1. Introduction
Even to non-native speakers of the English language it is in most cases an easy task to differentiate between British and American native speakers by listening to their pronunciation. In this term paper the most characteristic phonological features of American English will be named and explained and an overview of the variety of dialects within the United States will be provided. This can be done best by using British Standard English – also known as Received Pronunciation (RP) – as reference accent and pointing out the differences to American English.
2. General American
However, it is hard to work with the term American English when doing a phonological analysis of American speech since it covers a broad spectrum of different dialects. For this reason the term General American (GA), which is widely used and preferred by most linguists today, will be introduced and worked with.
General American can be seen as the Standard English of North America, but in contrast to Received Pronunciation, it is not defined by social reputation or a specific geographical origin. Throughout the United States one can not really find a socially preferred accent that is commonly recognized as the standard pronunciation. There have been several different approaches to defining a Standard English for the USA and in this paper General American will be used in means of a range of accents that do not exhibit any of the North-Eastern or Southern features which “are perceived as regional by the majority of American speakers.” One has to keep in mind that GA is not “a single and totally homogeneous accent. But since its internal variation is mainly a matter of differences in the phonetic realizations of a system of phonemes that is by and large shared by all GA speakers, the generalization expressed in the notion ‘General American’ is useful in phonological terms.”
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. General American
2.1 The Vowels and Diphthongs
2.2 The Consonants
3. Dialects
3.1 The New England or North Eastern Dialect
3.2 The New York City Dialect
3.3 The Southern Dialect
3.4 African-American Vernacular English
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Objectives and Core Themes
This academic paper explores the defining phonological characteristics of American English, primarily utilizing British Received Pronunciation (RP) as a comparative reference point to highlight key phonetic differences and dialectal variations within the United States.
- Phonological comparison between General American (GA) and Received Pronunciation (RP).
- Examination of the vowel and consonantal systems in American speech.
- Analysis of distinct regional dialects including New England, New York City, and the Southern dialect.
- Study of ethnical dialect characteristics, specifically African-American Vernacular English (AAVE).
- Discussion on the evolution and sociolinguistic perception of language standards.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 The New York City Dialect
The New Yorkers themselves are not aware of their accent and think that just the others speak with a dialect. But of course this is not true. “Geographically, the speech of New York is no longer restricted to the City as it was till the beginning of this century. It comprehends the surrounding counties of New York State and New Jersey, too.”
Roughly until World War Two the New York City dialect was completely non-rhotic, this means that the ‘r’ is not pronounced, “but today rhoticity has become prestige norm” But the New Yorkers aren’t consistent in pronouncing the ‘r’ or not. The same person might one day pronounce New York with rhotic and the other day non-rhotic.
One general feature of the city’s dialect is the usage of diphthongs that is not usual in Standard English nor in General American. “Long vowel(sic) often end in schwa(/ə/)”
“Though it is the dialect of one of the most outstanding cultural centers in the English-speaking world, New York City speech is regarded as socially stigmatized. In recent years, the tendency has been moving towards a more GenAm-colored kind of speech.”
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the paper, focusing on phonological features of American English and establishing British Received Pronunciation as a comparative standard.
2. General American: Defines General American (GA) as the preferred standard for linguistic study and analyzes its specific vowel, diphthong, and consonantal characteristics.
3. Dialects: Provides a detailed examination of four major American dialects: New England, New York City, Southern, and African-American Vernacular English.
4. Conclusion: Synthesizes findings on the phonological diversity in the U.S. and notes the declining role of a single "standard" in favor of regional linguistic acceptance.
5. Bibliography: Lists the secondary literature and online resources used to support the research.
Keywords
General American, Phonology, Dialects, Received Pronunciation, Vowels, Consonants, Non-rhotic, Southern Drawl, African-American Vernacular English, AAVE, New England Dialect, New York City Dialect, Phonemic inventory, Linguistic diversity, Standard English.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
This work examines the phonological features that characterize American English and provides an overview of various regional and social dialects spoken across the United States.
Which reference accent is used for comparison?
The paper uses British Standard English, specifically Received Pronunciation (RP), as the reference point to identify and explain differences in American phonology.
What is the main goal of the research?
The aim is to identify the characteristic phonological features of American speech and describe how regional and social variations contribute to the diverse landscape of American English.
What scientific methods were employed?
The study utilizes a descriptive linguistic approach, comparing phonetic inventories, vowel realizations, and consonantal distributions to categorize dialects.
What does the main body of the text cover?
It covers the definition of General American, specific vowel and consonant phenomena (like rhoticity and t-voicing), and detailed case studies of New England, New York City, Southern, and AAVE dialects.
How would you describe the key themes of this study?
The central themes are phonology, dialectology, linguistic conservation, and the socio-cultural factors that influence language development in the United States.
How is the "General American" accent defined in this context?
The authors define General American not as a homogeneous accent, but as a range of regional accents that share a common system of phonemes, excluding specific regional markers from the North-East or South.
What is the significance of the "cot-caught merger" mentioned?
It is a phonological phenomenon in General American where the vowels in "cot" and "caught" merge into a single sound, making the two words homophones.
Why is AAVE included in the dialect analysis?
It is included as a primary example of an ethnical dialect that exhibits distinct differences from Standard English, particularly within its consonant and vowel systems.
- Quote paper
- Dominik Borner (Author), Eva Neubert (Author), 2004, Phonological Characteristics of American English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/37734
