Exercise 20

Study carefully the diagnostic characteristic of RP from this scheme and prepare to speak about diagnostic characteristic of GenAm.

1. Non-rhotic, that is, no postvocalic-r (as in ENE, NYC and Southern)

car /ka:/, cart /ka:t/

2. Back /a:/ and not /a:/, i.e. unlike ENE (examples above)

3. Development of /q/ before r (no matter whether the letter r is pronounced or not):

/Iq/, /Vq/, /aIq/

Compare:

example RP American (most dialects)

hear hiq hir

hearing hiqriN hiriN

tour tVq tVr

fire faIq faIr

4. The use of /P/ in words spelled with o where most American dialects have /Q/

Compare:

example RP American

pot pPt pQt

5. /j/ in tune, due, new type of words:

/tjun/, /dju/, /nju/

6. /a:/ where American has /x/

Compare:

example RP American

pass pRs pxs

Master Card mRstq kRd mxstqr kQrd

can’t kRnt kxnt or kxt (the /x/ is nasalized;

the /n/ isn’t pronounced)

7. The American diphthong /oV/ is represented as /EV/

Compare:

example RP American

go gEV goV

note nEVt noVt

8. /L/ where American has /Q/ or /O/

Compare:

example RP American

caught kLt kQt or kOt (or some intermediate vowel)

water wLtq wQtqr or wOtqr (or some intermediate vowel)

NOTE: RP does not have the flap /r/.

9. The distinction between the stressed schwa /A/ and the unstressed schwa /q/

Compare:

example RP American

cup kAp kqp

hurry hArI hqri

banana bqnRnq bqnxnq note: means nasalization

NOTE: RP has final /I/, like Southern, and not /i/. Also, RP has no nasalization of vowels before nasal consonants, but that's a little detail.

10. /e/ for American /F/

Compare:

example RP American

bet bet bFt

ten ten tFn (the vowel is nasalized)