Accents of English: Volume 3: Beyond the British Isles

by J. C. Wells

Overview

Accents of English is about the way English is pronounced by different people in different places. Volume 1 provides a synthesizing introduction, which shows how accents vary not only geographically, but also with social class, formality, sex and age; and in volumes 2 and 3 the author examines in greater depth the various accents used by people who speak English as their mother tongue: the accents of the regions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (volume 2), and of the USA, Canada, the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Black Africa and the Far East ( volume 3). Each volume can be read independently, and together they form a major scholarly survey, of considerable originality, which not only includes descriptions of hitherto neglected accents, but also examines the implications for phonological theory. Readers will find the answers to many questions: Who makes 'good' rhyme with 'mood'? Which accents have no voiced sibilants? How is a Canadian accent different from an American one, a New Zealand one from an Australian one, a Jamaican one from a Barbadian one? What are the historical reasons for British-American pronunciation differences? What sound changes are currently in progress in New York, in London, in Edinburgh? Dr Wells his written principally for students of linguistics, phonetics and English language, but the motivated general reader will also find the study both fascinating and rewarding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521285414
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/08/1982
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.54(h) x 0.63(d)

Table of Contents

Volume III: Beyond the British Isles: Preface; Typographical conventions and phonetic symbols; Part VI. North America: 19. GenAm revisited; 20. Canada; 21. New York City; 22. New England; 23. The south; 24. Black English; Part VII. The West Indies: 25. General characteristics of Caribbean English; 26. Individual territories; Part VIII. The Southern Hemisphere: 27. Australia; 28. New Zealand; 29. South Africa; Part IX. The Imperial Legacy: 30. India; 31. Africa; 32. The Far East; Sources and further reading; References; Index.