EE Pronunciation Varieties  MOCK TEST                                       Answer Sheet

A/20pts/1a The author of Accents of English, 1982: J.C. Wells

1b The author of Sociophonology, 1998: John Honey

2 Match phonetic  terms and their definitions:

                                                          A continuant, B liaison, C fricative, D
pitch, E schwa, F velum.

C  A consonant in which the vocal tract is narrowed sufficiently to cause turbulent air flow.

E The central vowel /ə/, found in great abundance in casual English.

F The soft palate.

A A consonant that may be prolonged indefinitely rather than having the finite duration of a stop.

B Linking, or, the strategy of using the final sound of one word to initiate the following.

D The relative musical tone of an utterance.

3 Transcribe the modern (innovated) EE pronunciations of the terms obscure [ɒpsˈkjɔː]

variety [vəˈraːəti]     Buddha images   [ˈbʊdəʳɪmɪdʒɪz]

4 Which English linguist propagates the inclusion of innovations into official transcriptions of
RP? Who is his follower at this department?

Professor Clive Upton at Leeds University;  Miroslav Ježek

5 State what the urban accents spoken in the following towns are called: Birmingham=Brummie,
Liverpool=Scouse or Liverpudlian, Newcastle upon Tyne=Geordie, Glasgow=Glaswegian

6 Which accent in England has a Celtic substratum and gives a sing-song impression? Welsh

7 Which is the only accent of English where schwa can be stressed? That of New Zealand

   What is the schwa here an allophone of?    Of the /ɪ/

8 What would you say are the biggest differences between Scottish and Northern Irish English?

A special rising whining tone; a more rounded /r/, sometimes clear /l/, slovenliness.

9 What does the Cockney diphthong shift consist in? Complete the chain:

/i:/ > /eɪ/ > /aɪ/ > /ɔɪ/

10 Characterize the accent of Eire (Irish Republic).

/ɒ/=/ʌ/ and vice-versa, clear /l/, dark /r/, t-opening, th-stopping.

 B/10pts/Match the origins of speakers with the numbers of their recordings reading “Please call
Stella“.

1 Glasgow, Sc

2 Sydney, Aus

3 Strabane, NI

4 Manchester, Lanc.

5 Camberley, Surrey



C/20pts/

1         2:46, played once, 5pts:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PWSJH02krs

A stand-up comedian recalls practising his father’s language.

a)      The comedian’s name (T.N.): Trevor Noah

b)      Where he spent the first two decades of his life: South Africa

c)      The two best-known official languages of that country: English, Afrikaans

d)      The political régime while he was a child: Apartheid

e)      The language of his father: German


2        2:04, played once, 5 pts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkmUktJ94jg

You´ll hear a professional recording of a monologue in which a woman speaks about a trauma she has
suffered, in quite a pronounced accent.

a)      Localize her accent: Yorkshire

b)      The kind of trauma she has suffered: rape


3        1:54, played once, 5 pts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS7mBbXxJYA

You´ll hear the beginning of a TED talk about living in a cult. Decide what the young woman’s
pronounced accent is. How long has she lived in the cult for?

New Zealand. Extremely close vowes, /e/ becoming /ɪ/ and /ɪ/ becoming a schwa. 18 years.


4        1:36, played once, 5pts: IRISH FARMER'S STRONG ACCENT IN COUNTY KERRY IRELAND - MISSING
SHEEP - YouTubeA report on losses and strays on a sheep farm. Localize the accent and give
evidence.

Eire. The county of Kerry is in Ireland. Specific intonation, monophthongisations, clear L’s,
rhotic but not like in the Scottish accent.