Lingusitic Differences And Similarities Between American And Irish English Accents

UNIVERSITATEA TRANSILVANIA DIN BRAȘOV

FACULTATEA DE LITERE
DEPARTAMENTUL DE LINGVISITCĂ TEORETICĂ ȘI APLICATĂ

LUCRARE DE DIPLOMĂ

Absolvent

Pan Attila-Krisztián

Coordonator

Conferențiar universitar dr. Cusen Gabriela

Brașov

2016

TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRAȘOV

FACULTY OF LETTERS
DEPARTMENT OF THEORETICAL AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS

BA PROJECT

LINGUSITIC DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN AMERICAN AND IRISH ENGLISH

ACCENTS

Candidate

Attila-Krisztián Pan

Supervisor

Associate professor Gabriela Cusen (Ph.D)

Brașov

2016

Abstract 7

CHAPTER ONE 8

Introduction and historical background 8

1.0 Introduction 8

1.1 Definition of Accent 8

1.1.1 Accent versus Dialect 10

1.2 Purpose of the study 10

1.3 Outline of the study 12

1.4 The spread and development of the English language in Ireland 12

1.4.1 Irish English in academic terms 15

1.5 The development of the English language in the United States of America 17

1.6 Conclusion 19

CHAPTER TWO 21

Methodology and Data collection 21

2.0 Introduction 21

2.1 Research questions 21

2.2 Data Collection 22

2.2.1 Participants in the study 23

2.2.1.1 Instruments used 23

2.3 Concussion 25

CHAPTER THREE 27

American English Accent 27

3.0 Introduction 27

3.1 Consonants 27

3.1.1 Rhotic /r/ sound 27

3.1.1.1 Data Analysis 28

3.1.2 The /t/ and the /d/ sounds 29

3.1.2.1 Data Analysis 31

3.1.3 Yod-dropping 32

3.1.3.1 Data Analysis 32

3.2Vowels 33

3.2.1 The /æ/ sound 33

3.2.1.1 Data Analysis 33

3.2.2 The lengthening of stressed vowels 34

3.2.2.1 Data Analysis 34

3.2.3 The /a/ sound 35

3.2.3.1 Data Analysis 35

3.2.4. The / ɜr / sound. 35

3.2.4.1 Data Analysis 36

3.3 Conclusion 36

CHAPTER FOUR 39

Irish English Accent 39

4.0 Introduction 39

4.1 Consonants 39

4.1.1 / θ / and / ð / 39

4.1.1.1 Data Analysis 40

4.1.2 /ṯ /and /ḏ/ for /t/ an /d/ 42

4.1.2.1 Data Analysis 43

4.1.3 / ʃ / for /s/ 44

4.1.3.1 Data Analysis 44

4.1.4 /ʍ/ for / w / 45

4.1.4.1 Data Analysis 45

4.1.5 Rhoticism 46

4.1.5.1 Data Analysis 46

4.2 Vowels 47

4.2.1 / ɔi / for /ai/ 47

4.2.1.1 Data analysis 48

4.2.2 /i/ for /ai/ 49

4.2.2.1 Data analysis 49

4.2.3 /ai/ for / ɔi / 49

4.2.3.1 Data Analysis 50

4.2.4 / ə / or / i / for the unstressed / oʊ / 50

4.2.4.1 Data Analysis 51

4.2.5 Occasional pronunciation of / ʊ / as / u: / 51

4.2.5.1 Data analysis 51

4.2.6 / a: / in BATH set 52

4.2.6.1 Data Analysis 52

4.2.7 / ɔ / for the standard / ʌ / 53

4.2.7.1 Data Analysis 53

4.2.8 Epenthesis of / ə / 54

4.2.8.1 Data analysis 54

4.3. Conclusion 54

CHAPTER FIVE 57

Linguistic differences and similarities 57

between American and Irish English Accent 57

5.1 Introduction 57

5.1 America and Ireland historically connected 57

5.2 Linguistic similarities between American and Irish English 59

5.2.1 Data Analysis 59

5.3 Differences between American and Irish English 61

5.3.1 Data Analysis 62

5.4 Conclusion 64

CHAPTER SIX 66

Conclusions 66

6.0 Introduction 66

6.1 Summary of findings on Irish English Accent 66

6.2 Summary of findings on American English Accent 69

6.3 Summary of findings on linguistic differences and similarities found between American and Irish English 71

6.3.1 Similarities between American and Irish English 71

6.3.2 Differences between American and Irish English. 72

6.4 Limitations of the study and intentions for further research 73

REFFERENCES 74

Appendix 76

Abstract

Usually when people speak a certain language they do it with a certain accent. According to Lang (2009) having an accent or speaking with an accent is a human property; it is the way that a particular person or group of people sound. An accent refers to a particular way of pronouncing a certain language moreover, accents can differ among them. This is precisely the beauty of human nature, using language in such a distinctive way in order to create specific and unique sounds. English for example, has numerous varieties of accents that some way or another are connected between them.

This present study aims to investigate from a phonetical point of view, some possible and hearable differences and similarities between American and Irish English Accents, pointing out that although both varieties of accents belong to English, there is a difference between them when it comes to pronunciation. Despite of this difference, there are a few aspects that connect both accents, thus making them similar. My purpose is to demonstrate the fact that although they do sound apparently different, Irish English and American English do have some similarities when it comes to pronunciation.

In order to demonstrate the possible differences and similarities between the two varieties of accents, I used some recorded words and sentences by two native speakers of American and Irish English. Having the recorded data I was able to demonstrate some of the most notable and hearable differences and similarities between American and Irish English. Moreover, another method that I used in my research in order to highlight the unique particularities and characteristics of both American and Irish English, was to examine various excerpts from two different movies in order to highlight their unique phonetical features.

The conclusion of my study is that indeed despite the hearable differences, there are some similarities between American and Irish English as well when it comes to pronunciation as my data showed.

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction and historical background

1.0 Introduction

This chapter is meant to introduce the study of my research entitled: / Linguistic differences and similarities between American and Irish English Accents / , laying emphasis on some general features and characteristics within the two varieties of English , seen from a phonetical point of view. I divided the first chapter into five subsections. Namely, subsection number one dealt with the introduction and definition of the main key term that was used throughout the study that is, the term: / accent /. I included as well, in the first subsection, some differences related to the terms / accent / versus / dialect/. Subsection number two lays emphasis on the purpose of the present study thus, pointing out my personal reason behind the research. Subsection number three dealt with the outline of the study. And finally subsections number four and five dealt with some historical events that contributed to the spread and development of the English language in Ireland and America. Moreover, subsection number four brings into discussion terms such as: / Irish English/, / Anglo Irish /, / Hiberno English / and / Brogue / usually employed by linguists to refer to the English spoken in Ireland.

1.1 Definition of Accent

This subsection lays emphasis on the definition and explanation of the term /accent/.

According to Lang (2009:172) the ability to perceive and distinguish between accents is something which all humans share.” Numerous studies have been conducted in this direction which had successful results thus, pointing out the fact that even from a fragile age humans can perceive their own accent within their own native language and more than that, they can perceive as well, non-native accents in other languages that they might have learned. The study by Scovel in 1978 showed that indeed this ability is possible. His main objective was to see whether there were differences or not in perceiving an accent between native English speaking adults, native English speaking children and between non native speakers of English grownups.

The process of the research was very easy. Lang states that “All subjects were asked to listen to a recording of 20 individuals (10 native speakers of Standard American English and 10 non-native speakers who had been selected by EFL teachers for they excellent pronunciation) reading an 8-second long passage containing all of the segmental phonemes of English” (2009:172)

His research proved to be a successful one, providing real evidence related to his theory. Scovel concluded that “the native English speaking adults had a 97% accuracy rate of detecting a non-native accent, while for children, the accuracy rate ranged from 78% for 5 year olds to 99% for 10 year olds. These figures show that the adult level of attainment is reached by children in a matter of only a few years…” (Lang, 2009:172)

Is /accent/ a matter of perceiving sounds when speaking? Or is it a matter of perceiving words that is vocabulary? Experience tells me that people in general, are curious about the way they speak, about the way others speak, about what kind of /accent/ they use when speaking a certain language and about how certain structures and expressions are linked to a certain area limited geographically. Due to this fact a science was developed in this field which earned the name of phonetics. In order to define phonetics it seemed to me relevant to ask the above mentioned questions. According to Buja, phonetics “ is the science that studies the characteristics of human sound-making, especially those sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their DESCRIPTION, CLASSIFICATION and TRANSCRIPTION”( 2013:19)

Phonetics, as defined above, looks at the sounds used in speech by a particular person or group of people, whereas /accent/ can be defined as the phonetic eminence that is given to a certain syllable in a word or to a specific word in a phrase. The term /accent/ is “the way somebody pronounces words, the musicality of their speech, etc.”(Web source number one) An accent refers to a particular way of pronouncing a certain language. Accents can differ among them as well. Sometimes, two accents can have the same set of phonemes but some or all the phonemes can be pronounced differently. As an example of phonetic differences, I found the following quote relevant in showing that although two accents which have the same set of phonemes can differ among them. “ It is said that Australian English has the same set of phonemes and phonemic contrasts as BBC pronunciation, yet Australian pronunciation is so different from that accent that it is easily recognized” (Web source number two).

1.1.1 Accent versus Dialect

The following subsection highlights the main difference between the two terms that is between /accent/ and /dialect/.

These two terms, /accent/ and /dialect/ are often mistaken for one another. Although they share a very strong connection between them in the sense that both of them refer to language, in fact they are two different concepts. I found Moreno’s statement relevant for my study because it provides clear definition on the distinction between /accent/ and /dialect/. Moreno (2010:1) states that: “The term accent, therefore, alludes to distinctive pronunciation, while dialect refers to aspects of grammar and vocabulary, and this is something that can be generally applied to every language"

So, a /dialect/ has to do with certain grammatical and phonological forms that one uses when speaking, or it also deals with regional vocabulary that one implies when speaking. In order to highlight the difference between the two terms I found the following example relevant because it shows the clear difference between /accent/ and /dialect/, “[…] you could say somebody from Alabama has a “Southern Accent,” meaning that they pronounce words differently than somebody from the Northern US.  However, “accent” would not refer to a Southerner’s use of the word “y’all. [ … ] that would fall under the category of Southern dialects” (Web source number three) Dialects are usually geographically limited and each area has its own words and perhaps certain grammatical structures as well.

1.2 Purpose of the study

In the following subsection I gave a brief presentation and explanation in relation with the purpose that I had in mind when working on the paper.

The present study aims to present some visible hearable differences and similarities between American and Irish English in points of /accents/. I wish to demonstrate the fact that although both varieties belong to the English language, there is a huge difference between them when it comes to pronunciation. Despite of being different when it comes to pronunciation, there are a few aspects that connect both accents, thus making them similar. These connections can be of two types, namely a historical connection which goes back in time and provides a bridge in understanding the interference between the two varieties of accent, and the other type of connection is related to the different variations of certain vowels and consonants.

Analyzing different accents has always been one of my greatest interests. During my studies in Ireland I came across numerous accents and that experience led me to deepen my research in the field of phonetics. Analyzing different accents and trying to find a connection between them, were the main reasons that guided me throughout my study.

Why American Accent? Simply because, Ireland and America share a very strong connection which was presented in Chapter Five. American English Accent is without doubt the most frequent one to hear, so its popularity influenced the other varieties of English, penetrating in a way or another, by means of expressions or certain grammatical structures which are typical American. Therefore, I wanted to explore and to find out what were and what are the connections that Ireland and America share.

I dedicated two chapters namely Chapter Three and Chapter Four to presenting separately both American and Irish English with some of their unique phonetical features. It was only in Chapter Five were I looked at their possible differences and similarities. Chapter Six concluded all the findings throughout the study.

In order to demonstrate what has already been written by other linguistics in the theoretical background, I used some recorded words and sentences by two native speakers of American and Irish English. Moreover I also included a few sequences from an American and from an Irish movie as well, thus emphasizing more the theoretical part. All this was presented in Chapter Two. Comparing the two varieties of English was not easy but as a personal satisfaction I can say that it offered me joy and a huge experience doing it so.

1.3 Outline of the study

This subsection presents the structure of my study according to its chapters.

Chapter one acts as a forward and presents the Introduction and discusses terms such as /accent/ and /dialect/ and the difference between the two terms moreover, it provides a historical view regarding the spread and development of the English language in Ireland and America. Chapter Two deals with the Methodology and Data Collection and looks at the process itself and the tools that were used in the study. Chapter Three lays emphasis on some general features of the American English Accent pointing out some notable variations of vowels and consonants that are specific for the English spoken in the United States of America, Chapter Four presents some characteristics of the Irish English Accent, pointing out some of those vowels and consonants which help to create that distinctive Irish Accent. The next chapter that is Chapter Five focuses on some of the differences and similarities found between American and Irish English in point of Accents. And finally Chapter Six concludes on all the findings that were brought to the surface and demonstrated phonetically speaking i.e., what has already been written in the theoretical background by means of recordings and sequences taken out of two movies.

1.4 The spread and development of the English language in Ireland

This subsection deals with some of the basic information related to the development of the English language in Ireland. Noteworthy events were pointed out by linguists in order to illustrate the chronological evolution of the English language in Ireland.

There are two major official languages in the Republic of Ireland namely, English and Gaelic usually referred to as Irish. However, it is English that most people use in everyday life. Throughout the country one can hear mainly English and less Gaelic. According to Moreno (2010:16)” in the Republic of Ireland, there are no longer monolingual speakers of Irish , but some people are competent in both languages- my emphasis” The statistics from the last census indicate “that only 41.9 % of the total population of the country is able to speak Gaelic as well (Moreno,2010:16 -my emphasis.) That percentage is relatively smaller in comparison with English.

Irish (Gaelic) and English are different both in pronunciation and spelling however; despite being different they do share a very strong connection. On the one hand, both languages are derived from the Proto-Indo-European language. English belongs to the Germanic branch of languages, more specifically to the West Germanic branch such as Dutch, Frisian or even German, whereas Irish belongs to the Goidelic family. On the other hand, their connection goes back in time and they can be discussed from a historical point of view. These two different languages contributed to the development of the culture of the country that Ireland is today.

The history of the English language spoken in Ireland goes hand in hand with the coexistence of Irish and English along the centuries. It started with the first arrival of English speaking invaders in the twelfth century. Along the centuries numerous events took place on the island that tipped the balance in favor for English. Moreno pointed out a few key turns that shaped the social balance of Ireland thus making among other factors, English its upcoming official language:

“A few key factors set the ground for the final overall shift from Irish to English in the nineteenth century, among which are the English and Scottish plantations of the seventeenth century ; the famines ; the influence of the national school system; the Reformation and emigration” (2010:16)

As Moreno pointed out above, the events that contributed for the final shift from Irish to English were of economic, social and catastrophic nature.

The earliest encounters with people speaking a Germanic language were with the Vikings, who founded cities like the capital of the country Dublin, Waterford and Limerick city, mostly riverside cities or cities which were closer to sea. These cities became very important trading centers thus developing important relations between the country and the rest of Europe. The occupation by the Vikings lasted from the ninth century till the early seventeenth century.

The earliest recorded use of the English language goes back in time up to the mid-thirteenth century. Thanks to the Anglo-Norman invasion, English was brought to Ireland. The invaders settled down mostly on the east side of the county and with time they extended themselves through Leinster , Munster and Ulster , regions which today are provinces in the Republic of Ireland as well as in Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom ( UK). English was slowly but surely absorbed by the native Irish even though their native language was the first to be spoken on the island.

The colonization of Ireland with settlers from the island of  Great Britain had a strong impact on the Irish socially, politically and linguistically as well. According to Moreno (2010) the arrival of the English changed not only the political scene but also the social scene as well in Ireland; moreover they introduced further varieties of English and dialects on the island.

English was acquired, gradually, step by step but with difficulty, by native speakers of Irish (Gaelic). Alongside with the acquisition of English they somehow managed to modify it. When the population of a certain country is forced to speak another language that is not their native language, sometimes in the process of acquisition they tend to modify it both in pronunciation and in syntax. According to Moreno the same process happened to Irish English when acquiring Standard English. Moreno states that:

“Irish English modified Standard English up to a certain point both in pronunciation and in syntax, towards conformity with their own linguistic habits … because of the social conditions existing in Ireland at that time, Irish speakers rarely had the opportunity of prolonged contact with speakers of Standard English and learned their English from those whose English was already less than perfect” (2010:20- my emphasis.)

The use of Irish went into a huge decline at the beginning of the nineteenth century and the shift from Irish to English was inevitable. According to Moreno (2010:22) English gain force thus being perceived as “the language of prestige and power”.

An important figure in Irish history regarding this shift from Gaelic to English was Daniel O’Connell who in 1823, year which saw the upswing of the Catholic Community led by O’Connell himself, he truly believed that “in order for Ireland to advance in a rapidly modernizing world, acquiring English had to be a must.” (Moreno, 2010:22)

Other reasons that contributed to this fast shift were the rapid growth of the railway connections between two major English speaking cities on the island, namely Dublin the capital of Ireland and Belfast a city in Northern Ireland now belonging to the United Kingdom. The influence of National Schools where instructions and education was mostly in English played a major role in acquiring and making use of the English language as much as possible “partly because both literacy and English were seen as synonymous with modernization … due to this fact the level of illiteracy decreased, the number of English speakers increased.”(Moreno, 2010:23- my emphasis)

As Ni Chartúir points out (2002, 22-23):

“… in 1795 the English government helped found a college in Ireland for the education of Catholic priests. Instructions was through English, ensuring that this would be the language used in churches throughout the country for those parts of the service not in Latin, further weakening the status of the Irish language … some members of the Catholic clergy used and strongly promoted Irish but they were in the minority”

As Ni Chartúir pointed out above, English was getting absorbed rapidly by the people living in Ireland thus weakening the language of the native Irish.

In the past Ireland was not the well developed country that it is today. Along the centuries the country had faced numerous financial instabilities According to Moreno (2010:23) “Because of the instable economy children were forced to spend up to six months of every year working in English speaking areas” (Moreno, 2010:23 – my emphasis)

Other two major reasons that contributed to the dramatic decline of Irish and turned the balance in favor of English were the deaths and the emigration rate caused by The Great Potato Famine in the mid nineteenth century. The Famine set in train a tsunami of emigration .More than two million Irish people emigrated to the U.S.A, Canada, Argentina, Australia and Britain in order to seek for a better life. For example the Irish contributed enormously to the economy of Britain and the U.S.A and not only.

1.4.1 Irish English in academic terms

This subsection deals with the different types of some of the terms used by academics or non-academics in connection with English spoken in the Republic of Ireland. Terms that are brought into discussion are: / Irish English /, / Anglo-Irish /, / Hiberno English / and / Brogue/.

The term/ Irish English / usually refers to the English spoken in Ireland in general. However much debate surrounded this term since its birth. According to Moreno (2010:8) “academics tried to find the best choice of an appropriate term which would accurately denote the varieties of English spoken and sometimes written in Ireland – my emphasis”. This term seems to be favored by academics only because “it has the advantage of being understood by eveybody outside of Ireland [ …] / Irish / in this case acts as a qualifying adjective of the noun / English / ” (Moreno, 2010:8- my emphasis). In this way according to certain academics such as Burke (1869), Hogan (1927) Wall (1986) Irish English can be compared with other varieties of English such as American English, Australian English, Canadian English, and South African English. As Moreno (2010:9) points out that the term is “considered to be a cover term, devoid of connotations and an inclusive label which takes on board other linguistics aspects of the variety”

/ Anglo- Irish / employed by Burke (1869), Hogan (1927) Wall (1986) and so many others, referred only to that variety of English that is spoken over most Ireland. Croghan (1988: 32) points out that the term Anglo Irish “has been applied to the Irish descendants of English colonists and to their literature and language as a result it is often understood as having a religious or ethnic connotation”. Other critics pointed out that the term is too vague and confusing, thus the distinction between Anglo Irish and Hiberno English would be hard to clarify.

Moreno (2010:8) points out that the term / Hiberno English/ embodied by the lexicographer, lecturer Professor T.P.Dolan who stated that this term is “generally understood in present day life in Ireland … however this term appears to be used nowadays to emphasize the influence of Irish language only and it is often being understood as being solely that by the people outside the field”

Another term that needs to be discussed in this subsection is the already mentioned term above that is / brogue /. This term was used in the past and it referred to a person with a strong Irish accent in English. Throughout time, the term gained a rather negative connotation to it. Moreno (2010:9) stated that the term / brogue/ “carried the implication that Irish English pronunciation is incorrect or at least funny […] the term served in the past to portray the Irish as simple – my emphasis”

1.5 The development of the English language in the United States of America

This subsection deals with some of the basic information related to the development of the English language in America. Noteworthy events were pointed out by linguists in order to illustrate the chronological evolution of the English language in the U.S.A

The English language has gained so much force and power nowadays that it has become almost omnipresent in every part of society, in almost every country and culture in the World. It does not matter where one goes or where one lives or what kind of work one does, nowadays one cannot help not realizing the importance and the increasing use of the English language in everyday life. One of the varieties of English one can hear most on the radio, TV, read in the newspapers and articles is American English. There is no doubt that Americans constitute the majority of the World’s native speakers of English. About 240 million American people call English their native language or first mother tongue.

By comparing the history of the English language with the history of the English spoken in the States, American English history is comparably shorter. According to Buja (2015:25) it is noteworthy to mention that “American English is the first and oldest of all colonial settler varieties”. It is common knowledge that American English developed from British English, but today both varieties of language are considered be varieties of World English

The first settlers who arrived on the new land at the end of the sixteenth century and at the beginning of the seventeenth century were English. They were “puritans” for religious reasons. The Pilgrim Fathers who came on the Mayflower landed on the coast of what nowadays is New England. They came to the U.S.A in order to create a new community where they could worship as they wished .The first possible colony where the puritans settled down was in Virginia in 1607 and it was called Jamestown, after King James I. Then, in 1620 another group of puritan settlers arrived on the Mayflower in search for a place where they could build a new religious kingdom and practice their own beliefs without living in fear of religious persecution as they did back in Britain. They landed at Cape Cod, more specifically of what nowadays is known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, and established a settlement there.

Ships with hundreds and hundreds of English people landed on the new land and settled there. The first census was carried out in “the year of 1790 which showed that about 4 million people lived and started a new life in the American colonies, the majority of them coming from the British Isles”.(website number four – my emphasis)

The Rapid development of American English is due to a number of factors which allowed English to blossom over a period of 400 years. One of them is the linguistic one. Explores coming from all around the corners of the World brought with themselves specific features of their own native language which shaped more or less the American Accent as we know it today.

It is relevant to say that these waves of settlements resulted in different linguistic consequences. According to Buja (2015:25) “The southern explorers brought with them the characteristic west-country accent, with the voicing of the /s/-sound (i.e. /s/ is pronounced as /z/) and the/r/ pronounced after vowels.” Traces of this type of accent remained nowadays as well. When talking about the /r/ sound for example, where /r/ is pronounced loud and clear regardless its position in a word and regardless the vowels that surrounded it (See Chapter Three).

In contrast with the southern explorers the accent of the Puritans was different in terms of pronunciation. Buja (2015:25) points out in this respect that “the notably lacking of the /r/ after vowels (as in present day Standard English) […] this tendency not to pronounce the /r/-sound is still a main feature of the speech of people from the New England area today.”

The settlers borrowed terms and phrases from the Native American as well, who were already living they before the settlers arrived. Borrowings which later on, were changed both in format and meaning. Moreover, as the English began to increase in number, they started to impose their language to the Native Americans at workplaces and in different institutions for example in schools.

According to Buja (2015:25) American English is a “product of a mixing process”. This seems to be so because the dialects spoken by the so many waves of immigrants led to a diversity that contributed in some way or another to the shaping of American English that we know today, and it is still influencing the accent.

Europeans for example, who settled down brought with themselves specific terms that somehow remained in the American English language. For example the word “/cookie / has Dutch reminiscent and it comes from / Koekje / or other words like / hamburger / and / pretzel/ which come from German namely / Hamburg / and /Bretzel/ remained and have been adopted by the native speakers of English.” (Web source number five)

These waves of migrations brought not just linguistic development and enrichment but also they contributed to the lifestyle, economy and culture of the United States. Today America is seems to be a mixture of cultures living together under one “umbrella” and it is also a very good example of cultural integration.

1.6 Conclusion

To conclude, in chapter One, I have started with an Introduction to my study. The chapter gave a brief outlook of the present study, pointing out its structure and its purpose. Moreover, this chapter gave a brief explanation and differentiated between terms such as /accent /which refers to pronunciation of a certain language and /dialect/ which refers to mainly vocabulary and to a given area where a particular group of people speak and use certain words which are common only to that part of a country.

This chapter was meant to bring into discussion also the development of the English language both in the Republic of Ireland and the United States of America from a historical point of view. One of the conclusions that this chapter can make is that every nation has its own history and history and language go hand and hand. If a nation, throughout its history develops itself economically, socially and politically its language will do the same thing because language is related to history. This chapter can also conclude that both Ireland and America were conquered by settlers who imposed in a way their native language to the people already living there and having their own native language. For example the English settlers imposed their language to the native Irish, thus leading to an almost complete switching from one language to another. Moreover if one looks at the example of Ireland, he or she can conclude that, in Ireland everybody speaks English but not everybody can speak Irish anymore. This reality goes back in time when the English tried with different methods to impose their language to the Irish by excluding it slowly but surely from institutions, churches and markets. The same pattern applies to America as well. Due to economic instability the Native Americans had no choice but to follow the rules that were imposed to them. As a final conclusion, this chapter lays emphasis and shows that English throughout its history proved to be a strong language having a great potential. This distinctive feature still remains and is still relevant today

CHAPTER TWO

Methodology and Data collection

2.0 Introduction

This chapter focuses on describing the research I carried out right from the beginning. I divided this chapter into two main sections namely; Section 3.1 presents the research questions which guided me throughout my study. Section 3.2 is dedicated to a detailed presentation of the collection of the data. I include in this particular section, another subsection that refers to the participants in the study and to their background and last but not least I focused on presenting the instruments used for collecting the data.

2.1 Research questions

The following subsection focuses on the research questions that guided my study.

There are a number of reasons regarding this research that made me curious and therefore made me question certain topics related to language as such. Being an Erasmus student for quite some time in Ireland and later on in the UK as well and experiencing the wonderful feeling of studying abroad, contributed in one way or another to the writing of my BA project on accents. Why? Simply because once you are there, you start inevitably interacting with people around you, make friends, and get to know different cultures. While living in Ireland, studying, working and traveling I came across a lot of people with different accents from different corners of the World. Friendships became to flourish. This constant interaction with different people, tipped the balance in favor of writing my BA project.

There are three research questions guiding my study on accents which I now present in this first section. When dealing with the accent of a certain language, one has to distinguish between the standard accepted form of pronunciation and the local forms of pronunciation. This is what the first research question focuses on.

Varieties of English differ from country to country or as a matter of fact from one geographical area to the other. Nevertheless, when talking about standard forms of accents certain interferences can occur thus making two different varieties of English, up to certain point similar when it comes to pronunciation. This is the subject of the second research question.

The third research question points out that all languages are spoken with various different accents. And not everyone who comes from the same place or who speaks the same language sounds the same way. The pronunciation may differ in points of vocal range, lengthening, intonation and different varieties of pronunciation of certain vowels and consonants. This can be applied to English both in Standard and local form as well. For example an American coming from Wisconsin would speak differently from an Irish coming from Limerick.

Here are the research questions with their subordinate research questions as well:

What is the main difference between the two terms / accent / and / dialect /?

How can one define the term / accent/?

Are there any similarities between Americans and Irish people when it comes to pronunciation?

Are these similarities of a phonetical nature?

Can history be a linking device in the process of making two different accents sound similar when it comes to pronunciation?

What are the main differences between American and Irish English when it comes to pronunciation?

Are these differences visible and hearable when uttering certain words?

2.2 Data Collection

This subsection lays emphasis on the collected data thus pointing out the instruments used in the collection of the data as well as the participants in the study.

2.2.1 Participants in the study

When gathering my corpus I tried to vary the cultures and backgrounds of my subjects as much as possible. I described them as follows: I named the participants K and R. This way their identities will remain confidential. Both are native speakers of English coming from two different places.

K is an American young man. He grew up in the States having English as his first language in other words as his mother tongue. He is currently an Erasmus student in Ireland at the University of Limerick. He grew up in the state of Wisconsin. He’s currently in his senior 5th year having biochemistry as his major. Besides English he speaks Spanish at an intermediate level and French at a beginner one.

R is an Irish girl. She grew up in the Republic of Ireland having English as her mother tongue in other words, as her first language. She graduated from high school last year and she is currently preparing herself to enroll in a university study program. She grew up in a village very near to the city of Limerick. At the moment she is working as an assistant manager and enjoys it very much. She considers Irish or Gaelic as her second language.

2.2.1.1 Instruments used

As already mentioned in Chapter One, my purpose with this study is to demonstrate the fact that although they do sound apparently different, Irish English and American English in fact do have some similarities when it comes to pronunciation. Moreover this study aims to point out a few differences as well between the two accents when it comes to pronunciation.

During my Erasmus mobility I had the chance to carefully observe the pronunciation of my Irish and American friends. This was precisely what captured me the most when paying attention to the way they speak. American English seemed to be so different in comparison with Irish English. However, despite the differences there were a few similarities in point of pronunciation. The project aims to demonstrate some of those similarities and differences.

One of the best methods, one can use in order to observe and analyze the pronunciation of a person is by recording it. The recording procedure went as follows: I provided the two participants with a list of words and sentences (see Appendix one). With the tasks in front, each participant had to read the given words and sentences out loud and while doing that, they had to record themselves by means of a smartphone. The principles according to which I decided to list those words were based on what specialists in the field of phonetics said and identified as phonetical features of American and Irish English accent. The words are meant to show some of the phonetical particularities of American and Irish English. I considered the words to be the most appropriate ones in the sense that these words reflect both similarity and difference. I did not focus on a certain area or a certain domain. The aim of this project was not to analyze words from a phonetical point of view that would belong to a certain domain for example law, economics, tourisms or even literature. The aim of this project is rather to show some simple aspects taken out of everyday life. Focusing on a certain domain would be very vast and it would require more time nevertheless, I would be interested in focusing on a certain domain in the near future.

The purpose of the recorded sentences is to demonstrate the fact that differences can occur not only at a phonetical level but also at the level of sentences.

In order to highlight the unique particularities and features of both American and Irish English, besides the recordings I decided to examine sequences or scenes taken out of two different movies. Thus the American movie entitled “American Wedding” seemed to serve the purpose of reflecting the phonetical particularities of American English when it comes to uttering certain words and the Irish movie entitled “Brooklyn” seemed to help analyzing the phonetical particularities of Irish English when it comes to the pronunciation of certain words.

The sequences are meant to show some of the characteristics pointed out by linguists regarding American and Irish English accent. There are a number of twenty three sequences in my research (see Appendix two), namely eight sequences which reflect some of the phonetical features of American English when it comes to pronunciation and other fifteen sequences which reflect some of the phonetical characteristics of Irish English when it comes to uttering certain words. The principles according to which I decided to cut out the sequences / scenes from the two movies and to place them in my research were based on the knowledge that I gathered throughout my study by reading different books written by linguists who identified certain phonetical features regarding both varieties of English that is American and Irish. Having all that information bared in mind, I was able to identify rapidly certain features while watching the movies. When a certain scene seemed to be suitable in points of phonetical characteristics I decided to cut it out and to analyze it from a phonetical point of view.

The film “Brooklyn” vividly captures an Irishwoman’s journey. Based on the novel written by Colm Toibin and adapted by producer John Crowley it is the story of an immigrant young and beautiful woman by the name of Ellis Lacey portrayed by the actress Saoirse Ronan who is making her way through the 1950’s Brooklyn. Drawn by the promise of America, Eilis leaves Ireland for the shores of New York City in order to seek a better life and help the family back home. A heart touching drama, a story that reflects the pressure of being a young woman and having to choose your own path in order to seek for a better life. The film was realized in 2015. The movie can perceived also as a throwback to the Great Famine which terrorized Ireland in the 19th century and left enormous damage behind. Because of the Famine many people were forced to leave their own country and seek shouter in different parts of the World.

The movie “American Wedding” is an American comedy and a sequel to “American Pie” and “American Pie 2”. It is the third part of the “American Pie” theatrical series. Witten by Adam Herz and directed by Jesse Dylan the movie follows the story of five best friends now young adults in their mid twenties making their way through life and searching for love. The comedy reflects on the importance of friendship, love, trust and commitment in a very humorous way. The film shows through different circumstances that it is never too late for begin a new chapter in ones love life. The movie provides several humorous moments which, some or another contribute to the development of one’s persona. The film was realized in 2003 and it became of the most successful comedies in that year.

2.3 Concussion

The purpose of this chapter was to give a clear overview over the data that is going to be used in the following analysis. I have described the research questions, the instruments used for collecting the data and the participants in the study. Also, I have provided an overview over the nature in which I collected the data that is, both by recordings and sequences taken from two movies. Regarding the two movies, I provided a short summary of their plot

CHAPTER THREE

American English Accent

3.0 Introduction

The focus in this chapter is on describing some of the main features of American English. In what follows, I examine what linguists have identified as general phonological characteristics of the English spoken in the United States of America. Having the theoretical part covered, I offer examples of such pronunciations from the recording corpus and from the film corpus as well. Regarding the film corpus, I included the proximate time of their occurrence in the movie, so that the reader can consult the given CD at his or her leisure. I demonstrated with live recordings and with some sequences from a movie, what has already been discussed in the theoretical part. I used use of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols in order to represent, how sounds are uttered or produced in speech thus for example the word /car/ was transcribed as / kar/. I divided this chapter into two main sections. Mainly section 4.1 is dedicated to the consonants and will include their different variation of them when it comes to the American English Accent .Section 4.2 is dedicated to the vowels and their manifestation and variation in American English.

3.1 Consonants

This subsection deals with some of the main consonants of American English, it also deals with their manifestation in speech and their use of creating that general American sound.

3.1.1 Rhotic /r/ sound

In the following sub-subsection a detailed presentation and description had been done in order to show the /r/ sound in different variations.

One of the main features of American English is the clear pronunciation of the /r/ sound. According to Tottie (2002:16) American English “is what is called a rhotic accent … Thus words like /father/, /mother/, /pleasure/, /tar/, /year/, /part/, /car/t, /board/ etc are pronounced with an audible /r/ or with a strong retroflex r-coloring of the vowel i.e. with the tip of the tongue turned back against the roof of the mouth’’. The American /r/ is always pronounced, it is never silent.

According to Mojsin ( 2009:48) the /r/ sound in American English is different from other /r/ sounds in other languages in the sense that “the American /r/ sound is produced in the back of the mouth and the tip of the tongue never touches anywhere inside the mouth’’.

Mojsin (2009:48) also claims that there are two distinctive ways of pronouncing the American /r/ sound .First above all, “by simply curling the tongue and pulling it back a bit or by letting back the tongue to do all the work that is pressing the sides of the tongue up against the back teeth, in this curling of the tongue is not needed – my emphasis”

3.1.1.1 Data Analysis

The following sub-subsection deals with the analysis of the data.

Having covered the theoretical background regarding the /r/ sound, in what follows, I managed to demonstrate what has already been discussed in connection with this particular sound. I used the recording corpus that I managed to record with a native speaker of American English during my studies in Ireland and also I managed to provide other examples based on the theoretical background of such pronunciation taken from an American movie called: “American Wedding”. I included the proximate time of their occurrence in the film.

The words that I looked at were: /part / and / dark /, which are two recorded words and the other two that is / mother / and / bars / were taken from a movie.

The first word is /part/. Judging from the recording, one can hear a very clear and audible pronunciation of the /r/ sound. K pronounced the word /part/ as / part / thus laying emphasis on the above mentioned theory, that is in American English /r/ is pronounced clear and it is never silent regardless the position in a word.

The second recording goes hand in hand with the first one, thus one can hear a clear pronunciation of the /r/ sound. The word that was analyzed was / dark /. In the given recording the reader can hear a pure /r/ sound, which is typical for American English. Phonetically speaking K pronounced the word as / dark /.

The third word is / mother /. This word was taken out from the well known movie “American Wedding” and it aims to demonstrate the fact that in American English the /r/ sound can be heard loud and clear. I included the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“Your mother said you don’t have a cleaning lady” (American Wedding, 00:52:17)

In the above mentioned small section one can hear a very clear /r/ sound when it comes to the pronunciation of the word / mother /. That is phonetically speaking the word was pronounced as / mʌðər / emphasizing the/r/ sound in final position.

In the forth example the same phenomena occurs. The pronunciation of the /r/ sound regardless the position in a word is one of the most silent characteristic of American English. This can be heard and demonstrated with the following example:

“She-she said she’d probably be at one of these bars here on Halstead.” (American Wedding, 00:21:03)

As mentioned above a typical characteristic of American English is the loud pronunciation of the /r/ sound. In the given example the word /bars/ falls under the same rule that is the /r/ sound makes itself noticeable is middle position. Phonetically speaking the word might be spelled like / barz / where /r/ is pronounced audible.

3.1.2 The /t/ and the /d/ sounds

In the following sub-subsection a detailed presentation and description had been made in order to show the /t/ sound in its different variations and forms.

Another very important characteristic of American English is related to the pronunciation of the /t/ sound. In American English the /t/ sound it is articulated as a “voiced tap” (Tottie, 2002:16) Tottie (2002:16) also claims that a voiced tap or a tap is characterized by a “very rapid articulation of a stop, with just a single tongue tip movement”

In American English the /t/ sound can be pronounced in several different ways, depending on its position in a word and depending on the other sounds close around it. Mojsin (2009:34) states that:

“Sometimes /t/ sounds more like /d/ as in /water/ or /atom/ and sometimes it is not pronounced at all as in /often/ and /interview/ … other times it’s barely pronounced as in /but/ or /cat/ … also it can change to a different sound when it is followed by an /r/ sound, as in /try/ or /truth/.”

One can talk about a phenomenon called the holding of the /t/ sound. “The letter /t/ is generally held at the end of the words and before consonants within words … this held /t/ is very common in American English … for example /cut/, /out/, /met/, /nightmare/, /it was / and /eight weeks/” (Mojsin, 2009:35-my emphasis.)

When the /t/ sound “is followed by an /n/ sound the /t/ is held up for example when pronouncing /button/ the /t/ in held up in /but/ and then it is added the /n/ sound thus becoming /but+n/ other examples include words such as / certain / , /mountain / , /cotton/, /written / and /Britain/” (Mojsin, 2009:36 – my emphasis)

Another striking feature of the /t sound in American English is that “ the /t/ after an /n/ often is silent … instead of saying /internet/ Americans will frequently say / innernet/ , other examples include words as / twenty/ , /international/ , /center/ and /plenty /’’ (Mojsin, 2009:36 – my emphasis)

When between two vowel sounds the /t/ sound “is generally pronounced like a fast /d/ sound” (Mojsin, 2009:37)

T becomes a fast /d sound in the following examples:

“A: between two vowels such as /better / or/ water/ the /t/ becomes /d/ thus /better/ becomes /bedder/ and /water/ becomes /wader/’’ (Mojsin, 2009:37)

“B: Before an /I sound as in /little / thus the word may most probably sound like /liddle/.”(Mojsin, 2009:37 – my emphasis)

“C: After an /r/ and a vowel as in / party / of /forty/ thus /party/ becomes / pardy/ and /forty/ becomes /fordy/” (Mojsin, 2009:37)

When the /t/ sound is” between two separate words it also becomes a fast /d/ especially when the first word ends with a vowel + t and the next word begins with a vowel for example /it is/ , /get up/ wait a minute/ and / what if/’’: (Mojsin, 2009:37)

The /d/ sound is pronounced the same way when between two vowels thus, “in American English there is no difference in pronunciation between / bidder/ and /bitter/ and /medal/ and /metal/” (Tottie, 2002:17)

3.1.2.1 Data Analysis

In order to highlight the so many manifestations of the /t/ sound I provided three examples taken from the recorded corpus and from the film corpus as well. By having the three examples I demonstrated what has already been said in the theoretical background. The three words that were closely examined were: /water, / better/ and /letter/.

By paying attention to the recorded corpus one can notice a slight difference in the pronunciation of the word /water/. In the recorded version K pronounced the word / water / as / wɒtər / although the difference is not indicated in the transcription one can hear between the two vowel sounds that is between / ɔ / and /ə/ a silent /d/ sound. This /d/ sound marks the clear characteristic of American English that is; when between two vowel sounds the /t/ sound will become in speech a /d/ sound. In this case /water/ may very much sound like /wɒdər/

The same pattern applies to the second recorded word as well. That is phonetically speaking the word /better/ was pronounced by K as / bɛtər /. Although the difference is not indicted in the transcription one can hear a different sound there, that is , instead of hearing a /t/ sound between the two vowel sounds / ɛ / and /ə/ one can hear rather a silent /d/ sound. Judging from the recording the word /better/ might be transcribed as / bɛddər /.

The last word, namely / letter/ falls under the same pattern as the other two that is, when between two vowel sounds the /t/ sound, in speech becomes a /d/ sound. This fact is more obvious in pronunciation rather than in transcription. The word /letter/ was taken out of the well known American movie: “American Wedding”. I indicated its approximate occurrence in the movie.

“Your letter made a good impression on coach Marshall when he read it” (American Wedding, 00:31:09)

In this example, one can notice an audible and visible difference when it comes to uttering the word / letter /. Phonetically speaking the word might be spelled as: /
lɛtər /. The difference occurs in the production of the word that is when pronounced one can hear a slight difference regarding the /t/ sound. Judging from the piece of movie, the man pronounced the word rather as / lɛddər / instead of / lɛtər /. A /d/ sound substituted the initial /t/ sound. This substitution is typical for the American English Accent.

3.1.3 Yod-dropping

One striking feature of American English is the dropping or the deletion of the /j/ sound. According to Tottie ( 2002:18) “In words where dental or alveolar consonants precede the vowel American English has /u/ where British English for example has /ju/ so that for instance /new becomes /nu/ , /duke/ becomes /duk/ and /enthusiasm / becomes / ɛnθuziæzəm/”

3.1.3.1 Data Analysis

Having already discussed the theoretical part, in what follows I managed to demonstrate with an example taken out of a movie the fact that this dropping of the initial /j/ sound is typical for the English spoken in the U.S.A The word that was analyzed is: / enthusiasm/. I included the approximate time of its occurrence in the movie.

“Show some enthusiasm” (American Wedding, 00:13:08)

In the provided example one can hear the dropping of the /j/ sound in middle position. Thus, the word /enthusiasm/ might be transcribed as / ɛnθuziæzəm / instead of / ɛnθjuziæzəm / as in British English. In British English, one can clearly hear the /j/ sound in this particular word and not only, because British English does not drop the /j/ sound whereas American English does.

3.2Vowels

The following subsection deals with some of the most important vowel sounds and their manifestation in American English.

3.2.1 The /æ/ sound

Probably the most striking feature of American English is the / æ / sound. Buja (2015:26) claims that his sound is “commonly referred to as /flat/, many words which in RP have the vowel /a: / have in AmE ,/ æ / as in / dance/, / ask / , / past / , / France /.” Tottie (2002:17) also points out that words for example “/ant/ and /aunt/ are homophones in American English”

3.2.1.1 Data Analysis

Having already discussed the theoretical background I demonstrated with two examples what has already been said above. The two examples were meant to prove that this particular / æ / sound, is typical for American English. The words in use are: /bath/ and /dance/.

The first word is: /bath/. By listening carefully to the recorded data, one can notice a slight difference when it comes to the pronunciation of the word / bath /. K pronounced the word as / bæθ / thus, instead of adding an / a / sound between the two consonants as in British English he used the / æ / sound. This example illustrates the usage of the / æ / vowel. In K’s recording one can clearly hear a clean / æ / sound. This distinctive usage of this particularly vowel sound makes American English very recognizable and in the same time unique.

The second example which was taken out of a movie goes hand in hand with the first one. I indicated the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“Let’s dance … dance?”(American Wedding, 00:06:30-31)

In the given example one can clearly hear the / æ / sound in the word / dance /. Unlike British English where the / æ / sound tends to be substituted with the long / a / sound. Phonetically speaking the word is transcribed as / dæns / rather than / daːns / as in British Accent.

3.2.2 The lengthening of stressed vowels

American English seems to be a kind of English where vowels have the tendency of lengthening. “The pronunciation of some American speakers is characterized by a phenomenon known as /drawl/, i.e. the lengthening of stressed vowels … thus, a sentence like / This is bad /will be heard as / ðɪ:s ɪz bæ:d”( Buja, 2015:25)

3.2.2.1 Data Analysis

In order to show this phenomenon of lengthening within American English, I provided an example taken out of a movie called: “American Wedding”. The example aims to demonstrate the fact that indeed Americans do have a tendency of lengthening certain vowels when speaking. I included the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“That is exactly how our wedding is going to be” (American Wedding, 00:12:16-00:12:19)

The tendency of lengthening is a silent characteristic of American English. Sounds are uttered in a very clear and audible way. The given example above clearly demonstrates the fact that indeed, this phenomenon applies to American English. Judging from the movie, one can clearly and without any hesitation hear every sound pronounced properly in a lengthen way. This can be demonstrated phonetically that is, the above mentioned sentence would look like: / ðæ:t ɪz ɪgˈzæ:ktli haʊ ˈaʊər ˈwɛdɪŋ ɪz ˈgoʊɪŋ tu bi / . It is more than obvious the fact that in this case the / æ / has been lengthened in both cases. More than that, the /t/ sound remains silent, which is a typical characteristic of American English Accent, whenever the /t/sound is perceived by an /n/ sound, it remains silent.

3.2.3 The /a/ sound

Another interesting characteristic of American English is the /a/ sound. Buja (2015:26) states that “/a/ in AmE differs from the RP /a:/ in point of duration … it replaces the RP /a:/ but also the RP / ɔ/, in such words as/ not /, / holiday /, / quality/.” Many Americans will pronounce the / a / sound very clearly and audible sometimes with a longer duration laying emphasis on the sound itself.

3.2.3.1 Data Analysis

The following example which was taken out of a movie demonstrates the fact that indeed, Americans do have a tendency of pronouncing the / a / sound in a very audible way. I included the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“Oh! The summer that was so hot … so hot” (American Wedding, 00:49:05)

In the given example one can follow closely the way of utterance of the vowel sounds especially the / a / sound. In the given example the word /hot/ was pronounced as / hat /. In the provided pronunciation one can easily indentify the clear and audible utterance of the sound / a /. Phonetically speaking the sentence might look like this: / oʊ! ðə ˈsʌmər ðæ:t wʌz soʊ ha:t … soʊ ha:t/. It is more than obvious the fact that besides pronouncing the / a / sound very audible one can also hear the lengthening of the vowel sounds, process which is typical for American English Accent.

3.2.4. The / ɜr / sound.

A distinctive feature of American English is the / / ɜr / sound. “The words /work/ , / turn/ , /bird/ / world / , /word/, /girl/ and /early/ all spelled with a different vowel , yet the vowel sound is the same … this frequently happens when a vowel is followed by the letter /r/ … the sound remains the same” (Mojsin,2009:27 – my emphasis). This sound is a distinctive sound in American English and not an easy one to pronounce for some non-native speakers of American English.

3.2.4.1 Data Analysis

In order to make this very interesting feature of American clearer I provided an example taken from a movie called “American Wedding”. I included as well the approximate time of its occurrence in the movie. The word that I am going to be looking at is; /girl/

“And finally I realized duh, you love the girl, marry her” (American Wedding, 00:06:25)

In the given example one can hear a typical American pronunciation of the word / girl/. Phonetically speaking the word would be spelled like / gɜrl / .The / ɜr / sound is a typical American sound. First above all, this word is a one syllable word and it is a content word, this means that it would be stressed and will have a rising vocal shape. This rising vocal shape is precisely what characterizes the formation of this particular sound. Unlike other varieties of English this sound is specific for American English because not only that it has a rising vocal shape but it has a very audible pronunciation of the /r/ sound. American English is known for its rhotic characteristic.

3.3 Conclusion

This chapter was meant to bring into discussion the particularities of the English language spoken in the USA. The purpose of this chapter was to give a clear overview over the data that is showing and describing the particularities and the general features of American English. I demonstrated with live recordings and with examples taken out of a movie, what has already been written by other linguists. Furthermore, I gave examples of my own as well, in order to demonstrate what has already been said in the theoretical part.

If one wishes to try to speak with an American Accent he or she must pay attention to some important aspects. One of them involves the /t/ and the /d/ sound and its different variations and forms. This aspect was carefully discussed in this chapter. Also another important key element when it comes to American Accent the clear utterance and lengthen of the vowel sounds such as /æ/ , / a / and / ɜr/ .

Thus, the present research can conclude that one of the most striking characteristics of American English is the / æ / vowel sound. This fact was demonstrated by a number of examples were native speakers of American English uttered certain words with a clear and audible / æ / sound. For example K pronounced the word /bath/ as / bæθ / thus, adding an / æ / sound, which is a typical vowel sound for American English.

Another very interesting vowel sound of American English was the / ɜr / sound. For instance, in the example / and finally I realized duh, you love the girl, marry her/ which was taken out of an American movie, the actor pronounced the word / girl/ as gɜrl /. Thus, emphasizing the / ɜr / sound. When followed by the /r/ consonant this typical American sound is always pronounced load and clear.

Moving to the consonant system of American English this paper can conclude, based on the theoretical background, that the /t sound in American English Accent has a number of variations depending on its position in a word and depending on the other sounds close around it. This particularity of the /t/ sound in American English was demonstrated with a number of examples coming from both recordings and sequences from an American movie. For instance when K pronounced the word / better/, one could hear a slightly different sound there which is not /t/, it sounded more like a silent /d/.

Another interesting fact that can be concluded is that American English has a high degree of rhoticity, meaning that the /r/ sound is pronounced loud and clear regardless its position in a word. For example, when K pronounced the words / part/ and /dark/ one could audible hear the utterance of the /r/ sound in both cases thus, laying emphasis on the fact, that in American English /r/ is pronounced clear and it’s never silent regardless the position in a word.

American English is known for its nature of lengthening words. I demonstrated this fact with an example taken out from an American movie. The example aimed to demonstrate the fact that indeed Americans do have a tendency of lengthening certain vowels when speaking. In my data, in the sentence / That is exactly how our wedding is going to be / one could clearly and without any hesitation hear every sound pronounced properly in a lengthen way. Vowels that are usually lengthened are the / a / sound and the / æ / sound and not only. For example many Americans will pronounce the / a / sound very clearly and audible sometimes with a longer duration laying emphasis on the sound itself. This fact was also demonstrated with the example / Oh! The summer that was so hot … so hot /, which was taken out of an American movie. In the provided pronunciation one could easily indentify the clear and audible utterance of the sound / a /.

CHAPTER FOUR

Irish English Accent

4.0 Introduction

In this chapter, the focus is on describing the main characteristics and general features of Irish English. In what follows, I examine what linguists have identified as general phonological features of the English spoken in Ireland. Having the theoretical part covered, I offer examples of such pronunciations from the recording corpus and from the film corpus as well. Regarding the film corpus, I include the proximate time of their occurrence in the movie, so that the reader can consult the respective CD at his or her leisure. I make my point by demonstrating with live recordings and with some sequences from a movie, what has already been written in the theoretical part. The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols, are used to represent how sounds are uttered or produced in speech thus , for example the word /green/ is transcribed as / gri:n/. I divided this chapter into two main sections. Namely, section 3.1 is dedicated to the consonants and includes different variation of them when it comes to Irish English Accent. Section 3.2 deals with the vowels and their manifestation and variation in Irish English.

4.1 Consonants

This subsection deals with some of the main consonants of Irish English, and looks at some of their different manifestations in speech.

4.1.1 / θ / and / ð /

Irish English has a number of phonological features, which makes it very recognizable. One of them includes /t/ and /d/ instead of /th/. According to Moreno(2010:77-78) this distinctive feature of Irish English makes is possible “to the phonemes / θ / and / ð / to be realised as dental plosives /t/ and /d/ , which means that the distinction between pairs such as /tin/ and thin/ , /fate/ and /faith /, den /and /then/, /breed/ and /breathe/ is not clear” Morevoer, Hickey(2005:29) claims that “… one can say that the dental fricatives of standard English are realised as stops in Irish English ’’

This feature goes back in time and it has a historical explanation. Here is what Long (2009:203) states in this respect:

“The reason for this realisation is that when Irish people were first exposed to the English language, they simply used the closest equivalents they had from Irish when producing English fricatives … these fricatives were dental allophones or coronal stops of Irish”

By the same indication /three/ and /tree/ would sound identical to someone unaware of this particularity.

Some respellings of / θ / and / ð / using /t/ and /d/ are given bellow:

(Taniguschi 1972:237)

Moreno (2010:78) shows a very interesting particularity regarding the /t/ sound is that:

“in final position’’ it becomes a slit fricative, making a hissing sound, as air escapes through a small passage between the ridge directly behind the upper teeth and the tip of the tongue when pronounced […] in final position, then /hit/ sounds more like /hiss/ and /it/ close to /ish/”

4.1.1.1 Data Analysis

Having already covered the theoretical background regarding the above mentioned consonants and their manifestation, I move into demonstrating the fact that, the “behavior” of these two consonants, is specific for Irish English. I used some recordings that I managed to record with a native speaker of Irish English, while studying in Ireland. Further on, I provided some other examples, based on the theoretical background, taken from an Irish movie called “Brooklyn”. The words, which are analyzed, from a phonological point of view, are the followings: /bath/; /think/ and /that/.

As mentioned in the theoretical part, one common feature of Irish English is the fact, that the phonemes / θ / and / ð / are realised as dental plosives /t/ and /d/.This can be observed as it follows:

/t/ and /d/ for / θ / and / ð / like in the word: /bath/. Judging from the recording, R, pronounced the word /bath/ like /bat/. The phonetic transcription also agrees with this statement thus, pointing out the following transcription: /bath = bɛt/. As a small conclusion, R did not pronounce the word like /bæθ/ or /baːθ/, rather /bɛt/. This type of pronunciation is typical for Irish English. From this analysis the reader, can conclude two things. Firstly knowing the theoretical background, he or she can realize that in Irish English , words beginning or ending in /th/ are quite often pronounced with /t/ or /d/ , thus eliminating the two phonemes, / θ / and / ð. And secondly in the given recording, the reader can hear a clear /t/ sound.

In order to make this distinction clearer to the reader, I will provide another example, this time, taken from a movie. I shall include the approximate time of its occurrence in the film. The word that I analyze is /think/.

[t] and [d] for / θ / and / ð / like in the word : /think/.

“ … Do you think he might? … ’’ (Brooklyn, 00:05:02)

In this example, the reader can clearly make a distinction between /θ/ and /t/. The girl from the movie pronounced the word /think/ like /tink/. The phonetic transcription of the word according to IPA would be “θɪŋk”, in this case it is rather “tink”. This distinction is a typical feature of Irish English. As a conclusion, the reader can hear a very clear /t/ at the beginning of the word. In Irish English, most of the words which begin or end in /th/ are pronounced with /t/ or /d/, thus eliminating the / θ / and / ð.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Some words that end in /t/ are often pronounced with a /ʃ /sound. In some words the /t /sound in final position, becomes a slit fricative, thus, making a hissing sound. The following example will demonstrate it:

/ʃ/ for / θ / and / ð. The word that is being analyzed is: /that/. In the recording, R pronounced the word like /dæʃ/, thus, adding something else there, which is another typical feature of Irish English, she added another sound, that is, the /ʃ /sound. Phonetically transcribed the word may look like this: /dæʃ/. As a conclusion, instead of being pronounced as: /ðæt/, according the recording, the word was pronounced as /dæʃ/. Moreover, the reader can hear a very clear /d/ at the beginning of the word.

4.1.2 /ṯ /and /ḏ/ for /t/ an /d/

Another very salient feature of Irish English has to do with the plosives of the English Language. I have found Lang’s ( 2009:205) statement very interesting who pointed out that “The Standard English plosives /t/ and /d/ differ from the corresponding pair in the Irish language in that the letters are dentalised and are followed by quite a high degree of aspiration.” Of course, this differentiation goes back in time. The author also claims that “These Irish sounds were carried over into the pronunciation of the first speakers who had contact with English, and still persist today, particularly before /r/.” (Lang 2009:205) Moreover, there is a golden rule to it:

“The reason for this is, the equal-quality rule which stipulates that all the consonants in any consonant group must be of the same quality, i.e. all must be either palatal (t/d/ ʃ/ʒ/n) or non-palatal (ṯ/ ḏ/s/z/r) …. this quality is determined by the quality of the final consonant in the group.” (Lang 2009:205)

This phenomenon is visible “with regard to the group /tr,dr/ which are often realised as /ṯr, ḏr/ as in /ṯrik/ trick or /ḏrap/ drop … the same applies when /r/ is syllabic as in /da: ṯr/ daughter or /laḏr/ ladder’’(Lang 2009:205) . Hickey (2004a:38) states the following in this respect “The result is that words featuring the clusters /tr/ and /dr/, as well as / tər/ and dər/ are pronounced /ṯr / and /ḏr/ or /ṯər/ or /ḏər/ respectively”

Taniguchi (1972:236) provides some respellings that aim to reflect this pronunciation:

4.1.2.1 Data Analysis

Having covered the theoretical background of this particular case, the following subsection focuses on some of the recorded data. The, data demonstrates, what has already been mentioned and described in the theoretical part. I analyze three words, namely two recorded ones and one taken out of the movie “Brooklyn”. Regarding the film I include the proximate time of the occurrence of that particular word in the movie. The words are the following ones: /better/; /water/ and /letter/. All these three words, share something in common, mainly, when pronounced, they are followed by high degree of aspiration.

The first word would be: /better/. By paying attention to the recorded word by R, the reader can noticed a high degree of aspiration. That is, phonologically speaking the pronounced word might be spelled like this: /bɛthər/ instead of being spelled as /bɛtər/ as in American English or even /bɛtə/ as in British English. However, Irish English has this very distinctive feature which makes it easy to recognize. The same pattern applies to the word /water/. Here as well, the reader can sense in the recording, a high degree of aspiration after the vowel /ɔ/ as in /wɔ:t hər/. The last example, which was taken out from the movie, goes hand in hand with the two examples above:

“Thank you for your letter”. (Brooklyn, 00:56:51)

In this last example, the reader can identify a high degree of aspiration in the word: /letter/. Phonetically speaking the pronounced word is described as such: /lɛthər/

4.1.3 / ʃ / for /s/

Another striking feature of Irish English is the use of the / ʃ / sound rather than its correspondent /s/. Like in “stop /ʃtɔp/, star /ʃa:r / or west /wɛʃt / …” (Moreno, 2010:78) Moreno(2010:78) also states that “this is one of the features where traces of phonetic influence of Irish can be observed”. One of the most common contexts for /s/ to be replaced by / ʃ / is before /t/, Taniguchi (1972:239) provides some respellings in this matter:

The / ʃ / may very well occur in final position as well, as Taniguchi (1972:239) pointed out bellow:

4.1.3.1 Data Analysis

Having covered the theoretical background of this particular case, the following paper takes a closer look, at some of the data taken from the movie “Brooklyn”. The, data will demonstrate, what has already been mentioned and described in the theoretical part. The words that I analyze are: / street/ and /sweet/ I shall include the proximate time of their occurrence in the film.

“Where you live? … Clinton Street …’’ (Brooklyn, 00:35:22)

The reader can sense a slight difference when it comes to analyzing the recorded data. The slight difference makes itself noticeable at the end of the word. Thus the word / street / is pronounced as: /stri: ʃ/ being different from the American version / strit / or even from the British one as well: / striːt /. This unique feature of Irish English is present throughout all the country.

The second example goes hand in hand with the first one. That is the /t/ sound in final position is replaced by the / ʃ / sound. The word that I look at is the word /sweet./ Like in the previous example, I have taken out the word from the well known Irish movie called “Brooklyn”. I shall include the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“He is sweet …’’ (Brooklyn, 01:11:44)

Phonetically speaking, the reader can sense a difference at the end of the word. When uttered the /t/ sound in sweet becomes rather a/ ʃ / sound. Phonetically this can be represented as: / swiʃ / rather than / swiːt / or / swit /, depending on the accent in use, that is, American or British.

4.1.4 /ʍ/ for / w /

Another very interesting feature of Irish English, that comes forth immediately, is related to the dropping of the / h/ sound. Moreno (2010:77) claims that,” a sound somewhat related to /h/ is fricative /ʍ/ which is different to /w/ in that when realised it sounds like a kind of inverted aspiration.’’.

Moreover, Moreno (2010:77) also states that, this feature makes it possible:

“to differentiate between /w/ and/ʍ/ as in /wear/ and /where/ one can hear the difference caused by the slight friction in the pronunciation of /h/ … This retention of [ʍ] is often heard in the pronunciation of words such as “when” which could be described as [hwen ] or “what” [hwət] for example, and it helps to differentiate between pairs such as “wail” and “whale” , “wine” and “whine” “witch” and “which’’

4.1.4.1 Data Analysis

In addition, the film corpus throws up an interesting example with regard to the use of / ʍ/ rather than /w/ in Irish English. The exchange is from the film “Brooklyn”:

Why? … Why? … No thank you? … Sorry, thank you, but why? (Brooklyn, 00:24:54)

Phonetically speaking, “why” could be transcribed as “hʍai’’. One can hear a slight friction in the pronunciation of the /h/ sound, which is precisely a striking feature of Irish English.

4.1.5 Rhoticism

One of the main features of Irish English is the clear pronunciation of the /r/ sound. In other words Irish English is what is called a rhotic accent as Lang (2009:216) pointed out: “Irish English is a rhotic variety, with the /r/ being pronounced whenever it appears in writing” Moreover Moreno (2010:77) emphasized Lang’s view by pointing out that: “The /r/ sound is pronounced in words such as /ever/ or /car/ where /r/ has a final position and in words such as /hard/ or mark/, where /r/ is followed by a consonant”

Below are some examples from Taniguchi (1972:238):

4.1.5.1 Data Analysis

Having already covered the theoretical background I move into demonstrating the fact that this feature of rhoticism is specific for Irish English as well. I used some of the recordings that I managed to record with a native speaker of Irish English. Further on, I provided some other examples, based on the theoretical background, taken from an Irish movie called “Brooklyn”. The words, which are analyzed, from a phonological point of view, are the followings: /work/; /hard/ and /girl/. I now move into demonstrating the fact that, this “behavior” of these two consonants, is specific for Irish English.

The first word would be: /work/. By paying attention to recorded data, one can notice in the pronunciation of the word /work/ a very clear /r/ sound, sound which is not only clear but also intensified as well. From a phonetical point of view the word /work/ is transcribed as /w ɜ: rk/. In the recorded word, one can sense a highly pronounced /r/ sound.

The second recorded word has not only one but two features of Irish English. In the word /hard/ the reader comes across two distinctive features of Irish English namely rhoticism and the use of the /ʃ/ sound instead of the /d/ sound. This can be easily demonstrated, by transcribing the word phonetically, thus the result is: / har: ʃ /. Here one can notice a clear and loud pronunciation of the /r/ sound.

In order to highlight this feature, I provided another example, this time, taken from a movie. I included the proximate time of its occurrence in the film. The word that I am going to analyze is / girl/

“Is there a girl, in a white shirt sitting around over there” (Brooklyn, 00:35:42)

In this last example, there seems to be high degree of rhoticim in the pronunciation of the word /girl/. Phonetically speaking the pronounced word is described as such: / gɜ:rrl / .

4.2 Vowels

This subsection deals with some of the main vowels of Irish English, and looks at some of their different manifestations in speech.

4.2.1 / ɔi / for /ai/

Turning to the vowel system, some of the most noticeable characteristics of Irish English include the rounding to / ɔi / of the standard / ai /. According to Taniguchi (1972:249),” the replacement of / ɔi / for /ai/ in words like /Irish/, /Ireland/, /eyes/ “is believed by British and American writers to be the be one of the main characteristic sounds of Irish English”

Moreover, Moreno (2010:79) also claims that most of the diphthongs in Irish English show a vast range of phonetic variations, thus, “the /ai/ in price, Ireland or nice may be pronounced /ɔi/ or /əi/ ’’

4.2.1.1 Data analysis

Having the theoretical background covered, I shall demonstrate what has already been written, by using two examples taken from an Irish movie called “Brooklyn”. I included the proximate time of their occurrence in the film. The words which are analyzed from a phonological point of view are: /Ireland/ and/ Irish/.

The first word would be: /Ireland/. I now, provide the example taken from the movie with its proximate occurrence.

“How long the letters from Ireland take to arrive? ’’ (Brooklyn, 00:13:40)

In this, first example the reader can identify a major difference regarding the pronunciation of the word Ireland. In most cases the word would be phonetically spelled like / aɪərlənd / or / aɪələnd / depending on which accent is involved, the American one, or the British one. However, in this particular case things are different. The reader can hear instead of an /ai/ sound a different one. A sound which is specific for Irish English that is the /ɔi/ sound. From a phonetical point of view the word is spelled as it follows: / ɔirlənd /. In this first example the /ai/ sound changed into an /ɔi/ one, this transformation being specific for Irish English.

The second example follows the same patterns as the first one that is /ai/ is replaced with /ɔi/.

“I wish I could stop feeling that I want to be an Irish girl in Ireland” (Brooklyn, 00:25:15)

In this example one can identify a difference when it comes to the pronunciation of the word: Irish. According to IPA, the word would be spelled like: / aɪrɪʃ /   or / aɪərɪʃ / . However in the movie the reader, can sense a very big difference in its pronunciation. Judging from the film and marking that phonetically, the word is spelled as: / ɔiriʃ /. One can clearly hear a difference regarding the pronunciation of the word itself.

4.2.2 /i/ for /ai/

Lang (2009:230) states that “In Irish English my and by are very often pronounced the same as me and be”. Moreover, Taniguchi (1972:48) also claims that, these are “vestiges of the pronunciation once common in ordinary English”

4.2.2.1 Data analysis

In order to make the reader understand better what has been said in the theoretical background, I shall provide the reader with an example from the film corpus. This example will demonstrate the substitution of the /i/ vowel sound for the /ai/ diphthong sound. The word that I analyze is: /myself/ and it is taken from the well known Irish movie “Brooklyn”. I will include the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“My mother and my father and myself” (Brooklyn, 1:14:59)

In the given example one can notice a very different pronunciation of the word /myself /. Instead of hearing an /ai/ sound in first position one can hear rather an /i/ sound. Phonetically speaking the word is spelled as: / misɛlf /. This substitution seems typical for the English spoken in Ireland.

4.2.3 /ai/ for / ɔi /

In some varieties of Irish English the “onset of the diphthong / ɔi / is quite open , with the result that it is realised as /ai/ … this leads to /oil/ being pronounced as /aisle/ , /boy /as /bye/ ’’(Peter Lang, 2009:229) This feature is reflected in Taniguchi’s (2972:248) respellings as shown below:

4.2.3.1 Data Analysis

To make the reader understand this particular feature, I took two examples from an Irish movie called “Brooklyn” and I demonstrated was has already been written in the theoretical part. The words that I am going to analyze are: /boyfriend/ and /boys/ I will include the proximate time of their occurrence in the film.

“So you both miraculously found boyfriends’’ (Brooklyn, 00:31:58)

In this example, one can notice a difference in pronunciation regarding the word boyfriends. The /ɔi / sound in first position is substituted with the sound /ai/ thus becoming, phonetically speaking: / baifrɛndz /.

The next example goes hand in hand with the first one.

“And those boys …’’ (Brooklyn, 00:05:11).

In the present data one can hear a slightly different sound when it comes to the pronunciation of the word /boys/. The /ɔi / sound in first position is substituted with the sound /ai/. Phonetically speaking this substitution can be demonstrated as: / baiz / rather than / bɔiz /, according to IPA.

4.2.4 / ə / or / i / for the unstressed / oʊ /

According to Lang (2009:227) another common characteristic of Irish English is the “substitution of / ə / or / i / for the unstressed / oʊ / at the end of the words”. This can be seen in the following respellings from Taniguchi’s (1972:249) literary dialect sources, in which /ow/ appears as /a/ or /ah/:

4.2.4.1 Data Analysis

Having examined the theoretical part I provide the reader with an example taken from an Irish movie called “Brooklyn”. I will include the approximate time of its occurrence in the film. The word that I am going to analyze is: /fellow/.

“I would love to meet a fellow’’ (Brooklyn, 00:32:50)

When analyzing the word /fellow/ within the movie, the reader can sense a small deviation of the standard pronunciation of the word. According to IPA the word would be spelled and pronounced as /fɛləʊ/ or as /fɛloʊ/ depending on the accent that is involved in the process of utterance. However in Irish English this process does not follow this pattern. Judging from the movie, the girl pronounced the word as /fɛlə/, thus eliminating the /oʊ/ sound in final position. This substitution of the/ oʊ / sound with an / ə/ one seems to be a typical feature of Irish English.

4.2.5 Occasional pronunciation of / ʊ / as / u: /

Irish English has a particular feature when it come to the pronunciation of the / ʊ /. Lang (2009:226) points out in this respect the fact that:

“Not all words which are pronounced with / ʊ / in standard accents are realised that way in Ireland … certain words such as/ book/ , /cook/ , /hook/ , /nook/ , /rook/ , /brook/ , /crook , /cooker/ , /cookie/ , /Tootsie/, / town/ and /school/ are pronounced with / u:/ by many Irish people –my emphasis”.

4.2.5.1 Data analysis

Having discussed the theoretical part, I provide the reader with an example, thus, clarifying the above mentioned theory. The word that I analyze is /school/ and it was taken from the well known Irish movie “Brooklyn”. I will include the approximate time of its occurrence in the film.

“Well, there’s school …’’ (Brooklyn, 00:38:12)

In the given example, the reader can notice a slight difference when it comes to the pronunciation of the word school. Judging from the movie the word/ school /has experienced a substitution in point of vowels. Thus the vowel in final position / ʊ / was substituted with an / u: / sound. As a conclusion instead of being pronounced as / skʊl / the word was pronounced as / sku:l /.

4.2.6 / a: / in BATH set

Lang (2009: 224) states that “Irish English does not differentiate between the vowels in the BATH and TRAP lexical sets […] Thus instead of / a: / and / æ/, Irish speakers use a long low central / a: /, for both. Thus words such as /bland/ or / glance/ are realised as: / bla:nd/ and / gla:ns/ […] this rule also carries into other member of the BATH lexical set so that / a/: is used in / answer/, /dance/, /laugh/, / rather/ and ( traditionally) in / father/” The BATH set is a lexical set of words that share a common feature.

4.2.6.1 Data Analysis

Having already covered the theoretical part regarding the above mentioned vowels and their manifestation, I move into demonstrating the fact that, this “behavior” of this particular vowel, that is / a: /, is specific for Irish English. I will take use, of some of the recorded words that I managed to record with a native speaker of Irish English, while studying in Ireland. The word that I am going to be analyzing is: /dancing/.

According to IPA the word /dancing/ would be spelled like /dænsɪŋ/ or /daːnsɪŋ/ depending on the accent in use. In Irish English, this pattern does not coincide with the above mentioned ones. Thus, judging from the data in my study, the reader can sense a slight difference in the /pronunciation of the word /dancing/. R, pronounced the word as / da:nsɪŋ. / . The reader can hear a long / a: / sound, intead of an / æ / one. Irish English seems to use a long / a: / sound rather than an / æ / sound.

4.2.7 / ɔ / for the standard / ʌ /

According to Moreno (2010:78) one of the most evident features of Irish English is the “rounding to / ɔ / of the standard / ʌ / sound in words such as cup for example -my emphasis”.

4.2.7.1 Data Analysis

I move into demonstrating what has already been written in the theoretical part. That is the substitution of the / ɔ/ for the standard / ʌ / sound is specific for Irish English. I will phonetically analyze two examples taken from the well known Irish movie “Brooklyn”. I include the proximate time of their occurrence in the film. The words that I look at are: /hungry/ and /bucket/.

The first example would be: / hungry/

“I’m very hungry’’ (Brooklyn, 00:14:19)

In the given example, the reader can notice a slight difference in the pronunciation of the word / hungry /. According to IPA the word would be pronounced as: / hʌŋgri /. In the given situation the pronunciation differs a little bit in the sense that, the / ʌ / sound in first position was substituted for the / ɔ / sound, thus becoming / hɔŋgri /.

Phonetically speaking the second example goes hand in hand with the first one. That is, the / ʌ / sound is substituted for the / ɔ / sound.

“I’m sorry about the smell and the bucket’’ (Brooklyn, 00:12:11)

In this example, the word /bucket/ is pronounced differently from the one according to IPA. Instead of being pronounced as bʌkət / or / bʌkɪt / depending on the accent in use , the word was pronounced as / bɔkət / , thus , adding an / ɔ /sound in first position and substituting the initial / ʌ / sound. This substitution process of the/ ɔ / sound is typical for Irish English as Moreno pointed out above.

4.2.8 Epenthesis of / ə /

Another interesting feature of Irish English that is related to the vowel sounds is epenthesis , which according to Moreno ( 2010 :79 ) is a process of “inserting the / ə / sound … a short vowel called the schwa which tends to be found in weak syllables , especially between consonants such as l+m and as in r
+ m as in film [ filəm ] or Colm [ Cɔləm ] , [ faɹm ]’’

Moreover, Lang (2009: 231-232) also claims that this process of epenthesis can also occur between:

“ / r/ and / l / as well as in wʌrəld , between /l/ and /n/ as in kiln [ kilən] , between /r/ and /n/ as in turn [ tɚən] , between /b/ and /l/ as in Dublin [ Dʊbəlin] between / ṯ / and /l/ as in Kathleen [ Kaṯəli:n] and finally between / ṯ / and /r/ as in petrol [ pɛtɚəl]”

4.2.8.1 Data analysis

In order highlight this particular feature of Irish English, I provide an example taken from the recorded corpus. The word that is going to be analyzed is the word: /world/.

By paying attention to the recorded data, one can hear an insertion of an extra / ə / sound between /r/ and /l/ in the word /world/. According to IPA the word / world/ would most likely be pronounced as / wɜrld / or / wɜ:rld / depending on the accent is use. However in this case , the word / world/ is pronounced a little differently that is R, pronounced the word :/ world/ as / wʌrəld / , thus adding an extra / ə / sound between /r/ and /l/. This specific feature of adding an extra / ə / sound is a common characteristic of Irish English called epenthesis as Moreno and Lang pointed out above.

4.3. Conclusion

This chapter was meant to bring into discussion the particularities of the English language spoken in Ireland. The purpose of this chapter was to give a clear overview over the data that is showing and describing the particularities and the general features of Irish English. I demonstrated with live recordings and with examples taken out of a movie, what has already been written by other linguists. Furthermore, I gave examples of my own as well, in order to demonstrate what has already been said in the theoretical part. Thus, chapter can conclude that not all vowels and consonants are pronounced the same way in Irish English as they are pronounced in other varieties of English.. This was exactly the case of the / θ / and / ð / sound. Which are realised as dental plosives /t/ and /d/ in Irish English. One good example is the phonetical analysis of the word /bath/, where judging from R’s recording one could clearly hear a /t/ sound instead of a / θ/ sound at the end of the word. This substitution was phonetically transcribed as / bɛt/. In Irish English, most of the words which begin or end in /th/ are pronounced with /t/ or /d/, thus eliminating the / θ / and / ð.

Also, a very interesting particularity regarding the /t/ sound is that sometimes, it becomes a slit fricative thus, making a hissing sound. This fact was also demonstrated by live recordings. When pronouncing the word / that /, R added a hissing sound at the end of the word thus, substituting the initial /t/ sound. Phonetically this process was transcribed as / dæʃ /.

Another interesting fact that can be concluded is that Irish English has a high degree of rhoticity, meaning that the /r/ sound is pronounced loud and clear regardless its position in a word. For example when R pronounced the words / work/ and /dark/ one could audible hear the loud utterance of the /r/ sound in both cases.

Moving to the vowel system, Irish English has some specific features when it comes to pronouncing certain vowels. This was the case of the / ai / sound which in Irish English is substituted by the / ɔi / sound. Thus, words like / Ireland / and /Irish / were pronounced with a / ɔi / sound. This was demonstrated with the sentence / How long the letters from Ireland take to arrive / sentence, that was taken out of an Irish movie , where one could clearly hear the substitution of the / ai / by the / ɔi / sound in the word / Ireland/.

The substitution of the / ɔ/ for the standard / ʌ / sound is another important feature of Irish English. This feature was demonstrated with a number of words such as for example / bucket/, which was taken out from an Irish movie In the sentence / I’m sorry about the smell and the bucket / one could hear rather a /ɔ / instead of a / ʌ / sound in the word / bucket/. Thus, the word /bucket/ was pronounced / as / bɔkət / / and not as / bʌkət / or / bʌkɪt / as is American or British English.

In some varieties of Irish English the/ ɔi / sound is quite open, and it is realised as /ai/ . For example the word /boy/ is pronounced as /bye/ in Irish English. This substitution was demonstrated with help of a film sequence where the lead character pronounced the word / boys/ in the sentence / And those boys … / as / baiz / rather than / bɔiz / , according to IPA.

CHAPTER FIVE

Linguistic differences and similarities

between American and Irish English Accent

5.1 Introduction

The following chapter deals with another type of analysis regarding both American and Irish English from a phonological point of view. This time I took the analysis to a different level that is from a lexical one to the level of a sentence. This chapter is meant to clarify what has already been written and analyzed in chapter two and chapter three regarding the different variations and forms of the vowels and consonants within both varieties of English. The present paper lays emphasis and takes use of the recorded data thus pointing out some of the most noticeable differences and similarities between American and Irish English. I included in this chapter not only the linguistic connections between the two varieties of English but also a historical connection as well. The following chapter is divided into two main subsections namely subsection number one deals with some of the most notable similarities found in my data between American and Irish English Accent and subsection number two deals with the some of the most hearable differences found in my study in relation to American and Irish English Accent.

5.1 America and Ireland historically connected

This subsection lays emphasis on the possible similarities between the two varieties of English. The subsection also deals with the connections between the two countries historically speaking, thus providing an overview of the past up to the present and pointing out the fact that the two varieties of English share not just linguistically common features and connections but also historical ones as well.

America and Ireland are closely related. Their history goes back in time up to the 19th century. Between 1845 and 1855 more than two million adults and children left Ireland to seek refuge in America. This immigration of the Irish to America was caused by the great Potato Famine. Ireland is a country which had its own ups and downs throughout the course of time, but one event changed the course of history, and made a turning point that is going to be remembered by the Irish forever.

“ … In 1845 a DISASTER struck Ireland. A mysterious blight attacked the potato crops, destroying the only real food of Ireland’s rural population .Over the next five years, the blight attacked again and again. These years are known today as the Great Irish Famine, a time when over one million people died from starvation and disease. … ” (Bartoletti, 2001:3)

Potatoes were the standard diet of the rural population of Ireland.  The appearance of a disease was catastrophic in a country where more than two thirds of the population lived by the proverb: “… Potatoes in the morning, Potatoes at night and if I got up at midnight it would be still potatoes … ’’ (Kelly, 2013:4)

The Famine hit Ireland with no fear, leaving enormous damage behind. Apart from spreading death and pestilence the Famine set in train a tsunami of emigration .More than two million Irish people emigrated to the U.S.A, Canada, Argentina, Australia and Britain.

America was the land that promised jobs, wealth, opportunities to self development, opportunities to build a career, a chance to send money back home to the beloved ones.

According to the American Community Survey (ACS) “about 33.3 million of Americans, who constitute about 10.5% of the total population of the USA reported Irish ancestry in the year of 2013.”(Website number six- my emphasis.”

Nowadays America and Ireland share a very strong bond between them in points of industry, financial development, tourism and education. For example I noticed from my personal experience of studying in Ireland that there are a lot of American students who study in the Republic of Ireland and moreover there are a lot of internship programs in America for Irish students.

According to the Irish internet news publication “The Journal”, in 2015, Dublin the capital city of Ireland was named and ranked the second most livable city for North American employees.

“This makes it the most livable city for North Americans outside of North America – with Ireland’s capital city ranking only behind the Canadian city of Toronto.” (Website number seven)

This publication comes from ECA International, a consultancy company which gives assistance to companies with global operations such as software.

According to [The Journal] the reason why Dublin was ranked at number two was the fact that “it is the easiest city for North Americans to adapt to” (Website number eight)

5.2 Linguistic similarities between American and Irish English

All speakers of English in Ireland and not only are influenced by education, media norms and the growing prestige of Americanism. However despite all these factors there are still some resemblances between the two varieties of English phonetically speaking. Some vowels or consonants might sound the same in pronunciation thus making them similar.

5.2.1 Data Analysis

In order to show some possible similarities between American and Irish English I used the recorded data that I recorded with two native speakers of English mainly, one native speaker of American English K and the other, native speaker of Irish English R. Each of them had the task of recording themselves while uttering some words and sentences. Parts of the recorded words were used in chapter three and four in order to demonstrate the theoretical part. In chapter five I examined the recorded sentences. The purpose of the recorded sentences was to demonstrate the fact that indeed there are some similarities phonetically speaking between the two varieties of English on sentence level. Specific consonants like / r/ and /t/ and their linking to different words constituted some of the similarities. I dealt with four sentences which had the /r/ and the /t/ sound similar in both accents.

These four sentences were:

/The car with the dark color. /

/I tried so hard. /

/I have forgotten when the book was written. /

/I am certain that’s the tallest mountain. /

Having analyzed all these four sentences I came to a conclusion that indeed they share the same features when it comes to pronunciation. A brief analysis has been made in this perspective as it follows:

I started the analysis with sentence number one, that is: / The car with the dark color. /

By listening carefully to both recordings one can notice a similarity in pronunciation of the given sentence. In both cases the /r/ sound is pronounced audibly and clearly in words such as : /car/ , /dark/ and /color/ It is important to specify the fact that American and Irish English are rhotic varieties of English, meaning that the /r/ sound is pronounced whenever it appears in writing. This characteristic was presented in Chapter Three and Chapter Four.

Judging from the recordings the two sentences might be spelled phonetically as follows:

ðə kar wɪð ðə dark ˈkʌlər – as in American English.

ðə kar wid də dark ˈkʌlər – as in Irish English

The second sentence that is / I tried so hard / goes hand in hand with the first one. The /r/ sound makes itself noticeable in this sentence thus being pronounced audibly and clearly in words such as / tried/ and / hard/. The pronunciation of the /r/ sound links these two apparently different varieties of English making them similar in this respect.

Judging from the recording, the sentence might be phonetically as follows:

aɪ traɪd soʊ hard –as in American English

aɪ traɪd so harʃ – as in Irish English

Sentences number three and four share a very common characteristic that has a variety of forms in both accents mainly, it can be pronounced audible or it can remain silent such as in American English or some other times it can substitute a different sound such as in Irish English. The sound that is being discussed is the /t/ sound.

By paying attention to the recorded sentence in both versions, one can notice a similarity when it comes to uttering certain words in the given example. Thus in sentence number three that is / I have forgotten when the book was written /, words such as / forgotten / and / written/ have something similar. The /t/ sound is somehow held up, this characteristic is typical for American English (see Chapter Three) but it can also appear in Irish English as well as the data showed. Judging from the recordings one can hear a held /t/ in words such as / written / and / forgotten /. For example the /t/ is held up in /writ/ and then the /n/ sound is added thus becoming /writ+n/ , the same process applies to the other word as well that is / forgotten /.

Judging from the recordings the following sentence / I have forgotten when the book was written / might be phonetically transcribed as:

aɪ hæv fərˈgatən wɛn ðə bʊk waz ˈrɪtən – as in American English

aɪ hæv fərˈgatən wɛn ðə bu:k waz ˈrɪtən – as in Irish English

The forth example that is / I am certain that’s the tallest mountain / goes hand in hand with the third one. One can hear a held /t/ in words such as / certain/ and / mountain/. The held /t/ is formed by taking the first part of the word, for example / mount/ and holding the /t/ up and adding the /n/ sound, that is / mount/ + the /n/ sound.

Judging from the recordings the following sentence / I am certain that’s the tallest mountain / might be phonetically transcribed as:

ai æm sərtən ðæts ðə tɒləst maʊntən – as in American English

ai æm sərtən dæts də tɒləst maʊntən – as in Irish English

5.3 Differences between American and Irish English

While there are many other varieties of English in the World, I find American English and Irish English the most striking ones in points of similarities and differences. Although the two varieties of English share quite a few similarities in point of pronunciation, there are also some notable differences in speech between them. This subsection deals with some of those eye-catching differences.

5.3.1 Data Analysis

In order to show some of those possible differences between American and Irish English I used the recorded data that I managed to record with two native speakers of English mainly, one native speaker of American English K and the other native speaker of Irish English R. Each of them had the task to record themselves while uttering some words and sentences. Parts of the recorded words where used in Chapter Three and Four in order to demonstrate the theoretical part. In Chapter Six I examined the recorded sentences. The purpose of the recorded sentences was to demonstrate the fact that indeed there are some noteworthy differences phonetically speaking between the two varieties of English at sentence level. The /θ/ consonant with its different manifestations, the unstressed vowel /oʊ / sound, the / ʊ / sound and the /o:/ where among the sounds that where pronounced differently in speech by the two participants in the study. The four sentences that I looked at were:

/I think I bought three apples. /

/A thousand miles away. /

/Throw it away. /

/He goes to the same school as I do. /

Having analyzed all these four sentences I came to a conclusion that indeed they manifest notable differences when it comes to pronunciation. A brief analysis has been made in this perspective as it follows:

I started the analysis with sentence number one that is: / I think I bought three apples. /

Paying a closer attention to the recorded data one can hear a slight difference between the two recordings. This difference is produced by the /θ/ sound. In the American version the / θ / sound is clearly pronounced and audible heard whereas in the Irish recording the same sound is pronounced different.

In American English just like in British English the / θ / is pronounced as it is, clearly and audible such as in the given example: / aɪ θɪŋk aɪ bat θri ˈæpəlz /, one can notice the clear pronunciation of the / θ / sound. However the difference is made in the Irish recording, where the / θ / consonant, sounds more like a / t/ sound. This distinctive feature is one the most common characteristics of Irish English. The phonemes / θ / and / ð / are realised as dental plosives /t/ and /d/ in Irish English (see Chapter Four). So instead of hearing a / θ / sound one can hear rather a //t sound. Phonetically this manifestation can be transcribed as: / aɪ tɪŋk aɪ bat tri ˈɛpəlz /.

Moreover in the American version one can clearly hear the use of the / æ / sound in the word / apple/, a distinctive sound for American English, whereas Irish English seems to use an open long / a: / sound for the word / apple/.

The second example namely / A thousand miles away/ goes hand in hand with the first one, that is the / θ/ consonant is pronounced differently in Irish English than in American English. By listening carefully to the recorded data, one can notice the clear utterance of the / θ/ sound in the American version. Phonetically speaking this might be transcribed as it follows: / ə ˈθaʊzənd ˈmaɪəlz əˈweɪ /. On the other hand the Irish recording tends to substitute the initial / θ / sound with a / t/ one. This substitution can be transcribed as: / ə ˈtaʊzənd ˈmaɪəlz əˈweɪ /.

The third recording is pretty similar to the first two, in points of substitution of the initial sound. Unlike American English where one can clearly hear without no doubt the / θ / sound in the sentence / θroʊ ɪt əˈweɪ / , Irish English tends to substitute the initial / θ / sound by replacing it with a / t/ sound. Phonetically, this phenomena can be transcribed as: / tro: ɪt əˈweɪ /.

Moreover in the given example above, one can clearly hear another sound, this time a vowel sound that differs namely the / oʊ / sound. American English tends to use quite frequently this vowel sound, the earlier mentioned example just proves the use of this particular vowel sound namely in the word / throw / which phonetically looks like / θroʊ  /. Irish English, however tends to replace this sound with the / o:/ sound. Thus the word might very much look like / tro: /

The forth recording is a perfect example to demonstrate the fact that not all words which are pronounced with / ʊ / or with / oʊ / in standard accents for example in American English Accent are realised the same way in Irish English Accent. The sentence that I looked at was: / He goes to the same school as I do./ .

Judging from the American recording this sentence might be, phonetically speaking, transcribed as / hi goʊz tu ðə seɪm skul æz aɪ du /. On the other hand the Irish recording sounds a little bit different although this difference in not purely indicated in the transcription: / hi go:z tu ðə seɪm sku:l æz aɪ du / . Judging from R’s recording one can hear a clear and audible / u:  / sound in the word /school/ whereas K’s utterance of the word / school/ is slightly different although phonetically they are transcribed the same way.

Moreover the word / goes/ is pronounced differently in the Irish version. In the American one the word is pronounced as / goʊz /, whereas in the Irish recording the word is uttered as / go:z / This substitution of the initial / oʊ / sound for the / o:/ is a typical characteristic of Irish English (see Chapter Four)

5.4 Conclusion

This chapter was meant to bring into discussion the most possible and hearable differences and similarities found in my data related to American and Irish English Accent. For example this chapter can conclude that the audible pronunciation of the /r/ sound is typical for both American and Irish English thus, for instance the words / dark/ and / work/ were pronounced by both K and R with an audible and clear /r/ sound.

Another aspect that can be concluded and can be considered a possible similarity is related to the /t /sound. Although in both varieties of English the /t/ manifests itself in different ways. However, there seems to be a similarity that is related to the holding up of the /t/ sound. This deduction came as a result of two recorded sentences, where K and R pronounced certain words similar. These two sentences were: / I have forgotten when the book was written. / and / I am certain that’s the tallest mountain./ . The words that were pronounced with a held /t/ were: / forgotten /, / written / and /certain/. Both of them pronounced these words using the same pattern that is the holding up of the /t/ sound. According to Lisa Mojsin ( 2009:36) “When the /t/ sound “is followed by an /n/ sound the /t/ is held up for example when pronouncing /button/ the /t/ in held up in /but/ and then it is added the /n/ sound thus becoming /but+n/ other examples include words such as / certain / , /mountain / , /cotton/, /written / and /Britain/” –my emphasis.

This chapter also concludes the fact American English and Irish English up to a certain point are different when it comes to pronunciation. For example this chapter can conclude that the substitution of the initial / θ / sound for the /t/ sound in words such as: / throw/, /think/ and /three/ is a typical feature of Irish English, whereas American English does not substitute this sound / θ / sound.

Another difference that is very noticeable in my data is related to the substitution of the / oʊ / with a clear and audible /o:/ sound in Irish English. On the other hand American English does not substitute the / oʊ / sound. Thus the word / goes / is pronounced as / goʊz / whereas in Irish English the word might very much look and sound like / go:z /.

Another possible difference is related to the vowel sounds / æ / and / ɛ /. This can be noticed in the recorded word / bath /. One could clearly hear an / æ / sound in K’s pronunciation of the word /bath /. On the contrary, in R’s pronunciation one could hear an / ɛ / sound rather than an / æ / one. In my data, Irish English tends to use more frequently the / ɛ / sound rather than the / æ / sound, whereas American English does it the other way around as demonstrated above.

CHAPTER SIX

Conclusions

6.0 Introduction

In this final chapter of my research I summarized and concluded all the findings and contributions that were brought forth during my study and have been discussed in Chapter Three, Chapter Four and in Chapter Five of this paper. I divided this last chapter into four subsections. Namely, the first subsection deals and concludes some of the linguistic characteristics of Irish English from a phonetical point of view. Subsection number two deals with some of the phonetical features of American English and finally subsection number three wrapped up some of the most noticeable similarities and differences between the two varieties of English from a phonetical point of view, based on the theoretical background already discussed in Chapter Three and Chapter Four. And finally subsection number four deals with the limitations that were imposed due to time and space reasons and also closely linked to this, subsection number four provides some possible intents in further research in the field of phonetics.

6.1 Summary of findings on Irish English Accent

This subsection lays emphasis on the particularities of the English language spoken in Ireland by an Irish person. Moreover this subsection is meant to conclude on some of the features found and discussed throughout my research concerning the English language spoken with an Irish Accent.

The present study was based on the data collected by means of recordings of lists sentences and words read aloud by two native speakers of English speaking with two different accents namely, American and Irish. The two participants in the study were R an Irish girl and K an American boy. The list of words and sentences were recorded by means of a smartphone. Apart from the recorded data, some sequences from an Irish movie and from an American one as well, were used in the project in order to demonstrate what has already been written in the theoretical part.

Irish English belongs to one of the most interesting varieties of English. Its pronunciation makes it different from any other variety of English. Some of its distinctive features were presented in Chapter Four. With the help of both the recorded data and the film corpus, I managed to demonstrate what has already been written by other linguists related to Irish English Accent.

Thus, this subsection can conclude that not all vowels and consonants are pronounced the same way in Irish English as they are pronounced in other varieties of English. Some are uttered differently and some suffer changes by means of substitution with another sound. This was exactly the case of the / θ / and / ð / sound. “These two consonants are realized as dental plosives /t/ and /d/ in Irish English”( Moreno, 2010:77). One good example is the phonetical analysis of the word /bath/, where judging from R’s recording one could clearly hear a /t/ sound instead of a / θ/ sound at the end of the word. This substitution was phonetically transcribed as / bɛt/.

Another example that showed this interesting variation of the /t/ sound in Irish English was the word / think / in the sentence: / Do you think he might? /, which was taken out from an Irish movie. With this example one could clearly make a distinction between / θ / and /t/ when it comes to Irish English. The girl from the movie pronounced the word / think / like / tink /.One could hear a very clear /t/ at the beginning of the word. In Irish English, most of the words which begin or end in /th/ are pronounced with /t/ or /d/, thus eliminating the / θ / and / ð.

Also, a very interesting particularity regarding the /t/ sound is that sometimes, “when in final position it becomes a slit fricative thus, making a hissing sound”(Moreno, 2010:78) This fact was also demonstrated by live recordings. When pronouncing the word / that /, R added a hissing sound at the end of the word thus, substituting the initial /t/ sound. Phonetically this process was transcribed as / dæʃ /. This substitution is typical for Irish English. The word / street / for example, taken form an Irish movie followed the same pattern that is, the actress pronounced the /t/ in the sentence: / Where you live? … Clinton Street /, with a hissing sound, a silent particularity of Irish English. Phonetically this has been transcribed as / stri: ʃ /

Another interesting fact that can be concluded is that Irish English has a high degree of rhoticity, meaning that the /r/ sound is pronounced loud and clear regardless its position in a word. For example when R pronounced the words / work/ and /dark/ one could audible hear the loud utterance of the /r/ sound in both cases.

Moving to the vowel system, Irish English has some specific features when it comes to pronouncing certain vowels. This was the case of the / ai / sound which in Irish English is substituted by the / ɔi / sound. Thus, words like / Ireland / and /Irish / were pronounced with a / ɔi / sound. This was demonstrated with the sentence / How long the letters from Ireland take to arrive / sentence, that was taken out of an Irish movie , where one could clearly hear the substitution of the / ai / by the / ɔi / sound in the word / Ireland/.

Another salient feature of Irish English when it comes to the vowel system was the substitution of the / ɔ/ for the standard / ʌ / sound. This feature was demonstrated with a number of words such as for example / bucket/, which was taken out from an Irish movie In the sentence / I’m sorry about the smell and the bucket / one could hear rather a /ɔ / instead of a / ʌ / sound in the word / bucket/. Thus, the word /bucket/ was pronounced / as / bɔkət / / and not as / bʌkət / or / bʌkɪt / as is American or British English.

In some varieties of Irish English the/ ɔi / sound is quite open, and it is realised as /ai/ . For example the word /boy/ is pronounced as /bye/ in Irish English. This substitution was demonstrated with help of a film sequence where the lead character pronounced the word / boys/ in the sentence / And those boys … / as / baiz / rather than / bɔiz / , according to IPA.

Irish English, tends to replace the / oʊ / sound with the / o:/ sound. Thus a word like / goes/ might very much sound like / go:z/. This fact was also demonstrated by R when recording the sentence: / He goes to the same school as I do/, where she pronounced the word/ goes/ as / go:z / and not as / /goʊz / as in American English for example.

6.2 Summary of findings on American English Accent

This subsection lays emphasis on the particularities of the English language spoken in the United States of America by a native speaker of American English. Moreover this subsection is meant to conclude some of the features found and discussed throughout my research concerning the English language spoken with an American Accent.

American English is probably the most frequent variety of English one can hear and read throughout the World, starting from different channels broadcasted on TV, different movies, cartoons, music, newspapers and articles. More than half of the Worlds Entertainment industry takes place in America. So it is not surprising the fact that one can hear actors and actresses talking with an American Accent or one can hear more and more music being sung in an American English way. All these factors influence society in all kinds of ways, whenever borrowing certain words from American English into our native language or simply trying to speak it more or less with its accent. This is precisely what led me to focus on this type of English. Deepen my research in fields such as phonetics and to see what makes American English Accent so fascinating and easy to learn and why not, to pronounce.

This paper looked at some of the main features of American English from a phoentical point of view. Thus, the present research can conclude that one of the most striking characteristics of American English is the / æ / vowel sound. This fact was demonstrated by a number of examples were native speakers of American English uttered certain words with a clear and audible / æ / sound. For example K pronounced the word /bath/ as / bæθ / thus, instead of adding an / a / sound between the two consonants as in British English for example he used the / æ / sound, which is a typical vowel sound for American English. The given example illustrated the usage of the / æ / vowel sound. A number of words fell under the same pattern such as: / dance / , /past/ , / France /, /can-can’t / and so on.

Another very interesting vowel sound of American English was the / ɜr / sound. Words like: / work / World/ , /word/, /girl/ , /turn/ and /bird/ and so many others were pronounced with this particular sound. For instance, in the example / and finally I realized duh, you love the girl, marry her/ which was taken out of an American movie, the actor pronounced the word / girl/ as gɜrl /. Thus, emphasizing the / ɜr / sound. When followed by the /r/ consonant this typical American sound is always pronounced load and clear.

Moving to the consonant system of American English this paper can conclude, based on the theoretical background, that the /t sound in American English Accent has a number of variations depending on its position in a word and depending on the other sounds close around it. “Sometimes /t/ sounds more like a /d/ as in /water/ and sometimes it is not even pronounced at all as in /often/ and /interview/ other times it is barely pronounced as in /but/ or /cat/ or sometimes the /t/ in held up like in / certain / or / mountain/ and other times when between two separate words it becomes a fast /d/ like in / get up / wait a minute/ or /what if/.”( Mojsin, 2009:34)

This particularity of the /t/ sound in American English was demonstrated with a number of examples coming from both recordings and sequences from an American movie. For instance when K pronounced the word / better/, one could hear a slightly different sound there which is not /t/, it sounded more like a silent /d/. Phonetically speaking this was transcribed as / wɒtər/. Although the difference is not indicated in the transcription one could clearly hear between the two vowel sounds that is between / ɔ / and /ə/ a silent /d/ sound. This /d/ sound marks the clear characteristic of American English that is; when between two vowel sounds the /t/ sound will become in speech a silent /d/ sound. In this case /water/ may very much sound like /wɒdər/.

Another interesting fact that can be concluded based on the theoretical background is that American English has a high degree of rhoticity, meaning that the /r/ sound is pronounced loud and clear regardless its position in a word. For example, when K pronounced the words / part/ and /dark/ one could audible hear the utterance of the /r/ sound in both cases thus, laying emphasis on the fact, that in American English /r/ is pronounced clear and it’s never silent regardless the position in a word.

American English is known for its nature of lengthening words (see Chapter Three). I demonstrated this fact with an example taken out from an American movie. The example aimed to demonstrate the fact that indeed Americans do have a tendency of lengthening certain vowels when speaking. In my data, in the sentence / That is exactly how our wedding is going to be / one could clearly and without any hesitation hear every sound pronounced properly in a lengthen way. Phonetically this was transcribed as it follows: / ðæ:t ɪz ɪgˈzæ:ktli haʊ ˈaʊər ˈwɛdɪŋ ɪz ˈgoʊɪŋ tu bi / . It is more than obvious the fact that in this case the / æ / has been lengthened in both cases. More than that, the /t/ sound remained silent, which is a typical characteristic of American English Accent, whenever the /t/sound is perceived by an /n/ sound, it remains silent.

Vowels that are usually lengthened are the / a / sound and the / æ / sound and not only. For example many Americans will pronounce the / a / sound very clearly and audible sometimes with a longer duration laying emphasis on the sound itself. This fact was also demonstrated with the example / Oh! The summer that was so hot … so hot /, which was taken out of an American movie. In the provided pronunciation one could easily indentify the clear and audible utterance of the sound / a /. Phonetically speaking the given sentence was transcribed as: / oʊ! ðə ˈsʌmər ðæ:t wʌz soʊ ha:t … soʊ ha:t/. It is more than obvious the fact that besides pronouncing the / a / sound very audible one could also hear the lengthening of the vowel sounds, process which is typical for American English Accent.

6.3 Summary of findings on linguistic differences and similarities found between American and Irish English

This subsection focuses on some of the similarities and differences found in the data between the two varieties of English from a phonetical point of view.

6.3.1 Similarities between American and Irish English

The following sub-subsection discusses and uses the recorded data thus pointing out some of the most noticeable similarities between American and Irish English

I demonstrated with live recordings this possible similarity between accents thus pointing out that although they may sound apparently different, in fact they do have some similarities when it comes to pronunciation. For example this paper can conclude that the audible pronunciation of the /r/ sound is typical for both American and Irish English thus, for instance the words / dark/ and / work/ were pronounced by both K and R with an audible and clear //r sound.

Another aspect that can be concluded and can be considered a possible similarity is related to the /t /sound. Although in both varieties of English the /t/ manifests itself in different ways. These manifestations were mentioned above and were looked in more detail in Chapter Three and Chapter Four. However, there seems to be a similarity that is related to the holding up of the /t/ sound. This deduction came as a result of two recorded sentences, where K and R pronounced certain words similar. These two sentences were: / I have forgotten when the book was written. / and / I am certain that’s the tallest mountain./ . The words that were pronounced with a held /t/ were: / forgotten /, / written / and /certain/. Both of them pronounced these words using the same pattern that is the holding up of the /t/ sound. According to Lisa Mojsin (2009:36)

“When the /t/ sound “is followed by an /n/ sound the /t/ is held up for example when pronouncing /button/ the /t/ in held up in /but/ and then it is added the /n/ sound thus becoming /but+n/ other examples include words such as / certain / , /mountain / , /cotton/, /written / and /Britain/ –my emphasis”

Although this specific feature applies mainly to American English it can be found in Irish English as well as the recordings demonstrated. The two recordings of K and R proved that although Irish and American English may sound different they do have some similarities when comes to pronunciation.

6.3.2 Differences between American and Irish English.

The following sub-subsection focuses on the findings of the analysis of the recorded data thus pointing out some of the most noticeable differences between American and Irish English

I demonstrated with live recordings this possible difference between accents thus pointing out that although they do have a few characteristics in common (see Chapter Five), differences can be heard between them when it comes to pronunciation. For example this paper can conclude that the substitution of the initial / θ / sound for the /t/ sound in words such as: / throw/, /think/ and /three/ is a typical feature of Irish English, whereas American English does not substitute the / θ / sound, moreover this sound can be heard clearly and audible regardless of its position in a word.

Another difference that is very noticeable in my data is related to the substitution of the / oʊ / with a clear and audible /o:/ sound in Irish English. On the other hand American English does not substitute the / oʊ / sound. Thus the word / goes / is pronounced as / goʊz / whereas in Irish English the word might very much look and sound like / go:z /.

Another possible difference is related to the vowel sounds / æ / and / a: /. This can be noticed in the recorded word / bath /. One could clearly hear an / æ / sound in K’s pronunciation of the word /bath /. Phonetically speaking the word can be transcribed as / bæθ/. On the contrary, one could hear a long / a: / sound rather than an / æ / one in R’s pronunciation. In my data Irish English tends to use more frequently the / a: / sound rather than the / æ / sound, whereas American English does it the other way around.

6.4 Limitations of the study and intentions for further research

The present study innovative in the sense that no vast research has been done in Romania until now in the field of phonetics related to American and Irish Accent. Still, due to time and space limitations this is only a first step in what could become a worthwhile area of research. I would be interested in dealing with this topic in the future namely because on the one hand I have a great interest related to accents in general, this field is something that fascinates me and on the other hand I have personal plans going back to study abroad, which would give me a huge opportunity to interact with native speakers of English and a chance to examine their language at a deep scale.

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Lisa, Mojsin. (2009). Mastering the American Accent. New York: Barron’s Educational Series

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WEB SOURCES USED

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Web source number four : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Americans (14th 05.2016)

Web source number five: http://www.academia.edu/4076019/The_History_and_Development_of_American_English (14th 05.2016)

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Appendix Number One

American and Irish English Accents

Linguistic differences and similarities

(Using a native speaker of American and a native speaker of Irish –English)

Task: Please record yourself when uttering/ pronouncing those words. Use your own native accent or a standard one.

When recording, make sure to have small pauses between words, such as, ex: … “Potato” (pause, wait a few seconds and then go for the next word) that is “Garage” and so on.

When recording the sentences, make sure to have pauses there.

Overall, make sure your recording is clear.

PS: The given words are not in alphabetical order.

Potato

Garage

Tomato

Car

Again

Attention

Benefit

Bath

Hard

Goat

Heart

Home

Nose

Dark

Dancing

Intention

30

Throne

Laugh

Father

Bath

Business

Trap

Bland

Glance

Tree

Thought

Think

Throw

1000

Better

Mister

Trick

Drink

Murder

Consume

Resume

Road

Swear

Swim

Stand

Stop

Stock

Street

Rest

Rent

Taste

School

Sentence

Puzzle

Written

With

Wednesday

Without

That

Water

World

Word

Work

Cat

Cook

Book

Boy

Enjoy

Join

Point

Barrow

Arrow

Arm

Cookie

Cot

Caught

Glass

Firm

Driver

Master

Pattern

Modern

Southern

My

By

Irish

Part

What

Credit card

Walk

Talk

Funny

Friend

Face

But

Excited

Cash

Where

When

Which

Wales

Witch

Vitamin

Vehicle

Crack

One

Once

He goes to the same school as I do.

I have forgotten when the book was written.

I am certain that’s the tallest mountain.

I think I bought 3 apples.

Throw it away.

Vegetables are healthy.

A 1000 miles away.

Can I have a glass of water?

I tried so hard.

The car with the dark color.

I thought he is my boy.

Ireland and America are very beautiful.

Irish people are funny.

I’m nervous, but excited as well .

One big tree.

Better to be modern.

Laugh it out loud.

Appendix Number Two

Film sequences

American Wedding (2003)

“Your mother said you don’t have a cleaning lady” (American Wedding, 00:52:17)

“She-she said she’d probably be at one of these bars here on Halstead.” (American Wedding, 00:21:03)

“Your letter made a good impression on coach Marshall when he read it” (American Wedding, 00:31:09)

“Show some enthusiasm” (American Wedding, 00:13:08)

“Let’s dance … dance?”(American Wedding, 00:06:30-31)

That is exactly how our wedding is going to be” (American Wedding, 00:12:16-00:12:19)

“Oh! The summer that was so hot … so hot” (American Wedding, 00:49:05)

“And finally I realized duh, you love the girl, marry her” (American Wedding, 00:06:25)

Brooklyn (2015)

“ … Do you think he might? … ’’ (Brooklyn, 00:05:02)

“Thank you for your letter”. (Brooklyn, 00:56:51)

“Where you live? … Clinton Street …’’ (Brooklyn, 00:35:22)

“He is sweet …’’ (Brooklyn, 01:11:44)

Why? … Why? … No thank you? … Sorry, thank you, but why? (Brooklyn, 00:24:54)

“Is there a girl, in a white shirt sitting around over there” (Brooklyn, 00:35:42)

“How long the letters from Ireland take to arrive? ’’ (Brooklyn, 00:13:40)

“I wish I could stop feeling that I want to be an Irish girl in Ireland” (Brooklyn, 00:25:15)

“My mother and my father and myself” (Brooklyn, 1:14:59)

“So you both miraculously found boyfriends’’ (Brooklyn, 00:31:58)

“And those boys …’’(Brooklyn, 00:05:11).

“I would love to meet a fellow’’ (Brooklyn, 00:32:50)

“Well, there’s school …’’ (Brooklyn, 00:38:12)

“I’m very hungry’’ (Brooklyn, 00:14:19)

“I’m sorry about the smell and the bucket’’ (Brooklyn, 00:12:11)