Theory revision - accent and dialect

Accent and Dialect

• Accent - features of pronunciation (the speech sounds) that show regional and/or social identity
• Dialect - features of lexis and grammar that show the regional or social background of the speaker (your accent is part of your dialect)
• Overt prestige - talking properly/trying to speak and use standard English
• Covert prestige - using your regional dialect and using your dialect for status

Bristolian Accent and Dialect – Beast Clothing. Although the west-country accent is frowned upon by some people due to emphasis on ‘r’s and made-up language, Beast Clothing take pride in these phrases and print them on merchandise like tops and mugs. This has become a very popular business which is seen as inspiring and humorous

Estuary English – This is an accent that is common for using ‘proper English’ but only in certain regions like London as well as Reading and Oxford. Although slang isn’t common within this accent, they still have features to make their accent. For example:

• T-gottaling – t’s are missed out in phrases and lexis
• L-Vocalization – the ‘L’ sounds become ‘w’ sounds
• Vowel Shift (typical for Londoners)

Cockney Dialect – the famous accent for Londoners. They say you can only be a true cockney if you’re born within the sound of the Bow Bells. It was the original code criminals used to trick police officers – but now it’s used all over the country (dialect levelling). They have their own language for some nouns such as:

• Rosie lee means ‘cup of tea’

Although it’s dying down, many dialect phrases of the cockney accent still exist world-wide such as ‘Porky Pies’ meaning ‘lies’. Some main features the cockney accent includes:

• ‘Schwa’ sound – these are more strongly pronounced, e.g ‘DoctA’ instead of ‘Doctor’
• ‘H Dropping’ – removing lexis that starts with H
• My instead of Me – ‘my throat hurts’ > ‘me throat hurts’