England 72

Listen to England 72, a 24-year-old woman from north London, England. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 24

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 1983

PLACE OF BIRTH: north London

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: white

OCCUPATION: N/A

EDUCATION: master’s degree

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject lived in Scotland for four years.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject describes her speech as “Estuary-flavored RP.”

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Marina Tyndall

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 14/12/2007

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH:

[ˈwɛɯ | ˈhɘz ə ˈstoɹɪ ˈfo jʉˑ ‖ ˈsɛɹə ˈpʰɛɹɪ wəz ə ˈvɛʔnɹɪ ˈnɜːs | ɦɨ ɨd̚ bən ˈwɜːkn ˈdeɪɺɪ ʔet n ˈʔɒuɫʷd ˈzɘʉˑ ʔɘɾ ə ndəˈzɜˑṯə ˈdɪstɹəɰt əv ðə ˈṯʰɛɹəṯɹɪi | səʉ ʃɨ wəz ˈvɛɹɪi ˈɦapʰɪ tə ˈstɑˑṯ ə njɨ ˈʤɒb ʔəs ə sʊ̆ˈpʰɜːb̚ ˈpʰɹaɪvɘʔ ˈpʰɹaʔktes ʔe ˈnoˑθ ˈskwɛː | nɘˑ ðə ˈḏjʉk sdɹɪʔ ˈtʰawə ‖ ˈdat ˈɛɹɪ wəz mʔ ˈmɐʔʧ nɘɚ fo ˈhɜˑ ənm ˈmʊ ṯə hɜ ˈlɑɪkɘŋ ‖ ˈʔivn ˈsɜʉ ɒn ˌɜˑ ˈfɜːs ˈmoˑnɪŋɡ ʃɨ ˈfɛɫʔ ˈsṯɹɛsd ‖ ʃɪ ˈeɪṯ ə ˈbɒˑl əv ˈpʰɒɹeʒˑ | ˈʧɛɣʦ ɘˈsəɤf ɪn nə ˈmɘɹə ənd ˈwɒʃṯ ɜ ˈfeɪs ɪn ə ˈhɐ˞ɹɪi ‖ ˈdɛˑn ʃɨ ˈpʰʊ̟̆ɾ ɒn ə ˈpʰleɪ ɲɛlɜʉ ˈdɹɛs ən ə ˈfliˑs ˈʤæxɘṯ ˈpʰɪk̚t ˈɐp ˈhɜ ˈkɘt | ən ˈhɛɾəd̚ fə ˈwɜːk ‖ ˈwɛn ʃɨ ˈɡɒʔ dɛː | ˈdɛ wəz ə ˈwʊmən wɘð ə ˈɡɘʉˑs ˈweɪʦɪŋ ˈfo ɦɜ ‖ də ˈwʊmən ˈɡeɪv ˈsɛɹə ʔən əˈfɪʃɯ ˈɫɛṯə fɱ də ˈvɛˑṯ ‖ də ˈlɛṯəɹ ɪmˈplɑɪd ə ði ˈanəmɫ ˈkʰʊd̚ bi ˈsɐfɹɘŋ fɱ ə ˈɹɛː ˈfoːm ʔəf ˈfʊt n ˈmaʊ̞θ dəˈzɪiːz wɪʒ wəz səˈpʰɹaɪzɘɡˑ̚ |bɘkəz ˈnoˑməli jʉ wʊ̟̆ɾ ˈɜɘnli ɘksˈpɛʔk̚ tə ˈsɪ ɘd ɘn ə ˈdɒˑɡ ʔoɹ ə ˈɡɜʉtʼ ‖ ˈsɛɹə wəzˌsɛnṯəˈmɛntˡɫ | sə ˈðɨs ˈmeɪṯʰ ɜː fɪɯɫ ˈsɒɹɪ fə ðə ˈbjyʦəfɯ ˈbɜːd ‖ bɘˈfoˑ ˈlɒŋ | daʔd ˈʔɘʧi ˈɡɘʉˑsˑ | bɘˈɡan tə ˈsˑtɹɐt əˈɹaːn di ˈɒfəs ˌdˡɫɑɪk ə ˈlɘʉnətekʰ | wɘʃ ˈmeɪdⁿ n | wɘʃ ˈmeɪdⁿ n ʔɐnˈsanɘtɹɪ ˈmɛˑs ‖ də ˈɡɘʉsəz ˈɜɵnə ˈmɛɹɪ ˈhäɹɘsən | ˈkʰɛʔpṯ ˈkʰoˑlɘŋ ˈkʰɒməˑ ˈkʰɒməˑ | wɪʧ ˈsɛɹə ˈθɔˑʔ wz n ˈʔɒd̚ ˈʧɔɪs fɚɹ ə ˈnɛɪm ‖ ǃ ˈkɒmə wəz ˈstɹɒŋ ən ˈçːɨʉːʤ | sɜ ʔ wʊd̚ ˈtʰeɪk ˈsɐɱ ˈfoˑs tə ˈṯɹapʰ ɜː | bə ˈsɛɹə ɦaɾ ə ˈdɪfnd aɪˈdɘː ‖ ˈfɜːst | ʃɪ ˈtɹäɪḏ ˈʤɛntˡlɪ ˈstɹəʉkɘŋ nə ˈɡɘʉˑsɘz ˈlɜwə ˈbaˑk wɪð hɜ ˈpʰɑːm | ˈdɛn sɪŋiŋ ə ˈṯʰjɵʉˑn ˌtɘʉ ɦɜˑ ‖ ˈfɑɪnələi | ʃɘ ədⁿˈmɪnɘstəd ˈʔiˑθɜ ‖ hɜ ˈʔɛfəts wɛ ˈnɒt ˈfjytʰɑɪɘɫ ‖ ɘn ˈnɜʉ ˈṯʰɑɘm nɘ ˈɡɘʉs bɘˈɡan ṯə ˈṯʰɑɘɜ | sɘ ˈsɛˑɹə wəz ˈeɪbɫ tə ˈhɒuɫd ˈɒntə ˈkɒmə | ənd ˈɡɪv ˌhɜˑhɝ ɚ ɹəˈlaksɪŋm ˈbɑːθ ‖ ǀ ˈwɐnts ˈsɛɹə ɦəd ˈmanɘʤ tə ˈbeɪð ðə ˈɡɘʉsˑ | ʃɪ ˈwäɪp̚d əɹ ˈɒf wɘð ə ˈklɒˑθ | ən ˈleɪdʰ ɜ ʔɒn ɦɝ ˈɹɑɪt ˈsäɪd ‖ ˈðen ˈsɛɹə kɱˈfɜːmð ðə ˈvɛʔs ˌdäɘˑɡˈnəʉsəs ‖ ˈoməsṯ əˈmiˑḏjətˡlei ʃɪ ɹəˈmɛmbəḏ ən əˈfɛkʃɪv ˈtɹɪṯmənʔ dəʔ ɹəˈkwaɘd ɦə təˈmɛʒɚɹ ˌaʊt ə ˈlɒt əv ˈmɛdˑ̚sn ‖ sɛ.ɚ ˈwoːn ðə ˈðɘs ˌkoˑs əf ˈtɹʷiˑdmənʔ ˈmɑɪt̚ ˈbɪ ɪksˈpɛnˑsɘv ʔiðə ˈfɑɪv oː ˈsɘks ˈṯʰɑɨmz ðə ˈkɒst əv ˌpʰɛnəˈsɘlən ‖ ˈɑɪ kɑnt ɘˈmaʒən pʰɛeːŋɡ sɐɘ ˈmɐʔʧ | ˈbɐˑt məˌsɪs ˈhaɹəsn | ʔə ˈmɘljəˈnɛː ˈlɔjɜˑ | ˈtoˑʔ ðət ˈɘʔ wəz ə ˈfɛː ˈpɹɑɪs fɚɹ ə ˈkjɜː]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Santiago Rodriguez

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/03/2008

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

So my own accent: Erm, I’ve got quite a fluid accent, which I think is quite common, with people, young people, erm, living in the south of England, so I think we kind of, erm, get used to fitting in with very different social groups; so when I speak to my parents, who have much more of a conservative RP sound than I do, even though they’re actually from the north of England and have consciously chosen to adopt this accent, I find that I do sort of tidy up the way that I’m speaking. My mum is constantly telling me off about my, erm, “no” sound; she’s always saying “Nohyue!” [cod Australian pronunciation of “no”], and says I sound like people off “Neighbours” [Australian soap opera popular in the UK, sometimes said to have influenced young British Estuary speakers over the past 10-20 years]. So, erm, I’m kind of consciously aware of tidying that one up, and also my consonants, but, when I’m with other friends, from the area that I live in, I’m very much aware that my … the way that I speak … is perceived as being a lot more posh than the way they might so I’m kind of consciously, and subconsciously to a certain extent, end up talking, in a way you know with a lot less precision in my consonants, less difference between my vowels, so I’m aware that it’s very fluid. And also when I’m with people with different accents, I do tend to pick up different traits that they have too, so, erm, notice a bit of a rhotic “r” coming in, which is think from the four years that I spent living in Scotland. So, er, I do tend to assimilate various little elements from different accents and build them into my own Estuary-flavored RP sound.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Marina Tyndall

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 14/12/2007

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

The subject’s closing description of her dialect is a useful one. In unscripted use, there are features that fall within both Estuary and Traditional RP parameters. However, the overall effect is indeed that of subtly Estuary-flavored RP rather than RP-flavored Estuary. The more contemporary elements include a slightly “bouncier” speech rhythm and less lip-rounding of back vowel /u/ than is associated with traditional RP. On the more conservative side are the relatively pure RP GOAT and FACE and a tendency to distinguish starkly between long and short vowels. Also note:
· Slightly backed NURSE vowel on “work” similar to an elongated STRUT.
· Monothongisation of SQUARE.
· Relatively open DRESS vowel closer to Cardinal 3 than 2.
· Fairly sparing use of elision in set passage: /d/ is released clearly in “Comma was strong and huge, and it would take some force to trap her,” and in “and give her a relaxing bath”; /t/ has audible release in “her efforts were not futile.”
· NEAR vowel in “idea” realized as a monophthong.
· Retracted first element of PRICE vowel, as in “right side.”
· Two-syllable realization of “med(i)cine.” This is a more conservative RP pronunciation.
· Fronted MOUTH vowel, especially in unscripted segment.
· Affrication of intervocalic /t/, as in “start a new job,” and in “foot and mouth.”
· Monophthongised central CURE vowel.

COMMENTARY BY: Marina Tyndall

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 14/12/2007

The archive provides:

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• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.
• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.
• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

 

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