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'Southern' accents replacing dialects, language app finds | 'Southern' accents replacing dialects, language app finds |
(1 day later) | |
Distinctive regional accents appear to have declined since the 1950s with more people now sounding like "southerners", researchers have concluded. | Distinctive regional accents appear to have declined since the 1950s with more people now sounding like "southerners", researchers have concluded. |
Results from 30,000 users of the English Dialects app have been analysed by developers at Cambridge University. | Results from 30,000 users of the English Dialects app have been analysed by developers at Cambridge University. |
People from 4,000 locations answered questions about the pronunciation of words such as "scone". | People from 4,000 locations answered questions about the pronunciation of words such as "scone". |
Initial results showed more people now speak with accents similar to those in London and the south-east of England. | Initial results showed more people now speak with accents similar to those in London and the south-east of England. |
More news from Cambridgeshire | More news from Cambridgeshire |
They were compared with dialects studied more than 50 years ago by researchers at the University of Leeds in a decade-long field study of accents, called the Survey of English Dialects. | |
The app, developed with researchers in Zurich and Bern, asked questions about the pronunciation of 26 words and how they described certain nouns, such as a splinter. | The app, developed with researchers in Zurich and Bern, asked questions about the pronunciation of 26 words and how they described certain nouns, such as a splinter. |
During the 1950s there were about 10 commonly-used words to describe a tiny piece of wood that gets stuck under the skin, including "spell" and "sliver". | During the 1950s there were about 10 commonly-used words to describe a tiny piece of wood that gets stuck under the skin, including "spell" and "sliver". |
But according to app users, many appear to have died out, with only those in north-east England sticking to their own version - "spelk". | But according to app users, many appear to have died out, with only those in north-east England sticking to their own version - "spelk". |
Other examples looked at how people pronounce the "u" in "butter" and the "r" in "arm". | Other examples looked at how people pronounce the "u" in "butter" and the "r" in "arm". |
Results showed there had been a "noticeable" shift since the 1950s towards pronunciations more commonly found in London and the south-east of the country. | Results showed there had been a "noticeable" shift since the 1950s towards pronunciations more commonly found in London and the south-east of the country. |
"When it comes to language change in England, our results confirm that there is a clear pattern of levelling towards the English of the south-east," said Dr Adrian Leemann, a linguistics researcher at Cambridge University. | "When it comes to language change in England, our results confirm that there is a clear pattern of levelling towards the English of the south-east," said Dr Adrian Leemann, a linguistics researcher at Cambridge University. |
"More and more people are using and pronouncing words in the way that people from London and the south-east do." | "More and more people are using and pronouncing words in the way that people from London and the south-east do." |
Researchers concluded "regional differences" were disappearing, "some quite quickly", although people in the north-east of England seemed to be "more resistant to the patterns of overall levelling in dialect". | Researchers concluded "regional differences" were disappearing, "some quite quickly", although people in the north-east of England seemed to be "more resistant to the patterns of overall levelling in dialect". |
It put the shift in speech patterns down to "greater geographic mobility" in the decades since the 1950s survey. | It put the shift in speech patterns down to "greater geographic mobility" in the decades since the 1950s survey. |
Further results from the app will continue to be analysed. | Further results from the app will continue to be analysed. |
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