Why did the trap-bath split happen?

Why did the trap-bath split happen?

In many British accents, however, these are two separate vowels: the first group of words (i.e. trap) are pronounced with a short-a, (IPA æ) as in America ; but the second group (i.e. bath) is pronounced with a broad-a, IPA ɑ: (i.e. “ah“). Hence the Trap-Bath Split.

When did the trap-bath split occur?

TRAP-BATH Variations The split appeared in southern English pronunciation in the mid-17th century and it’s not clear why it affected some words and not others, though there is a clear tendency for it to appear in shorter and more commonly used words.

What is Trap vowel?

One of the short English vowels is the vowel that occurs in the word “trap.” We therefore call it the TRAP-vowel The TRAP-vowel can be used to convey a particular meaning, as in the minimal pairs, “head-had,” “beg-bag,” and “pen-pan.” In contrast, many other languages do not have the TRAP-vowel in their inventory.

Why do Northerners say bath?

It is the debate which has divided the north and south for years: “What is the right way to say bath?” The short vowel version, the northern way, may not be “the right way”, but it came first by a decent stretch. But the vast differences between British accents go much deeper than the pronunciation of just one word.

What phonological change is known as the trap bath split?

The trap–bath split (also TRAP– BATH split) is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern accents of English in England (including Received Pronunciation), in New Zealand English, Indian English and South African English and also to a lesser extent in Australian English and Welsh English as well as older Northeastern …

What is the short a split?

Short-a (or /æ/) tensing has two possible forms: either non-phonemic (“continuous”) or phonemic (“split”). In General American, for example, the word man can be pronounced on a continuum from the lax-vowel [mæn] to the tense-vowel [mɛən], but the latter pronunciation is much more common.

How do Northerners say grass?

When travelling through the North of England, people will say the words ‘bath’ and ‘grass’ using the short vowel sound ‘a’ (the same ‘a’ sound used in words like ‘cat’). Unlike their Northern neighbours, Southerners tend to adopt the long vowel sound ‘ah’ when pronouncing the words ‘bath’ and ‘grass’.

Which of the following varieties of English have a bath trap split?

What is G dropping called?

INTRODUCTION. The term “g-dropping” refers to the phenomenon in English where the -ing ending is pronounced with an alveolar nasal [n]. It is shown in the conventional orthography by the use of an apostrophe in place of g, as in walkin’ and nothin’.

What is dropping the G at the end of a word called?

‘G-dropping’ refers to the pronunciation of the weak ending -ing as /ɪn/ rather than /ɪŋ/. In vernacular speech, /ɪn/ for -ing is common, probably more so in America. In popular music, it’s absolutely normal to sing -ing as /ɪn/, and the spelling -in’ is common, e.g. Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind.

Why do Northerners say our?

This usage is/was common in parts of England, mainly northern England as far as I’m aware. The “our” is effectively referring to ‘our family’. In the examples given from Keeping Up Appearences, the words are usually being spoken by Rose’s mother or father, and hence “our Rose” would refer to their (joint) daughter.

Why do some people not pronounce g in ing?

The spelling ‹ng› almost never† involves the sound /g/. ‹ng› is a ‘digraph’ (like ‹th›)—in almost all cases it represents the sound /ŋ/, the consonant at the end of sing, hang, long. So there is no actual /g/ sound in the -ing suffix.

Who spoke the first English?

The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Why do they say our Rose?

The “our” is effectively referring to ‘our family’. In the examples given from Keeping Up Appearences, the words are usually being spoken by Rose’s mother or father, and hence “our Rose” would refer to their (joint) daughter.