LL-L "Phonology" 2003.04.28 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 28.APR.2003 (06) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
http://www.lowlands-l.net * sassisch at yahoo.com
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Phonology"

> From: "Gary Taylor" <gary_taylor_98 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Phonetics
>
> Hi all
>
> I have a question regarding the pronunciation of l
> when it occurs after a vowel and before a consonant or
> a pause in Lowlands languages. In Standard British
> English, l has two distinct pronunciations
> (allophones). When it occurs in the position mentioned
> above it is a 'dark-l' (velarised), otherwise it's a
> 'clear-l'. In North American and Australian Englishes
> the l tends to be (slightly) dark in all positions,
> whereas in North England, Ireland (and I'm presuming
> Scots - although I'm not sure - I'd like confirmation)
> l tends to be clear in all positions. Does anyone know
> of a map which shows the areas of Britain where l is
> clear in all positions?

In fact l tends to be dark rather than clear in Scots.

Somewhat subtle phonetic effects like l-darkening, aspiration,
lengthening
and tonality tend to be difficult to discuss for Scots, because in the
Scots language there seems to be a tendency to vary virtually any sound
effect to add expression and colour to the meaning. It could be that
this is
true of any language and Scots only seems "subtle" to me because it's my
native language, but comparing Scots with the English of England does
suggest
to me that the extra phonetic "expressivness" of Scots is a real
phenomenon.

This means, for example, that although the l tends to be darkened in
most
positions in Scots, just how much it's darkened and in what positions
can
depend on the speaker's intentions. There's a particular mode of speech
where a person is talking confidentially, which in English seems to be
shown
simply by the person not raising their voice too much, which in Scots is
much more distinctive, involving speaking with the mouth hollowed and
slightly pouting, and everything, including the l's, somewhat
"darkened".

Aspiration gives another range of expression. For example, if a speaker
says "I pat it doun" (I put it down), the p might not be aspirated at
all.
However, the aspiration becomes audible when it's a command: "Will ye
p(h)it that doun?" This "imperative" aspiration in Scots is more like
the
normal aspiration in English.

Although intonation for expression is used more in English than in, say,
French or German, in Scots it can be more exaggerated still. When a
Scots
speaker expresses incredulity by saying something like "Hou can that
be?"
the difference in pitch on the "be" can be much higher than anything an
English speaker would use. Similarly, it's often said by English
speakers
that the Scots phrase "No bad" is the highest praise you can hear from
the
lips of a Scot, but this is a misinterpretation. "No bad" could mean
anything from "not all that good" to "absolutely brilliant" depending on
the
pattern of length and tone used. The pattern used can at the same time
indicate the speaker's interest in the matter - from "couldn't care
less" to "I
wish I'd thought of that!"

While there seems a lot of variation, these variations seem fairly
standard - they would probably be interpreted by most speakers in the
same way.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org/

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