The phonology of the
open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' ( ...
back
The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column runs ...
vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
s of the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
has undergone changes both overall and with regional variations, through
Old and
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
to the present. The sounds heard in modern English were significantly influenced by the
Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift was a series of changes in the pronunciation of the English language that took place primarily between 1400 and 1700, beginning in southern England and today having influenced effectively all dialects of English. Through ...
, as well as more recent developments such as the
''cot–caught'' merger.
Overview
Old and Middle English
In the
Old English vowel system, the vowels in the open back area were unrounded: . There were also rounded back vowels of mid-height: . The
corresponding spellings were and , with the length distinctions not normally marked; in modern editions of Old English texts, the long vowels are often written , .
As the Old English (OE) system developed into that of
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
(ME), the OE short vowel
merged with the fronted to become a more central ME . Meanwhile, the OE long vowel was rounded and raised to ME . OE short remained relatively unchanged, becoming a short ME vowel regarded as , while OE long became ME (a higher vowel than ). Alternative developments were also possible; see
English historical vowel correspondences
The phonological system of the Old English language underwent many changes during the period of its existence. These included a number of vowel shifts, and the palatalisation of velar consonants in many positions.
For historical development ...
for details.
Later, ME
open syllable lengthening caused the short vowel to be normally changed to in open syllables. Remaining instances of the short vowel also tended to become lower. Hence in Late Middle English (around 1400) the following open back vowels were present, distinguished by length:
* , spelt , as in ''dog'', ''god''
* , often spelt , or before consonant+vowel or certain consonant pairs, as in ''boat'', ''whole'', ''old''
16th-century changes
By 1600, the following changes had occurred:
* The long vowel of ''boat'' had been raised to as a result of the
Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift was a series of changes in the pronunciation of the English language that took place primarily between 1400 and 1700, beginning in southern England and today having influenced effectively all dialects of English. Through ...
. Before non-prevocalic , the raising did not take place, so ''more'' was still .
* The diphthong found in words such as ''cause'', ''law'', ''all'', ''salt'', ''psalm'', ''half'', ''change'', ''chamber'', ''dance'' had become an open back monophthong or .
* At this time, the short in ''dog'' was lowered to
There were thus two open back monophthongs:
* as in ''lot''
* or as in ''cause'' and (before ) in ''more''
and one open back diphthong:
* as in ''low''
17th-century changes
By 1700, the following further developments had taken place:
* The diphthong of ''soul'' was raised to , and then monophthongized to , merging with ''boat'' (see
''toe–tow'' merger). Before , this change was later undone by the
horse–hoarse merger
In English, many vowel shifts affect only vowels followed by in rhotic dialects, or vowels that were historically followed by that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of vowel distinctions and so fewer vow ...
except in some varieties, as currently seen in
Irish English,
Scottish English
Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard ...
and
African American Vernacular English
African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urba ...
.
* Short was retracted and rounded to . The shift was suppressed before a
velar consonant
Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth (known also as the velum).
Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relatively extensive an ...
, as in ''quack'', ''twang'', ''wag'', ''wax'', and also was suppressed in ''swam'' (the
irregular past tense of ''swim''). The change of to did not occur in
Mid-Ulster English
Ulster English ( sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr Inglish, ga, Béarla Ultach, also called Northern Hiberno-English or Northern Irish English) is the variety of English spoken in most of the Irish province of Ulster and throughout North ...
.
* had begun to partake in lengthening and raising before a nonprevocalic voiceless fricative. That resulted in words like ''broth'', ''cost'' and ''off'' having instead of , and was the start of the
split (see further below).
* In words such as ''change'' and ''chamber'', the pronunciation was gradually replaced in the standard language by a variant with , derived from Middle English . That explains the contemporary pronunciation of these words with .
* However, when preceded , as in ''laugh'' and ''half'', was shifted to instead, derived from Middle English .
* An
unrounded back vowel developed, found in certain classes of words that had previously had , like ''start'', ''father'' and ''palm''.
That left the standard form of the language with four open back vowels:
* in ''lot'' and ''want''.
* in ''cloth'' and ''cost''.
* in ''start'', ''father'' and ''palm''.
* in ''tor'', ''cause'', and ''corn''.
Later changes
From the 18th century on, the following changes have occurred:
* The three-way distinction between , , and was simplified in one of two ways:
** In
General American
General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
and old-fashioned RP, was raised to , merging with the vowel in (the ''cloth-thought'' merger).
** In many accents of England, the lengthening of the set was undone, restoring the short pronunciation . This became standard RP by the mid-20th century.
* In General American, the ''lot'' vowel has become unrounded and merged into (the ''father–bother'' merger).
This leaves RP with three back vowels:
* in ''lot'', ''want'', ''cloth'', and ''cost''.
* in ''tor'', ''cause'', and ''corn''.
* in ''start'', ''father'', and ''palm''.
and General American with two:
* in ''lot'', ''want'', ''start'', ''father'', and ''palm''.
* in ''tor'', ''cause'', ''corn'', ''cloth'' and ''cost''.
Unrounded
In a few varieties of English, the vowel in ''lot'' is unrounded, pronounced toward []. This is found in the following dialects:
*
Irish English
* Much of the Caribbean
* Norwich
* The West Country and the
West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England
* Most of
North American English
North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pronunciations (accents), v ...
** Excluding
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
Western Pennsylvania accents, in which it is typically raised toward , merging with the vowel in ''thought''.
Linguists disagree as to whether the unrounding of the ''lot'' vowel occurred independently in North America (probably occurring around the end of the 17th century) or was imported from certain types of speech current in Britain at that time.
In such accents, ''lot'' typically is pronounced as , therefore being kept distinct from the vowel in ''palm'', pronounced or . However, the major exception to this is
North American English
North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pronunciations (accents), v ...
, where the vowel is lengthened to merge with the vowel in ''palm'', as described below. This merger is called the merger or more commonly the ''father–bother'' merger. (See further below.)
''Father–bother'' merger
The ''father–bother'' merger is unrounded ''lot'' taken a step further. On top of being unrounded, the length distinction between the vowel in ''lot'' and ''bother'' and the vowel in ''palm'' and ''father'' is lost, so that the two groups merge.
Examples of possible
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
s resulting from the merger include ''Khan'' and ''con'' () as well as ''Saab'' and ''sob'' ().
Out of North American dialects that have unrounded ''lot'', the only notable exception to the merger is
New York City English
New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...
, where the opposition with the -type vowel is somewhat tenuous.
While the accents in northeastern
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
, such as the
Boston accent
A Boston accent is a local accent of Eastern New England English, native specifically to the city of Boston and its suburbs. Northeastern New England English is classified as traditionally including New Hampshire, Maine, and all of eastern Mass ...
, also remain unmerged, ''lot'' remains rounded and merges instead with ''cloth'' and ''thought'', though the outcome of that is still a longish free vowel that is heard as ''thought'' by British speakers.
*Some
Singaporean English
Singapore English (SgE, SE, en-SG) (similar and related to British English) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Singapore. In Singapore, English is spoken in two main forms: Singaporean Standard English (indistinguisha ...
{, class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
, + class="nowrap" , Homophonous pairs
!
! {{IPA, /ɒ/ or /ɔ/{{efn, only homophonous with the
cot-caught merger
! IPA (using {{angbr IPA, ɑ for the merged vowel)
! Notes
, -
,
Bali , , bolly , , {{IPA, ˈbɑli
, -
,
Dalí , , dolly , , {{IPA, ˈdɑli
, -
,
Hajj , ,
Hodge , , {{IPA, ˈhɑdʒ
, -
,
Khan , , con , , {{IPA, ˈkɑn
, -
,
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
, , Molly , , {{IPA, ˈmɑli
, -
,
Raab
Raab is a market town (''Marktgemeinde'') in the district of Schärding in Upper Austria in Austria.
History
The village historically belonged to the Duchy of Bavaria until the Treaty of Teschen transferred the area to Austria in 1780. During ...
, , rob , , {{IPA, ˈrɑb
, -
,
Saab
Saab or SAAB may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB
** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB
* Saab Automobile, a fo ...
, , sob , , {{IPA, ˈsɑb
, -
,
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
, , Shaw , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑ , , with the
cot-caught merger
, -
,
Siân
Siân (also Sian, Shân, Shahn; , ) is a Welsh feminine given name, equivalent to the English Jane, Scottish Sheena or Irish Siobhán. It is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhôḥānān), meaning “Yahweh is m ...
, ,
Sean
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
, , {{IPA, ˈʃɑn , , with the
cot-caught merger
, -
, Siân , ,
Shawn , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑn , , with the
cot-caught merger
, -
, Siân , , shone , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑn
, -
,
Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
, , stalling , , {{IPA, ˈstɑlɪn , , with the
cot-caught merger and
G-dropping.
{{sc2, LOT–CLOTH split
The {{sc2, LOT–CLOTH split is the result of a late 17th-century sound change that lengthened {{IPA, /ɒ/ to {{IPA,
ː} before
voiceless
In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies ...
fricative
A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in t ...
s, and also before {{IPA, /n/ in the word ''gone''. It was ultimately raised and merged with {{IPA, /ɔː/ of words like ''thought'', although in some accents that vowel is actually open {{IPA,
ː}. This means that {{sc2, CLOTH is not a separate vowel; rather, it means "either {{sc2, LOT or {{sc2, THOUGHT, depending on the accent". The sound change is most consistent in the last syllable of a word, and much less so elsewhere (see below). Some words that entered the language later, especially when used more in writing than speech, are exempt from the lengthening, e.g. ''joss'' and ''Goth'' with the short vowel. Similar changes took place in words with {{angbr, a; see
''trap–bath'' split and
/æ/-tensing.
The cot–caught merger, discussed below, has removed the distinction in some dialects.
As a result of the lengthening and raising, in the above-mentioned accents ''cross'' rhymes with ''sauce'', and ''soft'' and ''cloth'' also have the vowel {{IPA, /ɔː/. Accents affected by this change include
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...
accents that lack the
cot-caught merger and, originally,
RP, although today words of this group almost always have short {{IPA, /ɒ/ in RP. The split still exists in some older RP speakers.
The lengthening and raising generally happened before the fricatives {{IPA, /f/, {{IPA, /θ/ and {{IPA, /s/. In American English the raising was extended to the environment before {{IPA, /ŋ/ and {{IPA, /ɡ/, and in a few words before {{IPA, /k/ as well, giving pronunciations like {{IPA, /lɔŋ/ for ''long'', {{IPA, /dɔɡ/ for ''dog'' and {{IPA, /ˈtʃɔklət/ for ''chocolate''.
In the varieties of
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...
that have the lot–cloth split, the ''lot'' vowel is usually symbolized as {{IPA, /ɑ/, often called the "short o" for historical reasons, as the corresponding RP vowel {{IPA, /ɒ/ is still short (and it contrasts with {{IPA, /ɑː/ as in ''father'' and ''start''). The ''thought'' vowel is usually transcribed as {{IPA, /ɔ/ and it is often called the "open o". Its actual phonetic realization may be open {{IPAblink, ɒ, whereas the ''lot'' vowel may be realized as central {{IPAblink, ä. Some words vary as to which vowel they have. For example, words that end in ''-og'' like ''frog'', ''hog'', ''fog'', ''log'', ''bog'' etc. have {{IPA, /ɑ/ rather than {{IPA, /ɔ/ in some accents.
There are also significant complexities in the pronunciation of written ''o'' occurring before one of the triggering phonemes {{IPA, /f θ s ŋ ɡ/ in a non-final syllable. However, the use of the open o as opposed to the short o is largely predictable. Just like with
/æ/-tensing and the
trap–bath split
The – split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in Southern English in England (including Received Pronunciation), Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English and to a lesser extent in some Welsh Engli ...
, there seems to be an open-syllable constraint. Namely, the change did not affect words with /ɑ/ in open syllables unless they were closely derived from words with {{IPA, /ɑ/ in close syllables. Hence {{IPA, /ɔ/ occurs in ''crossing'', ''crosser'', ''crosses'' because it occurs in ''cross''; likewise in ''longing'', ''longer'', ''longest'' because it occurs in ''long''. However, ''possible'', ''jostle'', ''impostor'', ''profit'', ''Gothic'', ''bongo'', ''Congo'', and ''boggle'' all have {{IPA, /ɑ/. However, there are still exceptions in words like ''Boston'' and ''foster''.
[{{Cite Merriam-Webster, foster] A further list of words is mentioned in the table below:
{, class="wikitable"
, +Vowels with lot–cloth splits
, -
!scope="col", Set
!scope="col", {{sc2, THOUGHT ({{IPA, /ɔ/)
!scope="col", {{sc, LOT ({{IPA, /ɑ/)
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-f/
, off, office, etc. , , profit
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-θ/
, cloth, moth, broth, etc. , , Goth, Gothic
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-s/
, loss, boss, etc. , , possible, jostle
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-st/
, Boston, foster, lost, etc. , , roster
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-ŋ/
, long, longest, etc. , , bongo, Congo
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-g/
, dog, frog, hog, etc. , , boggle
Some words may vary depending on the speaker like (''coffee'', ''offer'', ''donkey'', ''soggy'', ''boondoggle'', etc. with either {{IPA, /ɑ/ or {{IPA, /ɔ/).{{citation needed, date=May 2017 Meanwhile, other words vary by region. For example, in the
Mid-Atlantic U.S. dialect, most famously spoken in metropolitan
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, the single word ''on'' (pronounced {{IPA, /ɑn/ in General American) rhymes with ''dawn'' {{IPA, /dɔn/: {{IPA, /ɔn/ (in the mid-Atlantic, this vowel is diphthongized to {{IPA,
ə~oə})). Labov et al. regard this phenomenon as occurring not just in the Mid-Atlantic region, but in all regions south of a geographic boundary that they identify as the ON line, which is significant because it distinguishes most varieties of
Northern American English (in which ''on'' and ''Don'' are closer rhymes) from most varieties of
Midland and
Southern American English
Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, though concentrated increasingly in more rural areas, and spoken primarily by Wh ...
(in which ''on'' and ''dawn'' are closer rhymes).{{sfnp, Labov, Ash, Boberg, 2006, p=189
''Cot–caught'' merger
{{main, Cot–caught merger{{!''Cot–caught'' merger
The
''cot''–''caught'' merger (also known as the low back merger or the
{{sc2, LOT–THOUGHT merger) is a
phonemic merger occurring in many English accents, where the vowel sound in words like ''cot'', ''nod'', and ''stock'' (the {{sc2, LOT vowel), has merged with that of ''caught'', ''gnawed'', and ''stalk'' (the {{sc2, THOUGHT vowel). For example, with the merger, ''cot'' and ''caught'' become perfect
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
s.
Other changes
{{sc2, GOAT–THOUGHT merger
{{main, Rhoticity in English#Goat–thought–north–force merger
The {{sc2, GOAT–THOUGHT merger is a merger of the English vowels {{IPA, /oʊ/ and {{IPA, /ɔː/ that occurs in Bradford English and sometimes also in
Geordie and Northern
Welsh English
Welsh English ( cy, Saesneg Gymreig) comprises the dialects of English spoken by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words and gr ...
.
{{sc2, THOUGHT–FOOT merger
{{main, Rhoticity in English#Foot–goose–thought–north–force merger
The {{sc2, THOUGHT–FOOT merger is a merger of the English vowels {{IPA, /ɔː/ and {{IPA, /ʊ/ that occurs in morphologically closed syllables in cockney, rendering ''fought'' homophonous with ''foot'' as {{IPA,
fʊʔ}. It is possible only in fast speech.
{{sc2, THOUGHT–GOOSE merger
{{main, Rhoticity in English#Foot–goose–thought–north–force merger
The {{sc2, THOUGHT–GOOSE merger is a merger of the English vowels {{IPA, /ɔː/ and {{IPA, /uː/ that occurs in cockney, rendering ''hoard'' homophonous with ''who'd'' as {{IPA,
ʊd}, with the vowel quality that is typical of {{sc2, FOOT. It is possible only in fast speech and, in the case of {{IPA, /ɔː/ (but not {{IPA, /uː/), only in morphologically closed syllables.
{{sc2, THOUGHT split
In some London accents of English, the vowel in words such as ''thought,'' ''force,'' and ''north,'' which merged earlier on in these varieties of English, undergoes a conditional split based on syllable structure:
closed syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...
s have a higher vowel quality such as {{IPA,
ː} (possibly even {{IPA,
ʊ} in broad Cockney varieties), and
open syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "b ...
s have a lower vowel quality {{IPA,
̝ː} or a centering diphthong {{IPA,
ə}.
Originally-open syllables with an inflectional suffix (such as ''bored'') retain the lower vowel quality, creating minimal pairs such as ''bored'' {{IPA,
ɔəd} vs. ''board'' {{IPA,
oːd}.{{sfnp, Ostalski, 2009, pp=106–107
In broad
Geordie, some {{sc2, THOUGHT words (roughly, those spelled with ''a'', as in ''walk'' and ''talk'') have {{IPAblink, aː (which phonetically is the long counterpart of {{sc2, TRAP {{IPA, /a/) instead of the standard {{IPAblink, ɔː. Those are the traditional dialect forms which are being replaced with the standard {{IPAblink, ɔː. {{IPAblink, aː is therefore not necessarily a distinct phoneme in the vowel system of Geordie, also because it occurs as an allophone of {{IPA, /a/ before voiced consonants.{{sfnp, Wells, 1982, pp=360, 375
Distribution of /ɑː/
The distribution of the vowel transcribed with {{angbr IPA, ɑː in broad IPA varies greatly among dialects. It corresponds to {{IPA, /æ/, {{IPA, /ɒ/, {{IPA, /ɔː/ and (when not prevocalic within the same word) {{IPA, /ɑːr/ and even {{IPA, /ɔːr/ in other dialects:
* In non-rhotic dialects spoken outside of North America, {{IPA, /ɑː/ corresponds mostly to {{IPA, /ɑːr/ in General American and so is most often spelled {{angbr, ar. In dialects with the
trap–bath split
The – split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in Southern English in England (including Received Pronunciation), Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English and to a lesser extent in some Welsh Engli ...
(such as Received Pronunciation, New Zealand English and South African English), it also corresponds to GA {{IPA, /æ/, which means that it can also be spelled {{angbr, a before voiceless fricatives. In those dialects, {{IPA, /ɒ/ and {{IPA, /ɔː/ are separate phonemes.
* In native words, {{IPA, /ɑː/ in most non-rhotic speech of North America corresponds to both {{IPA, /ɑːr/ in GA (RP {{IPA, /ɑː/) and {{IPA, /ɒ/ in RP, as those dialects feature the
father–bother merger
The phonology of the open back vowels of the English language has undergone changes both overall and with regional variations, through Old and Middle English to the present. The sounds heard in modern English were significantly influenced by the ...
.
* In GA (which also features the father–bother merger), {{IPA, /ɑː/ mostly corresponds to {{IPA, /ɒ/ in RP.
* Many speakers in the US and most speakers in Canada use {{IPA, /ɑː/ not only for RP {{IPA, /ɒ/ but also for {{IPA, /ɔː/. Those dialects have the
cot–caught merger
The ''cot''–''caught'' merger or merger, formally known in linguistics as the low back merger, is a sound change present in some dialects of English where speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in "cot" and "caught". "Cot" and "caug ...
in addition to the father-bother merger (though a tiny minority of speakers lack the latter merger, like Scottish English).
* In loanwords, the open central unrounded vowel {{IPAblink, ä in the source language is regularly approximated with {{IPA, /ɑː/ in North America and {{IPA, /æ/ in RP. However, in the case of mid back rounded vowels spelled {{angbr, o, the usual North American approximation is {{IPA, /oʊ/, not {{IPA, /ɑː/ (in RP, it can be either {{IPA, /əʊ/ or {{IPA, /ɒ/). However, when the vowel is both stressed and word-final, the only possibilities in RP are {{IPA, /ɑː/ in the first case and {{IPA, /əʊ/ in the latter case, mirroring GA.
In many Scottish dialects, there is just one unrounded open vowel {{IPA, /a/ that has two allophones. Those dialects usually do not differentiate {{IPA, /ɒ/ from {{IPA, /ɔː/ and use {{IPAblink, ɔ for both.
For the sake of simplicity, instances of an unrounded {{sc2, LOT vowel (phonetically {{IPAblink, ɑ) that do not merge with {{sc2, PALM/{{sc2, START are excluded from the table below. For this reason, the traditional Norfolk dialect is included but the contemporary one, nor the Cardiff dialect, are not.
{, class="wikitable"
, + {{IPA, /ɑː/ in native words and non-recent loanwords
! rowspan="2" , Variety
! rowspan="2" ,
Rhotic
! colspan="9" , Mergers and splits
! colspan="6" ,
Possible spellings
, -
! {{small, {{IPA, /ɒrV-ɑːrV/ merger
! {{small,
card-cord merger
! {{small,
cot-caught merger
! {{small,
father-bother merger
The phonology of the open back vowels of the English language has undergone changes both overall and with regional variations, through Old and Middle English to the present. The sounds heard in modern English were significantly influenced by the ...
! {{small,
father-farther merger
! {{small,
god-guard merger
Rhoticity in English is the pronunciation of the historical rhotic consonant by English speakers. The presence or absence of rhoticity is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. In rhotic varieti ...
! {{small,
lot-cloth split
! {{small, trap-palm merger
! {{small,
trap-bath split
! {{angbr, a
! {{angbr, ar
! {{angbr, au
! {{angbr, aw
! {{angbr, o
! {{angbr, or
, -
!
Australian English
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, variable
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
Canadian English
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, yes
, yes
, yes
, no
, -
!
General American
General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
, yes
, no
, no
, variable
, yes
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, variable
, variable
, yes
, no
, -
!
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English (from Latin '' Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland ...
, yes
, no
, no
, variable
, no
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, variable
, no
, variable
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
New York City English
New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...
, variable
, possible
, no
, no
, variable
, variable
, variable
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, variable
, no
, -
!
New Zealand English
, mostly no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
Northeastern New England English
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, yes
, no
, {{N/A
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
Northern England English
The English language in Northern England has been shaped by the region's history of settlement and migration, and today encompasses a group of related dialects known as Northern England English (or, simply, Northern English in the United Kingd ...
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
Philadelphia English
Philadelphia English is a variety or dialect of American English native to Philadelphia and extending into Philadelphia's metropolitan area throughout the Delaware Valley, including southeastern Pennsylvania, counties of northern Delaware (esp ...
, yes
, possible
, no
, no
, yes
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, -
!
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
Scottish English
Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard ...
, variable
, no
, no
, variable
, no
, no
, no
, (unclear)
, variable
, mostly no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
South African English
, mostly no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, mostly yes
, no
, variable
, no
, yes
, yes
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
!
Southern American English
Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, though concentrated increasingly in more rural areas, and spoken primarily by Wh ...
, variable
, mostly no
, mostly no
, variable
, yes
, variable
, variable
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, variable
, variable
, variable
, yes
, mostly no
, -
! Traditional
Norfolk dialect
East Anglian English is a dialect of English spoken in East Anglia, primarily in or before the mid-20th century. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into modern Estuary English, which has largely replaced it. However, it has r ...
, no
, variable
, no
, no
, variable
, yes
, variable
, yes
, no
, yes
, variable
, variable
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, -
!
Welsh English
Welsh English ( cy, Saesneg Gymreig) comprises the dialects of English spoken by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words and gr ...
, mostly no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
Fronted /oʊ/
{{see also, English-language vowel changes before historic /l/#Goat split
In many dialects of English, the vowel {{IPA, /oʊ/ has undergone fronting. The exact phonetic value varies. Dialects with the fronted {{IPA, /oʊ/ include Received Pronunciation; Southern, Midland, and Mid-Atlantic American English; and Australian English. This fronting does not generally occur before {{IPA, /l/, a relatively retracted consonant.
Table
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
, + Stages leading to some of the open back vowels of General American, summarized from Wells (1982), with the ''cot''–''caught'' merger added
! , , ''law''
''ball''
''taught''
''caught'' , , ''off''
''cloth''
''loss'' , , ''lot''
''stop''
''rob''
''cot''
''bother'' , , ''father''
''palm''
''calm''
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Middle English
, rowspan="2" , {{IPA, aʊ , , {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɔ , , rowspan="4" , {{IPA, a
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Quality change
, rowspan="2" , {{IPA, ɒ , , rowspan="5" , {{IPA, ɒ
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! ''Thought''-monophthonging
, rowspan="5" , {{IPA, ɔː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Pre-fricative lengthening
, rowspan="4" , {{IPA, ɒː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! ''A''-lengthening
, {{IPA, aː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Quality change
, rowspan="2" , {{IPA, ɑː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! ''Lot''-unrounding
, {{IPA, ɑ
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Loss of distinctive length
, {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɒ , , rowspan="2" , {{IPA, (ɑ) , , rowspan="2" , {{IPA, ɑ
, - style="vertical-align: top;"
! ''Cloth''–''thought'' merger
, {{IPA, (ɔ) , , {{IPA, ɔ
, - style="vertical-align: top;"
! General American output
, {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɑ , , {{IPA, ɑ
, - style="vertical-align: top;"
! ''Cot''–''caught'' merger
, colspan="4" , {{IPA, ɑ
See also
*
Phonological history of the English language
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
*
Phonological history of English vowels
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
References
{{Reflist
Bibliography
* {{cite book
, last=Barber
, first=Charles Laurence
, title=Early modern English
, edition=second
, location=Edinburgh
, publisher=Edinburgh University Press
, year=1997
, isbn=0-7486-0835-4
, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iat4Bk_YeR4C
* {{cite book
, last1=Labov
, first1=William
, author-link=William Labov
, last2=Ash
, first2=Sharon
, last3=Boberg
, first3=Charles
, title=The Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology, and Sound Change: a Multimedia Reference Tool
, publisher=Walter de Gruyter
, year= 2006
, isbn=3-11-016746-8
, location=Berlin; New York
, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qa4-dFqi6iMC
* {{cite journal
, last=Ostalski
, first=Przemysław
, title=Back Vowels in British and American English
, journal=Przedsiębiorczość I Zarządzanie
, volume=5
, issue=4
, year=2009
, pages= 105–118
, url=http://www.swspiz.pl/wydawnictwo/pliki/2009/X-4.pdf
, access-date=2 February 2016
* {{Accents of English
{{History of English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phonological History Of English Open Back Vowels
Scottish English
American English
English language in Canada
Splits and mergers in English phonology
Sociolinguistics