LL-L: "Phonology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 02.SEP.1999 (01)

[Sandy Fleming]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 02.AUG.1999 (01) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: "Phonology"

I think it was Henno who mentioned the Irish habit of breaking vowels -
adding a schwa. The principal differentiating feature of northern Irish
accents (to my ear, at least) is splitting diphthongs: "now" pronounced
something like "na-oo", for example. I am not sure if "breaking" and
"splitting" are the right terms here, and I would welcome an authoritative
terminology.

It is interesting that Scottish speakers of English tend to do the reverse
of "splitting", suppressing the second of two vowels when it is pronounced
as a schwa or near-schwa. Thus (in my poor attempt at phonetic renderings)
scientist >> sinetist
viaduct >> vyduct
pianist >> peenist.

Are there any accepted explanations of these differences between the
Standard English  and  Scottish and Irish pronunciations, and between the
Scottish and Irish pronunciations themselves, in terms of substrate
languages or anything else?

John Feather
johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk


From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at fleimin.demon.co.uk]
Subject: "Phonology"

John,

In both Scots and Scottish English there seems to me to be a tendency to
both suppress the second part of the diphthong and insert a y-consonant
sound [j] between the parts of the diphthong - as well as anything inbetween
those two extremes.

I would pronounce "scientist" either [sain?Ist] or [saj at n?Ist]; for me,
"viaduct" would go from [vai at dAk(t)] to [vajAdAk(t)]; but I'd always
pronounce "pianist" [pi at nIst], perhaps with the schwa less audible in rapid
speech.

Scots writers in the 20th century have had a tendency to choose between
these alternatives by discarding the forms that are more like the standard
English pronunciations, leading to political spellings such as "poyem" for
"poem" (which I would pronounce as anything between [poim] and [poyAm]). How
about spelling "scientist" as "scyyentist"? Vyyaduct. Syyol. Eyyol  :)

Sandy Fleming
http:\\www.fleimin.demon.co.uk

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