Problems in Scottish English Phonology

Tatiana Ewa Kaminska

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9783484303287
• eBook ISBN: 9783110934724
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This book presents an account of phonological data related to the study of sonorants in Scottish Standard English (SSE), as compared with Received Pronunciation (RP). These data are analysed and interpreted within the theoretical framework of 'Lexical Phonology' and according to recent non-linear, three-dimensional theories of phonological representation. The basic tenets of 'Lexical Phonology' as well as those of 'Three-Dimensional Phonology' (with particular reference to its application to syllable structure) are explained in chapter 1. In the same chaper, the distinction between Standard English spoken with a Scottish accent (SSE) and Scots, the traditional dialect spoken in southern, eastern and north-eastern Scotland is discussed. The presentation of the theoretical paradigms in question as tested against the linguistic material of SSE is organized around the issues of vowel length and the phonological processes pertaining to the sound [r]. More specifically, the analyses focuses on two lengthening processes operating in SSE, namely the 'Scottish Vowel Lengthening Rule' also referred to as 'Aitken's Law' (chaper 2), and the 'Allophonic Lengthening Rule', a phenomenon universal to accents of English (chapter 3). It is claimed that the former is an accent-specific lexicalization of the latter.

Proposals concerning the phonological interpretation of [r]-related phenomena in both non-rhotic and rhotic accents are examined in chapters 4 and 5. In particular, various ways of accounting for the distribution of [r] in the pronunciation of non-rhotic accents (as exemplified by RP) are looked at and on the basis of evidence from rhotic accents (esp. SSE) an interpretation based on a gradient rule of [r]-weakening is proposed. Finally, Kaminska evaluates the success of the lexical framework in accounting for the data from SSE and RP investigated in the present study.

Table of contents

• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Symbols and Abbreviations
• 1. Theoretical Background
• 1.1. Goals of the Book
• 1.2. Scots and Scottish Standard English
• 1.3. Lexical Phonology
• 1.4. Three – Dimensional Phonology
• 1.5. Syllable and Sonority Hierarchy
• 2. Scottish Vowel Lengthening Rule
• 2.1. RP – SSE: A Comparison of Vowel Systems
• 2.2. Scottish Vowel Lengthening Rule: Introduction
• 2.3. SVLR: Discussion of Rule Formulation
• 2.4. SVLR: Discussion of the Status of the Rule in Lexical Phonology
• 2.5. SVLR: Concluding Remarks
• 3. The Allophonic Rule of Vowel Lengthening in English and Aitken`s Law
• 3.1. Duration of Syllable Nuclei in English: Basic Facts
• 3.2. Factors Determining Vowel Duration
• 3.3. An Interpretation of the Allophonic Lengthening Rule in Lexical Phonology
• 3.4. Allophonic Lengthening Rule: Problems Related to Status Assignment in Lexical Phonology
• 3.5. Allophonic Lengthening Rule: Concluding Remarks
• 3.6. Aitken’s Law Viewed as a Lexicalization of the Allophonic Lengthening Rule
• 4. Phonological Account of [r]-Related Processes in RP and SSE: R-Deletion
• 4.1. [r]-Distribution in Rhotic and Non-Rhotic Accents of English
• 4.2. [r]-Related Processes in Non-Rhotic Accents: Linking [r] and Intrusive [r]
• 4.3. [r]-Related Phenomena in Non-Rhotic Accents: Phonological Account
• 4.4. Discussion of the R-Deletion Interpretation
• 5. Phonological Account of [r]-Related Processes in RP and SSE: R-Weakening
• 5.1. The Distinctive Feature Characteristics of English [r]
• 5.2. The Rule of [r]-Weakening in Lexical Phonology
• 5.3. R-Weakening Analysis: Problems
• 5.4. The [r]-Insertion Rule under R-Weakening Analysis: Discussion of Rule Status
• 5.5. Formulation of the [r]-Insertion Rule: Basic Facts and Problems
• 5.6. Long Vowels Under the R-Weakening Interpretation
• 5.7. An Account of the Evidence for [r]-Weakening in a Sound Change in Progress in SSE
• 5.8. Concluding Comments to R-Weakening Analysis
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• References