Lexical Sets - Suprasegmental Phonology of English & Dialectology II PDF

Lexical Sets Suprasegmental Phonology of English and Dialectology II  What are lexical sets? Based on the comparison of the vocalic systems of what was still called Received Pronunciation and a variety of American English considered generic or non localized (General American), John Wells...

Lexical Sets Suprasegmental Phonology of English and Dialectology II  What are lexical sets? Based on the comparison of the vocalic systems of what was still called Received Pronunciation and a variety of American English considered generic or non localized (General American), John Wells created a list of words (standard lexical sets ) to describe the lexical incidence of vowel sounds in different accents of English. By lexical incidence we understand how often and in which contexts different vowel sounds occur in a given accent.  What are lexical sets? Wells found that in stressed syllables there were twenty-four matching pairs of vowels in RP and GA. Each pair of vowels was associated with a keyword as representative for those vowels and no matter in which accent of English the keyword is pronounced, it will not be mistaken for another word. The keywords are always written in SMALL CAPITALS.  What are lexical sets? “They (the standard lexical sets) are based on the vowel correspondences which apply between RP and General American, and make use of keywords intended to be unmistakable no matter what accent one says them in.” (Wells, 1982.) So, for the matching pair or correspondence RP /i:/ and GA /i/ the keyword chosen was FLEECE. What are lexical sets?  What are lexical sets? For each correspondence, a set of words which are pronounced with the same vowel are associated. What are lexical sets? Lexical sets help us identify pronunciation differences and similarities not only when comparing GB and GA but these two with other accents of English. For example, in GA the lexical set LOT comprises the same words as in GB, but the pronunciation is /ɑ/ rather than the GB /ɒ/. LOT stop, sock, dodge, romp, possible, quality… What are lexical sets? The set PALM has the same vowel in both accents but differs in length. GB /ɑː/, GA /ɑ/. The LOT and the PALM sets have the same vowel in GA /ɑ/, but different vowels in GB /ɑː/ and /ɒ/, respectively. PALM calm, balm, psalm, father … LOT stop, sock, dodge, romp, possible, quality… What are lexical sets? The set FOOT has the vowel /ʊ/ in GB and GA. However, in Scottish English it is realized with a more rounded and fronted vowel /ʉ/. FOOT put, puss, bush, full, cuckoo, butcher, cushion, pudding, bullet, … ; good, stood, wood, cook, look, shook, wool, …; woman, wolf, bosom, could, should, would, shouldn’t What are lexical sets? We will refer to the lexical sets when we study accents of English. The full list of lexical sets is available on U-Cursos. This list includes spellings typically pronounced with the vowel of the keywords. References Wells, J. C. (1982). Accents of English. An Introduction: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. Next Comparing Accents of English. Differences among accents of English.