This short essay is about the phonology and phonetics of Standard Southern British English, the variety of standard English spoken in the south of England.
On the whole, this personal modest project especially focuses on the phonological and phonetic features of the modern standard of this English variety, mentioning some characteristics of the conservative language when necessary.
Thus, the study has dealt with both segmental and suprasegmental phonological traits of the (abstract) standard language as well as the phonetic realizations of these features in the (particular) standard speech.
Consonant phonemics has been treated briefly in this research article, from an objective widespread point of view. Nonetheless, vowel phonemics has been dealt with, more thoroughly, following a rather subjective personal approach.
Besides, and first of all, a brief introduction to what is referred to as Standard Southern British English has been presented in order to clearly specify what variety or dialect of the English language has been covered.
2. Standard Southern British English
Standard Southern British English, still also called Received Pronunciation (often abbreviated as RP), is the variety of English traditionally considered as standard for British English.
This standard variety of British English is principally based on the dialects of South East Midlands, namely London, Oxford and Cambridge. It may be also called "BBC Pronunciation" since the name "Received Pronunciation" is "archaic" and implies privileged upper social class; the term "Received Pronunciation" is generally reserved for the twentieth-century speech of the high social classes.
Thus Standard Southern British English is a more correct manner of naming the former 'Received Pronunciation' ('RP'), the prestigious dialectal variety of southeastern England.
In addition, overall, this accent encompasses three main sub-varieties: Conservative, Mainstream orTraditional, and Contemporary Standard Southern British English.
It is spoken by between 3% and 10% of Britons, the majority of which reside in the southeast of England.
It has been the traditional standard variety of British English taught and learnt as a foreign language.
3.1. Sonorants: liquids and nasals
Liquids and nasals /l/ /m/ /n/ may be syllabic [l m n]
in unstressed syllables, for instance at the end of the words:
little mechanism mutton.
In these words, the phonemes /l/ /m/ /n/ may be realized phonetically without pronouncing the phonemic vowel syllable nucleus /ə/, so that the syllabic consonants form a phonetic syllable nucleus on their own:
little /ˈlɪtəl/ [ˈlɪtl] mechanism /ˈmekənɪzəm/-/ˈmɛkənɪzəm/ [ˈmekənɪzm]-[ˈmɛkənɪzm] mutton /ˈmɐtən/ [ˈmɐtn] or [ˈmɐʔn]
3.1.1. Liquids
/r/ is normally a postalveolar approximant consonant [ɹ].
Southern British English is a non-rhotic variety, thus:
A- /r/ is pronounced at the beginning of words and between vowels: reign, very or there is.
B - /r/ is not pronounced when following a vowel in a syllable checked by /r/ itself, plus consonant or by itself: bar or card.
As in other English dialects, /r/ is generally labialized [ɹʷ]:
read [ɹʷiːd] or free [fɹʷiː].
/l/ has two chief allophones:
A-The voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l], which occurs at the beginning of words and between vowels:
lane, lily or the hill is...
B -The voiced velarized lateral approximant [ɫ], which occurs after a vowel in a syllable checked by /l/ itself, whether it precedes a consonant or not: well or help.
3.1.2. Nasals
The voiced velar nasal [ŋ], in Southern British English, functions as follows:
1 - [ŋ] is undoubtedly a phoneme /ŋ/ word-finally since it clearly contrasts with the other two nasals /m/ and /n/:
ram /ræm/ or /ram/
ran /ræn/ or /ran/
rang /ræŋ/ or /raŋ/
2 - [ŋ] never appears word-initially. Hence, it never contrasts with /m/ and /n/ in this position.
3 - [ŋ], word-internally before another consonant other than /g/, only occurs before the phoneme /k/ as an allophone of /n/ before this phoneme /k/:
think /θɪnk/ [θɪŋk]
tank /tænk/ or /tank/ [tʰæŋk] or [tʰaŋk]
4 - [ŋ], word-internally between vowels, almost always alternates randomly with [ŋg], depending on the word
Thus, in such cases, there is no phonemic contrast between /ŋ/ and /ŋg/.
singer /ˈsɪŋə(r)/ ['sɪŋə(ɹ)]
anger
/ˈæŋgə(r)/ or /ˈaŋgə(r)/
['æŋɡə(ɹ)] or ['aŋɡə(ɹ)]
banger
/ˈbæŋə(r)/ or /ˈbaŋə(r)/ ['bæŋə(ɹ)] or ['baŋə(ɹ)]
finger /ˈfɪŋgə(r)/ ['fɪŋɡə(ɹ)]
Afew exceptions to this would be the rare minimal pairs:
hangar ('shed for aircraft')
/ˈhæŋɡə(r)/ or /ˈhaŋɡə(r)/
hanger ('object for hanging clothes')
/ˈhæŋə(r)/ or /ˈhaŋə(r)/
longer (comparative of long) /ˈlɒŋɡə(r)/ or /ˈlɔŋɡə(r)/
longer ('person who longs') /ˈlɒŋə(r)/ or /ˈlɔŋə(r)/
3.2. Obstruents
English plosives can be divided into two groups:
1 - Voiceless plosives /p/ /t/ /k/, which are:
A-Aspirated [pʰ tʰ kʰ] at the beginning of a stressed syllable: pore tore core.
When a sonorant /l/ /r/ /w/ /j/ follows, this aspiration does not occur, but brings about partial or full devoicing of the sonorant: plate climb proud trust crime twitter quarter pure tune cute.
/r/ is a postalveolar fricative when devoiced: tree [tɹʷiː].
B - Non-aspirated [p t k]:
B.1. When an unstressed vowel follows, as in happy city Mickey.
B.2. When /s/ precedes /p/ /t/ /k/ in the same syllable, as in "spin" , "stand" or "scum"
B.3.At the end of syllables, as in sat sap sack.
Syllable final /p/ /t/ /k/ (and /tʃ/) may be glottalized:
1 -They may be either preceded by a glottal stop (pre-glottalization or glottal reinforcement) when producing the phonetic closure or...
2 - In the case of /t/, it may be fully substituted by a glottal stop (glottal replacement) especially before a syllabic nasal: button [ˈbɐʔn].
The glottal stop may be also realized as creaky voice: thus attempt [əˈtʰemʔt] could be pronounced [əˈtʰemmt].
Examples of glottalization: catching [ˈkʰæʔtʃɪŋ] or [ˈkʰaʔtʃɪŋ]
[ˈfʊʔtbɔːɫ] or [ˈfʊʔbɔːɫ] [ˈfɵʔtboːɫ] or [ˈfɵʔboːɫ]
2 - Voiced plosives /b/ /d/ /ɡ/ (and the affricate /dʒ/), which may be partly or fully devoiced at the end of a word before a pause, and following or preceding voiceless consonants. The distinction between voiced and voiceless stops is made in different ways, so that both consonants can clearly be distinguished even when devoicing of voiced stops occurs:
1A- Voiceless stops /p t k tʃ/ versus...
1 B - Voiced stops /b d ɡ dʒ/, partially or fully voiced
2A-Aspiration of voiceless plosives /p t k/ in stressed syllables, except in the clusters /sp st sk/, versus...
2 B - Unaspiration of voiced plosives /b d g/.
3A- Pre-glottalization or glottal reinforcement of /p t k tʃ/ and glottal replacement of /t/, when they are followed by another consonant or in final unstressed syllable coda, versus
3 B - Un-glottalization of /b d ɡ dʒ/
4A- Shortening of vowels before voiceless consonants versus
4 B - Lengthening of vowels before voiced consonants.
Consequently, the terms "fortis" and "lenis" would be more precise than "voiceless" and "voiced".
3.3. Fricatives
3.3.1. Dental fricatives
/θ ð/ are independent phonemes, although minimal pairs contrasting both phonemes are very rare:
thigh /θaɪ/-/θɐɪ/-/θɑɪ/ thy /ðaɪ/-/ðɐɪ/-/ðɑɪ/
mouth /maʊθ/-/mɐʊθ/-/mɑʊθ/ (noun)
mouth /maʊð/-/mɐʊð/-/mɑʊð/ (verb)
ether /ˈiːθə(r)/
either /ˈaɪðə(r)/-/ˈɐɪðə(r)/-/ˈɑɪðə(r)/ or /ˈiːðə(r)/
teeth /tiːθ/
loath /ləʊθ/
teethe /tiːð/
loathe /ləʊð/
The distribution of these two phonemes is rather free, as it depends on the word, where they may appear in any position:
thing /θɪŋ/ this /ðɪs/
mythic /ˈmɪθɪk/ mother /ˈmɐðə(r)/
bath /bɑːθ/ bathe /beɪð/-/bɛɪð/
The voiced dental fricative consonant /ð/ is generally a weak dental plosive.
The sequence /nð/ is often realized as [nn], that is to say, as a long dental nasal.
3.3.2. Postalveolar fricatives
/ʃ ʒ/ are also independent phonemes, although minimal pairs contrasting these phonemes are very rare, too:
mesher /ˈmeʃə(r)/-/ˈmɛʃə(r)/
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/-/ˈmɛʒə(r)/
Asher /ˈæʃə(r)/-/ˈaʃə(r)/
azure /ˈæʒə(r)/-/ˈaʒə(r)/ or /ˈæʒʊə(r)/-/ˈaʒʊə(r)/
Aleutian /əˈluːʃən/-/əˈlʉːʃən/
allusion /əˈluːʒən/-/əˈlʉːʒən/
Confucian /kənˈfjuːʃən/-/kənˈfjʉːʃən/
confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/-/kənˈfjʉːʒən/
/ʒ/ is very unusual at the beginning of words and rather unusual at the end of words:
genre /ˈʒɑːnrə/ beige /beɪʒ/-/bɛɪʒ/
3.3.3. Glottal fricative
/h/ generally occurs at the beginning of words and, quite frequently, between vowels: haze heat aha ahead.
Voiceless /h/ becomes voiced [ɦ] between voiced phones, especially between vowels: leave home aim high blond hair alcoholic ahoy.
A voiceless palatal fricative [ç] occurs at the beginning of words like huge [çuːdʒ] or [çʉːdʒ] but phonemically it is usually considered as the sequence /hj/: /hjuːdʒ/ or /hjʉːdʒ/, so as not to be analyzed as an extra English phoneme /ç/.
4. Consonant examples Fortis
5. Consonant neutralizations
Nasal consonants /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ are neutralized followed by final voiceless plosives /p/ /t/ /k/. Normally, only one of the three nasals can occur before each voiceless plosive, since they usually assimilate to the place of articulation of the following plosive, as follows: [mp] [nt] [ŋk].
As a result, phonologically, the three nasal phonemes become the same archiphoneme /N/ in these environments. Examples:
This phonetic phenomenon may also occur across the boundaries of syllables or words, namely in stressed syllables, as in:
synchrony [ˈsɪŋkɹəni] or...
Ben put [ˈbɛm ˈpʊt] or [ˈbɛm ˈpɵt]
In unstressed syllables, these assimilations may be optional: synchronic [sɪŋˈkɹɒnɪk] or [sɪnˈkɹɒnɪk] [sɪŋˈkɹɔnɪk] or [sɪnˈkɹɔnɪk]
6. Vowels
The long close vowels /iː/ and /uː/ may be slightly pronounced as diphthongs [ɪi] and [ʊu] by some speakers in Traditional Standard Southern British English
The phonemic diphthong /eə-ɛə/, phonologically, might also be analyzed as the long vowel /ɛː/, though traditionally it has been realized phonetically as [ɛə].
It is a phonemic diphthong since it contrasts with the vowel /e/:
very /ˈverɪ/ vary /ˈveərɪ/-/ˈvɛərɪ/
The phonemic diphthong /ɪə/ traditionally has been realized phonetically as [ɪə].
It is a phonemic diphthong since it contrasts with both vowels /ɪ/ and /iː/:
The phonetic diphthong [ʊə] traditionally has been realized as [ʊə].
It rarely contrasts with /ʊ/ but it does contrast with /uː/ more often: good /gʊd/ gourd /gʊəd/ pulley /ˈpʊlɪ/ poorly /ˈpʊəlɪ/ two /tuː/ tour /tʊə/ pooh /puː/ poor /pʊə/
Nonetheless, as the diphthong [ʊə] does not contrast with both /ʊ/ and /uː/ in minimal triplets, it must be considered indifferently as an allophone or an allophonic sequence of either /ʊ/ or /uː/.
6.2. Short vowels of Contemporary Standard Southern
British English
6.3. Long vowels of Contemporary Standard Southern British English
6.4. "Long" and "short" vowels
Phonologically, the monophthongal vowels are usually grouped into "long" and "short" vowels.
Nevertheless, phonologically, Southern English does not possess any minimal pairs differentiated only by vowel length, except for the recent innovative opposition between /ɪ/ and /ɪː/ in pairs like happy /ˈhapɪ/ - happier /ˈhapɪː/.
Thus, the typical long-short pairings also include differences in vowel quality.
Moreover, from a traditional point of view, vowels may be phonologically long or short, but their phonetic length depends on their context.Avowel is shortened when a voiceless (or fortis) consonant phone follows it, in the same syllable: the vowel sound in 'hat' [hæʔt]-[haʔt] is shorter than that in 'had' [hæ:d]-[ha:d].
This phonetic phenomenon is known as pre-fortis clipping.
Thus the short vowels, in one environment, can be phonetically longer than the long vowels, in another:
The long /iː/ in 'reach' /riːtʃ/ (which precedes a voiceless consonant) may be a little shorter than the short /ɪ/ in the word 'ridge' /rɪdʒ/ (which precedes a voiced consonant).
In informal speech, the plosives /t/ and /d/ are frequently produced with no audible release in final utterances, and voiced consonants may be partly or completely devoiced, as in bad[bæ:d]-[ba:d].
Thus the distinction between pairs of words such as:
bad and bat, or seed and seat lies largely on vowel length. Nonetheless, the presence or absence of glottal reinforcement helps to differentiate these minimal pairs.
6.5. Unstressed vowels or vowel reduction
Phonetically, unstressed vowels are both shorter and more centralised than stressed vowels.
In unstressed syllables, long and short close vowels in final position lose their phonemic contrast and are consequently neutralised.
Hence, short [i] in the Mainstream and Contemporary Standards, and short [u] in the Mainstream Standard, may occur in this context: happy /ˈhæpI/-[ˈhæpi] or /ˈhapI/-[ˈhapi] throughout /θrUˈaʊt/-/θrUˈɐʊt/-/θrUˈɑʊt/ - [θɹuˈaʊʔt]
Unstressed vowels may have different realizations:
A- /ɪ/-/i:/-/I/, as in city, varies from close front [i] to close-mid retracted front [e].
B - /ʊ/-/u:/-/U/, as in congruent, varies from close back [u] to close-mid retracted central [ɵ].
C - [ə], as in lava, varies from close-mid central [ɘ] to open-mid central [ɜ].
6.6. Diphthongs and triphthongs
6.6.1. Diphthongs of Mainstream or Traditional Standard
Southern British English
6.6.2. Diphthongs of Contemporary Standard Southern British English
TheTraditional centring diphthongs occurring before /r/ are gradually disappearing in the Contemporary Standard:
1 -The diphthong [ʊə], as in moor or sure, has merged with /oː/ among the majority of speakers.
2 -The diphthong /eə/ or /ɛə/, as in there or fair, is currently increasingly pronounced as a single long vowel /ɛː/.
3 - /ɪə/, as in near or deer, is increasingly realised as the long monophthong [ɪː], despite not coalescing with any present vowels or diphthongs
The diphthong /əʊ/ is pronounced by some “modern” speakers as [ɔʊ] or [ɒʊ] when checked by /l/, phonetically [ɫ].
Thus, the onset of this allophonic diphthong [ɔʊ] or [ɒʊ], as in hold, is slightly more back and rounded than the typical /əʊ/-diphthong occurring in load.
6.6.3. Triphthongs
Standard Southern British English also possesses the following phonemic triphthongs.
In formal careful speech, they are pronounced as two syllables made up of a diphthong plus [ə]:
1 - /aɪə/-/ɐɪə/-/ɑɪə/ [aɪ.ə]-[ɐɪ.ə]-[ɑɪ.ə] as in fire...
2 - /aʊə/-/ɐʊə/-/ɑʊə/ [aʊ.ə]-[ɐʊ.ə]-[ɑʊ.ə] as in power...
3 - /əʊə/ [əʊ.ə] as in mower...
4 - /eɪə/-/ɛɪə/ [eɪ.ə]-[ɛɪ.ə] as in player and...
5 - /ɔɪə/ [ɔɪ.ə] as in destroyer.
In casual speech the middle vowel may disappear due to a process called smoothing:
7. Conservative Standard Southern British English
Here are some phonological and phonetic characteristics of the Conservative Standard Southern British English of the first half of the 20th century:
A- In the first half of the 20th century, speakers used to pronounce the phoneme /æ/-/a/ in land with the sound [æ], a vowel very similar to the [ɛ] in lend.
- Before the Second World War, [ʌ] and [ʌɪ] were the typical pronunciations of the present phoneme /ɐ/ and a possible pronunciation of the diphthongal variants [aɪ]-[ɐɪ]-[ɑɪ], respectively.
B
C -There existed a diphthong /ɔə/, as in pore or hoarse, which coalesced with /ɔː/-/oː/, to a great extent, by the 1950s.
Thus, the words poor paw pore /pʊə/ /pɔː/ /pɔə/ were pronounced distinctly, and nowadays the three forms have become /pɔː/ or /poː/
D -The unstressed final vowel of 'happy' was always pronounced as /ɪ/.
E -At the beginning of the twentieth century, the present diphthong /əʊ/ was still pronounced /oʊ/ by many speakers.
F -The realization of /r/ as a tap or flap [ɾ] was rather usual, especially between vowels but also after /θ ð/ and even after /b ɡ/.
Thus, the word very was often pronounced [veɾɪ].
8. Vowel phonemics
8.1. Vowel phonemes of Traditional or Mainstream Standard Southern British English
From a strictly phonetic point of view, the phonemes of Traditional or Mainstream Standard Southern British English are as follows:
8.2. Vowel phonemes of Contemporary Standard Southern British English
From a strictly phonetic point of view, the phonemes of Contemporary Standard Southern British English are as follows:
8.3. Vowel phonemes of Modern (Traditional or Mainstream, and Contemporary) Standard Southern British English
From an abstract point of view, taking into account the common characteristics of the vowel system of both varieties, using a personal accepted notation, the vowel phonemes are as follows:
NOTES:
1 -The diphthong [ɪə] is not a common feature of both modern standard forms.
The presence or absence of this diphthong clearly shows a very important phonological and phonetic difference between theTraditional or Mainstream and the Contemporary variants:
A-The diphthong [ɪə], phonologically /ɪɐ/, still exists in the speech inTraditional or Mainstream Southern British English. Hence, it always contrasts with /ɪ/ and /iː/, the three of which are realized phonetically as follows:
bid /bɪd/ bead /biːd/ beard /bɪɐd/
bid [bɪːd] bead [biːd] beard [bɪəd]
B -The diphthong [ɪə] has practically disappeared in the speech of many speakers, especially in that of the youngest, in Contemporary Southern British English, as it is currently pronounced as the long vowel [ɪː]:
B.1 - On one hand, /ɪː/ contrasts with /iː/, and theoretically with /ɪ/ in some contexts, but in certain environments it does not contrast with /ɪ/ plus voiced consonant for it is realized phonetically as [ɪː], that is to say, practically the same way as /ɪ/ + voiced consonant:
bid /bɪd/ bead /biːd/ beard /bɪːd/ bid [bɪːd] bead [biːd] beard [bɪːd]
B.2 - On the other hand, /ɪː/ contrasts with /iː/, but it also might contrast with /ɪ/ only in length, in theory and practice, in a few environments where /ɪ/ and /ɪː/ do not undergo merging or neutralization, although this dubious contrast is very rare: happy /ˈhapɪ/ [ˈhapɪ] happier /ˈhapɪː/ [ˈhapɪː]
2 - [ə] is not an independent phoneme and thus it may be considered as an allophone of /ɐ/, or as a phonetic realisation of the other vowel phonemes due to reduction, in unstressed syllables: Thus [ə] always occurs in unstressed syllables instead of the phoneme /ɐ/, or instead of the other vowel phonemes when they are reduced in unstressed syllables.
3 - /ɛː/ and /ɜː/ almost always occur in stressed syllables before /r/.
8.3.1.Alternative analysis of the vowel phonemes
From a strict phonological and phonetic point of view, the vowel phonemes of Modern Standard Southern British English can be analyzed in a slightly different manner.
Vowel quantity is not phonemic in this variety of English since, in the standard language, there are no minimal pairs which contrast solely by the length of their vowels, save the rare modern new contrast between /ɪ/ and /ɪː/ in pairs like: silly /ˈsɪlɪ/ - sillier /ˈsɪlɪː/.
Thus, vowel quantity is simply a phonetic feature present in the realization of such vowel phonemes, though it might be also considered as a secondary relevant trait accompanying vowel quality, which is the real primary opposing feature
Hence, the table of vowel phonemes would definitively be as follows:
NOTES:
1 -The diphthongs in the table above represent the combination of two archiphonemes.These archiphonemes stem from the neutralization of two (or even three) vowel phonemes of similar openness and/or backness, as follows:
1 - /E/: /e/ or /ɛ/
2 - /A/: /a/ or /ɐ/ or /ɑ/
3 - /O/: /ɔ/ or /o/
4 - /I/: /ɪ/ or /i/
5 - /U/: /ʊ/ or /u/
2 -The triphthongs in the table above result from the combination of the aforementioned archiphonemes of the correspondent diphthong plus the archiphoneme /Ə/:
/Ə/ stems from the neutralization of the central vowel phonemes /ɜ/ and /ɐ/ in unstressed syllables.The phonetic realisation of this archiphoneme is usually [ə].
3 - [ə] has not been included in the table above since it is not an independent phoneme.As said, it is the phonetic realization of the /Ə/-archiphoneme, but it may be also considered as one of the possible phonetic realisations of the other vowel phonemes when reduced in unstressed syllables.
8.3.2. Examples of special vowel contrasts
complement /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/ or /ˈkɔmplɪmənt/ (noun)
complement /ˈkɒmplɪment/ or /ˈkɔmplɪmɛnt/ (verb)
gnu /nuː/ new /njuː/
coup /kuː/ queue - cue /kjuː/
base (singular noun or verb form) /beɪs/ or /bɛɪs/
bases (plural noun or verb form) /beɪsɪz/ or /bɛɪsɪz/
basis (singular noun) /ˈbeɪsɪs/ or /ˈbɛɪsɪs/
bases (plural noun) /ˈbeɪsiːz/ or /ˈbɛɪsiːz/
Lenin /ˈlenɪn/ or /ˈlɛnɪn/
Lennon /ˈlenən/ or /ˈlɛnən/ - [ˈlenən] or [ˈlɛnən]
deprivation /ˌdeprɪˈveɪʃən/ or /ˌdɛprɪˈvɛɪʃən/
depravation /ˌdeprəˈveɪʃən/ or /ˌdɛprəˈvɛɪʃən/
Babylon /ˈbæbɪlən/ or /ˈbabɪlən/
Babalon /ˈbæbələn/ or /ˈbabələn/
boxes /ˈbɒksɪz/ or /ˈbɔksɪz/
boxers /ˈbɒksəz/ or /ˈbɔksəz/ - [ˈbɒksəz] or [ˈbɔksəz]
veracity /veˈræsɪtɪ/ or /vɛˈrasɪtɪ/
voracity /vɒˈræsɪtɪ/ or /vɔˈrasɪtɪ/
nest /nest/ or /nɛst/
next /nekst/ or /nɛkst/
boss /bɒs/ or /bɔs/
box /bɒks/ or /bɔks/
append /əˈpend/ or /əˈpɛnd/
upend /ɐpˈend/ or /ɐpˈɛnd/
9. Consonant phonemics
The voiceless velar fricative /x/ is mainly used by some educated people in a few loanwords, especially from the Scottish and Welsh languages, or from Scottish and Welsh English accents.
Nevertheless, such words with /x/ are usually pronounced with /k/ by the majority of speakers: loch /lɒx/ or /lɒk/ - /lɔx/ or /lɔk/ bach /bɑːx/ or /bɑːk/
The voiceless labiovelar approximant [ʍ], phonologically regarded as the /ʍ/ phoneme or the phonemic sequence /hw/, no longer contrasting with the voiced labiovelar approximant [w] in Standard Southern British English, is only used in the emphatic speech of some people when differentiating both phonemes, and by educated speakers who have been trained in their speech to distinguish both phonemes: which /hwɪtʃ/ witch /wɪtʃ/
whine /hwaɪn/ - /hwɐɪn/ - /hwɑɪn/
wine /waɪn/ - /wɐɪn/ - /wɑɪn/
whether /ˈhweðə(r)/ - /ˈhwɛðə(r)/
weather /ˈweðə(r)/ - /ˈwɛðə(r)/
Phonemically, this phone may be considered as a consonant sequence /hw/ or as a separate phoneme /ʍ/, since there are a few minimal pairs which oppose them.
The phonological transcription /hw/ is used instead of /ʍ/ in order not to add an extra phoneme /ʍ/.
10. Prosody
The prosodic features of English are:
1 - Stress:
A) Word stress
B) Utterance stress
C) Emphatic stress
2 - Rhythm, and…
3) Intonation.
10.1. Stress
10.1.1. Word stress
English stressed syllables are louder and longer than non-stressed ones, and they are characterized by a higher pitch.
English polysyllabic words may exhibit one of the three following levels of stress: primary, secondary or unstressed:
Primary word stress (also called lexical or grammatical stress) is a clear phonological suprasegmental feature in Standard Southern British English, as there are minimal pairs which are solely opposed by this primary word stress:
transport /ˈtrænspɔːt/ or /ˈtranspoːt/ (noun)
transport /trænsˈpɔːt/ or /transˈpoːt/ (verb)
torment /ˈtɔːment/ or /ˈtoːmɛnt/ (noun)
torment /tɔːˈment/ or /toːˈmɛnt/ (verb)
Taking into account that unstressed syllables may be phonemically distinguished for vowel reduction, secondary word stress is considered a phonetic feature, and not a phonological trait.
Consequently, within the word boundaries, there are no minimal pairs only distinguished by the opposition between primary stress and secondary stress.
10.1.2. Utterance stress
English phrases and sentences are ordinarily made up of one or more prosodic units, also called tone groups, that is, word or group of words consisting of a stressed syllable and various unstressed syllables.
All the prosodic units or tone groups belonging to the same phrase or sentence form phone groups, that is to say, groups of words consisting of several stressed syllables and various unstressed syllables.
And, finally, various phone groups occurring within the same phrase or sentence form an intonation unit.
In utterances belonging to the same intonation unit, phonetically, secondary stress merges with primary stress. Thus, there may be no difference between the ordinarily distinct degrees of stress which are given to the syllables with secondary stress and to the syllables with primary stress.
Hence, this slightly different special kind of stress can be called "tonic" stress and falls on the final stressed syllable of every prosodic unit or tone group of each different phone group of the same intonation unit.
10.1.3. Emphatic stress
Emphatic stress is the extra stress given by speakers deliberately to a syllable of a word within phrases or sentences, when this syllable acquires special emphasis.
British Southern English usually has phrase or sentence tonic stress on the final stressed syllable of each different prosodic unit or tone group of the various phone groups of an intonation unit.
Among all the various tonic stresses of an intonation unit, the ordinary strongest phrase stress or sentence stress usually falls on the last stressed syllable of the phrase or sentence, as if it were the primary stress of the utterance.
Thus, in the following utterances:
Is it tea later? No, it's supper later.
The principal strongest stress of both sentences falls on the first syllable of the word later.
However, phrase stress or sentence stress may change owing to different pragmatic purposes of speakers, such as focus or contrast:
Is it tea later? No, it's supper later.
Hence, the emphatic stress given by the speaker makes the chief louder stress of the second sentence shift from the last stressed syllable of the sentence to the last stressed syllable of the emphasized word, in this sentence the first syllable of the word supper.
In addition, grammatical function words tend to be prosodically unstressed, though they may receive emphatic stress when emphasized, as in the second sentence of the following utterances:
Did you see the dog? Well, I saw a dog.
The function word a in the last sentence is pronounced with the stressed strong form /eɪ/ or /ɛɪ/, though the more usual unstressed weak form of a is pronounced /ə/.
10.1.4. Rhythm
Southern British English is undoubtedly a stress-timed language, that is to say, stressed syllables are normally pronounced with more strength, which gives the language a regular rhythm, whereas non-stressed syllables are shorter to become adjusted to this rhythm.
In “This kind of house is bigger than the other”, the stressed syllables are longer than the other unstressed syllables, which are fairly shorter.
Each of the three consecutive unstressed syllables are shorter than the unstressed syllable of, placed between the stressed words kind and house, since the three consecutive syllables must be pronounced with the same time length as the word of is pronounced
