Accomodation

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 495.

Diaphonic variation

Diaphonic variation affects the quality and quantity of particular phonemes. E.g. the diaphonic variation of /æ / involves significant changes in length, because in some dialects /æ / is much longer than the standard sound. Its quality ranges from a front open / æ / in the southern part of England to /a/ in Northern England.

Diaphonic variants do not affect intelligibility of speech, yet they inform the listener about the speaker's origin (i.e. the region he comes from) and his social standing. The listener easily notices both idiolectal and diaphonic variants, but it does not take him much time to “tune in” to the speakers manner of speech and understand him.

Accommodation can be progressive, regressive or mutual. If the articulation of a sound is modified under the influence of the preceding sound, i.e. its articulation is adapted to the articulation of the preceding sound the accommodation is progressive (e.g. the ~of /i:/ in “mẽ”). If the articulation of a sound is adapted to the articulation of the following sound, the accommodation is regressive (e.g. the labialization of /t/ in “toe”).

If the articulatory movements of both the sounds are adapted to each other, the accommodation is mutual (e.g. in /tu:/ /t/ is labialized under the influence of /u:/ and /u:/ is a little bit advanced under the influence of /t/).