Acceptability of Variance of Regional Speech Features in TV Shows
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Masaryk University Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature Acceptability of variance of regional speech features in TV shows Bachelor Thesis Brno 2019 Supervisor: Author: Mgr. Irena Headlandová Kalischová, Ph.D Michaela Čechová Abstract In Britain, accents and dialects have been associated also with the social class. However, it has been argued that today's society adopts a more egalitarian view, and as a result, promotes regional accents as a way to preserve one's identity. The thesis Acceptability of variance of regional speech features in TV shows investigates the development of regional speech in media in the course of 25 years. The thesis is divided into two parts. The theoretical part provides definition of the terms connected to the topic, as well as the more detailed presentation of geographic variations of English language in Britain. The practical part presents the findings based on the phonetic analyses of TV cookery shows featuring Fanny Cradock and Jamie Oliver, first broadcast on the BBC channel in the years 1975 and 2001, respectively. Key Words accent, dialect, variation, Standard English, regional variation, Received Pronunciation, Cockney, Estuary English, TV cookery show, phonetic analysis Abstrakt Prízvuky a nářečí v Británii jsou spojovány také se společenským postavením. Ačkoliv existují názory, že dnešní společnost zaujímá spíše egalitární pohled a následně prosazuje regionální prízvuk j ako způsob zachování identity jedince. Bakalářská práce Acceptability of variance of regional speech features in TV shows zkoumá vývoj regionálních prvků mluvy během časového rozmezí 25 let. Práce je rozdělena do dvou částí. Teoretická část poskytuje definice termínů spojené s tímto tématem, společně s detailnější prezentací regionálních variant anglického jazyka v Británii. Praktická část prezentuje výsledky založené na fonetických analýzách kuchařských show v podání Fanny Cradock a Jamieho Olivera, poprvé vysílány na BBC kanálu v letech 1975 a 2001, v tomto pořadí. Klíčová slova přízvuk, nářečí, variace, Standardní angličtina, regionální variace, televizní kuchařská show, fonetická analýza Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor, Mgr. Irena Headlandova Kalischova, Ph.D., for her comments on my work and her valuable advice throughout the writing process. Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou bakalářskou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. Brno, 30. 3. 2019 Michaela Čechová Table of Contents 1 Introduction 8 2 The theoretical part 10 2.1 The terms explained 10 2.2 Standard English 11 2.3 English language variety in detail 13 2.3.1 Language variety according to the use 13 2.3.2 Language variety according to the user 13 2.3.2.1 Social variation 13 2.3.2.2 Gender, age and ethnicity 15 2.3.2.3 Regional variation 15 2.3.2.3.1 The north and south geographic divide 17 2.4 The London area in detail 21 2.4.1 RP and its role 21 2.4.1.1 Vowels and consonants in general 22 2.4.1.2 Interesting tendencies in categories of RP 24 2.4.1.3 Variability within RP 24 2.4.2 The London speech Cockney 25 2.4.3 Estuary English 26 2.4.3.1 Cockney - Estuary English compared 27 3 The practical part 30 3.1 Chef's profiles 31 3.1.1 Fanny Cradock 31 3.1.1.1 Procedure 32 3.1.1.2 Vowels 33 3.1.1.2.1 Analysis of the findings 34 3.1.1.3 Consonants 35 3.1.1.4 Analysis of the findings 36 3.1.2 Jamie Oliver 37 3.1.2.1 Procedure 38 3.1.2.2 Vowels 39 3.1.2.2.1 Analysis of the findings 41 3.1.2.3 Consonants 43 3.1.2.3.1 Analysis of the findings 44 3.1.2.4 Consonant clusters explained 45 3.1.3 Comparative analysis of recordings 1 and 2 46 3.1.3.1 Interpretation of the findings presented - vowels 46 3.1.3.2 Interpretation of the findings presented - consonants 47 3.1.4 Conclusion 48 Reference list 50 Sources 52 Appendix A 53 Appendix B 54 Appendix C 55 Appendix D 57 1 Introduction The way we present ourselves is a part of our identity. In Britain, the peculiarity is that the attention gets attracted by the sound of the individuals, i.e. their accents, rather than their physical appearance. Such attitude manifests the important role of the accents embedded in the culture. Interestingly, an accent is promoted to become a powerful means in conveying the information about its user. Nowadays, being judgemental towards others on the basis of their accent is regarded as incon• siderate. However, such stance was not always taken in the preceding century; the attitude went through the process of evolvement reflecting social, political and economic events. Historically, in Britain strict rules were governing accents and dialects. In the professional world, only Standard English was regarded as acceptable for many job positions, certainly if it involved public communication. To speak any other way it would be stigmatised and profes• sional career would be out of reach for those non-standard speakers. The amount of influence media industry has on public is vast. The national television com• pany, the BBC, have been regarded as a trend setter and broadcaster of the cultural values since the birth of its existence. The regulatory controls the BBC had in place ensured that their presenters were all appearing flawless to the public, whether deliberately or not, the BBC were transmitting a signal of superiority. Perhaps, the pressure derived from the social events in the 1970's in Britain, where the social movements expressing dissatisfaction with the poverty, housing situation and racial inequality were common, together with the reduction of the barriers to migration, gave rise to the begin• nings of the relaxed attitudes towards regional accents in general. What the accents mean to people today is quite an opposing story. The younger generation seems to use the non-standard form of English intentionally, possibly, for number of reasons: to disguise or confuse the audience about their regional and/or social background, to demon• strate open-minded social attitude in today's multicultural world, or simply sound trendy and just fit in. 8 This thesis starts with the basic terminology: dialect, accent and Standard English, and then it continues with the more general overview of the varieties of the language. More specifically are discussed the social aspects of the dialects and accents leading us onto regional character• istics of speech. For the purpose of the analyses in the practical part, the theoretical part is then narrowed to the region of the south-east, namely London, and the attention is primarily centred on the pronunciation. The position of Received Pronunciation, as the standard accent of English, and other urban accents such as Cockney and Estuary English are presented. The practical part engages with the hypothesis: The regionality of speech featuring in TV pro• grams is now more acceptable than it was in the last century. The creation of hypothesis was inspired by the development of the attitude discussed above. High viewership of the cooking programs prompted for the choice of two cookery shows featuring Fanny Cradock and Jamie Oliver. In the light of findings drawn from the pronunciation analyses conducted in practical part this thesis seeks to confirm the premise. 9 2 The theoretical part 2.1 The terms explained This chapter defines the terms such as accent, dialect, and Standard English. Furthermore, it attempts to equip the reader with sufficient background information starting with the language variety in general, and then moving onto more specific language variety's classification. Al• though, some of the information presented is likely to be valid for all the English speaking countries, the aim is to keep the focus on Britain with the least dilution. Uniqueness of English language diversity in England is not likely to be mirrored anywhere else in the English-speaking world. Despite there being many variations, Greenbaum and Quirk (1990) present us with the unifying statement: "A common core is present in all the varieties so that, however exoteric a variety may be, it has running through it a set of gram• matical and other characteristics that are present in all the others. It is this fact that justifies the application of the name English' to all the varieties "(P-8). Before introducing language variations in more detail, it is inevitable to clarify two terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, and could therefore cause confusion. Following defini• tions are offered for the consideration of the key terms: a dialect and an accent. One possible way of regarding a dialect is that it is a substandard, low status, rustic form of language generally associated with the working class. It is perceived as some kind of devia• tion from a norm - from a standard form of language (Chambers and Trudgill, 1980). Wells (1982) believes that the term dialect is used in the vague way by the linguists; it is linked to any speech variety, which is more than idiolect1 but less than a language. On this basis, it can be concluded that languages consist of dialects. To avoid the confusion he prefers to use the term variety instead of dialect. Such varieties are distinguishable from one another based on any or all of syntax, morphology, lexicon and pronunciation (Wells, 1982). Deeper into the history of languages look Greenbaum and Quirk ( 1990), who portray the idea that in the times when the population was largely dispersed, communities remote and 1 A person's specific way of speaking 10 communication between them poor, the dialects became so distinct that, as a result they are now regarded as different languages.