unusual rising intonation
patterns” (p.4). In the variety of English we speak, we usually have falling intonation at the end
of the sentences (not including question sentences).

As was mentioned in the beginning, the transcription of the passages is based on the speech
of a 31-year-old female speaker who was born in Liverpool, which is located in Merseyside,
England. It is a port city, which has a diverse population, particularly from Ireland. The speaker
is white, with a university degree which was gained in Cardiff, Wales for three years. Even
though Lise has studied in a different place for 3 years, her Liverpool English accent remains in
her speech. As it was mentioned on the website, Lise is an actress and a teacher, and therefore
we assume that she comes from middle-class family.

Since Lise was born and raised in Liverpool, she has acquired Liverpool British English
variety. According to the phonological analysis that we have provided above, in which we
emphasized the differences between Lise’s pronunciation and Standard English pronunciation,
which is giving in Logman English Dictionary, we can assume that Lise doesn’t speak Standard
English. On the other hand, Hickey (2012) states that across the English-speaking world there is
variation in spelling, grammar, and vocabulary in those forms of language, which would be
regarded by its users as standard (p. 1). Therefore, Standard English is a mere illusion, and every
speaker has a right to call his or her language as standard.

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References

Claire N., Kirkham S. & Groarke E. (2015). Intonational variation in Liverpool English.
Proceedings of the XVIII International Congress of Phonetic Sciences.

Giovanna Marotta, & Marlen Barth. (2005). Acoustic and Sociolinguistic Aspects of Lenition in
Liverpool English. Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Linguistica.

Hansen, J. H., Yapanel, U., Huang, R., & Ikeno, A. (2004). Dialect analysis and modeling for
automatic classification. In Eighth International Conference on Spoken Language
Processing.

Hickey, R. (2012). Standards of English: Codified varieties around the world. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Longman English Dictionary Online - LDOCE. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from
http://www.ldoceonline.com/

IDEA. International Dialects of English Archieve. England 18. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct. 10, 2015,
from http://www.dialectsarchive.com/england-18.

Watson, K. (2007). Liverpool English, Illustrations of the IPA. Edge Hill College of Higher
Education/Lancaster University.

Wells, J. C. (2006). Phonetic transcription and analysis. Encyclopedia of Language and

Linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 386-396.

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