Home Linguistics & Semiotics 5. Lenition and T-to-R are differently salient: the representation of competing realisations of /t/ in Liverpool English dialect literature
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5. Lenition and T-to-R are differently salient: the representation of competing realisations of /t/ in Liverpool English dialect literature

  • Patrick Honeybone , Kevin Watson and Sarah van Eyndhoven
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Perspectives on Northern Englishes
This chapter is in the book Perspectives on Northern Englishes

Abstract

This article investigates variation in the way that phonological dialect features are represented orthographically in a corpus of dialect literature from Liverpool English. The texts considered are examples of Contemporary Humorous Localised Dialect Literature (CHLDL). We compare what is found in these texts with the extent to which phonological dialect features are represented in corpora of spoken Liverpool English, and we show that dialect literature can subtly represent the different degrees of salience that dialect features have. We focus on two phonological features which are well established in spoken corpora: ‘Liverpool Lenition’ (in which stops, including /t/ are affricated and spirantised) and T-to-R. We show that, although both are very common in spoken Liverpool English, and both could in principle be represented orthographically, only T-to-R is robustly represented in our corpus of dialect literature. We go on to show that this makes sense: phonological theory predicts that processes with certain types of characteristics should be salient and others should not, and we show that T-to-R has the characteristics that fit with being salient, while T-lenition does not.

Abstract

This article investigates variation in the way that phonological dialect features are represented orthographically in a corpus of dialect literature from Liverpool English. The texts considered are examples of Contemporary Humorous Localised Dialect Literature (CHLDL). We compare what is found in these texts with the extent to which phonological dialect features are represented in corpora of spoken Liverpool English, and we show that dialect literature can subtly represent the different degrees of salience that dialect features have. We focus on two phonological features which are well established in spoken corpora: ‘Liverpool Lenition’ (in which stops, including /t/ are affricated and spirantised) and T-to-R. We show that, although both are very common in spoken Liverpool English, and both could in principle be represented orthographically, only T-to-R is robustly represented in our corpus of dialect literature. We go on to show that this makes sense: phonological theory predicts that processes with certain types of characteristics should be salient and others should not, and we show that T-to-R has the characteristics that fit with being salient, while T-lenition does not.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. List of figures and tables ix
  5. 1. Introduction 1
  6. I. Enregisterment
  7. 2. Northern English and enregisterment 17
  8. 3. Dickens and northern English: stereotyping and ‘authenticity’ reconsidered 41
  9. 4. The linguistic landscape of north-east England 61
  10. 5. Lenition and T-to-R are differently salient: the representation of competing realisations of /t/ in Liverpool English dialect literature 83
  11. II. Phonology
  12. 6. External and internal factors in a levelling process: Prevocalic (r) in Carlisle English 111
  13. 7. Scouse NURSE and northern happy: vowel change in Liverpool English 135
  14. III. Syntax and discourse features
  15. 8. Are Scottish national identities reflected in the syntax of Scottish newspapers? 169
  16. 9. Final but in northern Englishes 191
  17. IV. Sociolinguistics
  18. 10. Education, class and vernacular awareness on Tyneside 215
  19. 11. Changing domains of dialect use: A real-time study of Shetland schoolchildren 245
  20. V. Language and corpus
  21. 12. New perspectives on Scottish Standard English: Introducing the Scottish component of the International Corpus of English 273
  22. Index 303
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110450903-005

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. List of figures and tables ix
  5. 1. Introduction 1
  6. I. Enregisterment
  7. 2. Northern English and enregisterment 17
  8. 3. Dickens and northern English: stereotyping and ‘authenticity’ reconsidered 41
  9. 4. The linguistic landscape of north-east England 61
  10. 5. Lenition and T-to-R are differently salient: the representation of competing realisations of /t/ in Liverpool English dialect literature 83
  11. II. Phonology
  12. 6. External and internal factors in a levelling process: Prevocalic (r) in Carlisle English 111
  13. 7. Scouse NURSE and northern happy: vowel change in Liverpool English 135
  14. III. Syntax and discourse features
  15. 8. Are Scottish national identities reflected in the syntax of Scottish newspapers? 169
  16. 9. Final but in northern Englishes 191
  17. IV. Sociolinguistics
  18. 10. Education, class and vernacular awareness on Tyneside 215
  19. 11. Changing domains of dialect use: A real-time study of Shetland schoolchildren 245
  20. V. Language and corpus
  21. 12. New perspectives on Scottish Standard English: Introducing the Scottish component of the International Corpus of English 273
  22. Index 303
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