Dialect Analysis

Language Analysis

Essex

Traits of the variation

The ‘Essex dialect’ is a non-standard variation of the English language. To someone who speaks what would be considered ‘standard English’ the majority of the language would make sense however there are some elements that would not. Some of these variances used in the ‘Essex dialect’ on ‘standard english’ are as follows:

• Use of elision (eg: ‘d’ya’ replacing ‘do you’)
• Heavy stress on the last syllable of words (even if they are monosyllabic)
• Much greater use of fillers (eg: ’shut up’, ‘like’, ‘d’ya know what I mean’ etc)
• Use of words with a changed meaning such as ‘sick’(adjective - amazing/good) and ‘beef’ (abstract verb - being annoyed with someone)
• Use of new words such as ‘reem’(adjective - cool) and ‘sort’(adjective - good looking)

These different traits have come from a variety of different sources; chief amongst which would be the language used in the east end of London. The fact that Essex and London are neighbouring counties, has been a major contributing factor in the creation of the Essex accent as it has taken many of the traits of the language used in the east end. These traits have also lead lead to a stereotype; people interpret the sound of the ‘Essex accent’ to suggest that the person is uneducated. Some of the traits listed above like the greater use of fillers (suggesting the person is unsure of what they are saying) contribute to this assumption. However, the main contributing factor would be the TV show ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ or ‘TOWIE’ that has helped to affirm this stereotype more so than the dialect itself.

Why does the variation exist?

The main reason why people in Essex use this type of language is because it makes it easier and quicker to convey a point. For example when talking to a small group of people; if using standard english you might say ‘you guys’ or ‘you lot’ whereas someone from Essex might say ‘yous’/‘youse’. This is because there is no plural of the word ‘you’ so using the way in which most words are made plural (by adding an ’s’) it allows them to more accurately describe the group of people. These kinds of logical alterations to words in order to convey a point more clearly does not only occur in Essex. For example in Southern America it would be common to use ‘y’all’ to refer to more than one person and in the ‘Pittsburgh’ area (near Ohio) ’you-uns’ would be used for the same purpose.

Geordie

Research found at http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/geordie/

Overview:
The Geordie dialect is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the speech of the whole of the North East of England. Strictly speaking, however, Geordie should only refer to the speech of the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the surrounding urban area of Tyneside. Locals insist there are significant differences between Geordie and several other local dialects, such as Pitmatic and Makkem. The Geordie accent sounds extremely identical to that of the welsh accent however Geordies speak with a harsh tone.

Traits:

• Harsh
• northern
• rough

Aspects:

• Geordies have some of their own words to replace standard English ones. for example the word "crack" replaces "banter", and the word "aye" replaces the word "yes.
• Many phonemes are also used differently in their accent as the usual 'up' (u as a consonant) replaces the 'a' in "lad" essentially turning the word into lud.
• The Geordie dialect is often spoken by more low register citizens with constant exhale and length(their words are more dragged out). This makes the accent seem rough as it seems lazy. 

Received Pronunciation

Research found at http://dialectblog.com/british-accents/ 

Overview:
Received Pronunciation is the closest to a "standard accent" that has ever existed in the UK. Although it originally derives from London English, it is Non-regional. You've probably heard this accent in countless examples like in Jane Austin movie interpretations or from influential elders like Judi Dench. It emerged from the 18th and the 19th century aristocracy, and has remained the "gold standard" ever since.

Traits:

• Lengthened words
• Posh
• differentiation in pitch (it's easier to reach a high pitch from a low pitch)

Aspects:

• Non-rhoticity, meaning the 'r' at the ends of words isn't pronounced. (Mother is said Muh-thuh).
• Trap-bath split, meaning that certain 'a' words like 'bath' 'can't' and 'dance' are pronounced with the broad-a in father.
• The vowels within received pronunciation seem to be more conservative than in other areas of England as their vowels have shifted.