Page6 Page6 Page6 Estuary English (London) Accent Origins and Influences Estuary English is an accent of English widely spoken in South East England, especially along the River Thames and its estuary. It can be heard from some people in London, north Surrey, north Kent, and south Essex. Estuary English shares many features with Cockney, and there is some debate among linguists as to where Cockney speech ends and Estuary English begins. The variety first came to public prominence in an article in the Times Educational Supplement in October 1984 arguing that it may eventually replace Received Pronunciation in the south-east. Studies have indicated that Estuary English is not a single coherent form of English; rather, it consists of some (but not all) phonetic features of working-class London speech spreading at various rates socially into middle-class speech and geographically into other accents of south-eastern England. Estuary English is widely encountered throughout the south and south-east of England, particularly among the young. Many consider it to be a working-class accent, though it is by no means limited to the working class. In the debate that surrounded a 1993 article about Estuary English, a London businessman claimed that Received
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Estuary English (London) AccentOrigins and Influences
Estuary English is an accent of English widely spoken in South East England, especially along the River Thames and its estuary. It can be heard from some people in London, north Surrey, north Kent, and south Essex. Estuary English shares many features with
Cockney, and there is some debate among linguists as to where Cockney speech ends and Estuary English begins.
The variety first came to public prominence in an article in the Times Educational Supplement in October 1984 arguing that it may eventually replace Received Pronunciation in the south-east. Studies have indicated that Estuary English is not a single coherent form of English; rather, it consists of some (but not all) phonetic features of working-class London speech spreading at various rates socially into middle-class speech and geographically into other accents of south-eastern England.
Estuary English is widely encountered throughout the south and south-east of England, particularly among the young. Many consider it to be a working-class accent, though it is by no means limited to the working class. In the debate that surrounded a 1993 article about Estuary English, a London businessman claimed that Received Pronunciation was perceived as ‘unfriendly’ or ‘unapproachable’, so Estuary English was now preferred for commercial purposes.1
Some people adopt the accent as a means of "blending in", appearing to be more working class, or in an attempt to appear to be "a common man" – sometimes this affectation of the accent is derisively referred to as "Mockney". A
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary_English
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move away from traditional RP accents is almost universal among middle class young people.
PlacementLook at the above picture and observe the size of a typical street in east London. They are not very wide and do not allow for a lot of room to move. Remember this with the accent:
The jaw is held in a neutral to first position (depending on the depth of the vowel); the soft palate is low with the cheeks soft and the lips neutral. This may facially and vocally appear as quite non-committal allowing for little tonal variation or inflection.
The tone is clearly pressed through the hard palate and the alveolar ridge. And as a result of this, the sound can seem monotonous and nasal. It may lack resonance as the jaw does not drop open to the level it does in RP.
The accent shares strong consonant similarities with its Cockney cousin but clear differences in the shape of the vowels.
Steps to learning the Estuary English (London) Accent
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Accent2 Rhotic Zone Tone Setting DirectionEstuary English
(London)
No 2/3 (Alveolar Ridge/ Hard
Palate)
Brass band
Jaw: Held in a neutral to 1st position.
Soft palate: low.
Cheeks: Soft Tongue:
Movement through the body, use of the blade as opposed to the tip to dentalise certain sounds
Lips: neutral.
Punched up into the hard palate and forward on the teeth
Action:Shadowboxing
N.B. If the accent starts to waver, always return to the placement to reset the sound.
Recordings: see attached recording made by Sam Londt 31/01/15
Famous Londoners (or associated with): David Beckham, Jamie Oliver, Jessie J, Adele, Kate Moss, Jason Statham. Lily Allen, Guy Ritchie, Johnny Vaughan, Danny Dyer and Ben Elton.
Films: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch.
TV: Eastenders, Only Fools and Horses.
Practice Sentence: Weu(l)? I was ‘opin to go runnin’ laʔə. But I fink we mighʔ be doin summink nex’ Choosday.
2 Table adapted from Sharpe and Rowles book: ‘How to do Accents’.(2009)
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The Major Players: The ‘r’ sound The Estuary English (London) accent is a non-rhotic accent. Therefore final ‘r’s are not pronounced. The quality of the /r/ sound is not as clean as the RP version and may be made with less specificity.
Practice Sentences : ‘ Wea’s that sca’f from the fai’ whe’e the cu’e mirro’ is.’
The Major Players: ‘l’ Sound
Light [l] is used. This is made using the tongue tip as it flicks up and down from the alveolar ridge to behind the bottom teeth. The jaw remains in the neutral thus giving the /l/ a less clear quality.
Practice Sentence : ‘Larry the lazy lamb slept peacefully in the field until hailstones fell.’
Dark L [ɬ3] in a final position can sometimes shift into a vowel – e.g. milk – miu(l)k, well – weu(l), table – tabu(l).
Practice Sentence : ‘Weu’? Why’s that miuk’ on the tabu’?
The Major Players: ‘h’ sound
Lose initial /h/.Practice Sentence: We ‘ave to. We ‘ave to ‘ide. We ‘ave to ‘ide in ‘ere.’I ‘ope so. I ‘ope you ‘ave. I ‘ope you ‘ave your ‘at.
The Major Players: ‘ng’ sound Lose the /g/ in –ing ends on verbs.
Practice Words: ‘runnin’, callin’, fallin’.
The Major Players: ‘ing’ sound
3 http://ipa.typeit.org/full/
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The /ING/ [ŋ]sound is replaced with /INK/: ‘nothing’ becomes ‘nuffink’, ‘something’ becomes ‘summink.’
The Major Players: ‘th’ (voiced and voiceless) sound Changes from a voiceless dental fricative /th/ [θ] to the labio dental fricative /f/.
Practice Sentence: ‘It’s a fick pafetic brof.’
For the voiced version of /th/ [ð] the sound changes to a [d] at the beginning of a word and a [v] quality in the mid-word positon. Practice Sentence: ‘Look at dose bruvvers bave.’
The Major Players: ‘p’ ‘t’ ‘k’ sound P, T, K - Sounds are heavily aspirated but more in the primary than in the end position. (e.g. Pick Talk. Call.)
In the case of the /t/ sound - the tongue can be sloppy and leave the alveolar ridge to bleed into an s sound – (e.g. tea becomes tsi:)
Or in the case of a mid word (or final) position /t/ the plosive may be replaced with a glottal stop [ʔ]. e.g. Paper - paʔə, butterfly - buʔʔəfly, wet - weʔ writer - wriʔə, sitting- siʔʔin, lot of - loʔ ov.
Practice Sentence: ‘Laʔer on froughouʔ de nighʔ, Peʔə will caʔə in the tighʔ park.’
The Major Players: ‘ch’ sound
There is no use of yods in the estuary English (London) accent. The ‘ch’ [tʃ] sound either at the beginning of a word or in the mid word position stays. No use of Yods.
Practice Sentence : ‘tʃuesday was a natʃural day t’ go ʔ tʃurch.’
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Estuary English (London): Practice Sentences for Shaping Short Vowel SoundsVowel sounds Mouth/Tongue shape Practice sentence
The RP [I] vowel in ‘kit’. Jaw: remains neutral
Tongue: slightly further back [I] in RP – moves from the lifted [I] to central [ə]
Lips: remain neutral
Br[I]dgeʔ w[I]ckedly k[I]ked her l[I]ʔle s[I]ster and h[I]ʔ her w[I]v her f[I]sts.
The RP [e] vowel in ‘dress’. Jaw: remains neutral.
Tongue: is flatter than the RP which is (usually in the neutral flat position in the middle of the mouth.)
Lips: remain neutral.
[E]vid[e]ntly Fr[e]d int[e]nds r[e]v[e]nge by s[e]nding a dr[e]adful l[e]ʔer.
The RP [æ] vowel in ‘trap’. Jaw: Remains in the neutral position and is tighter. It does not drop open as RP.
Tongue: Works exactly the same as the RP (lays flat in the mouth) but the sound is restricted because of the lack of jaw depth.
Lips: remain neutral.
The bl[æ]ck c[æ]ʔ that’s s[æ]ʔ on the m[æ]ʔ, h[æ]ving a n[æ]p, h[æ]s fl[æ]ʔ, fl[æ]ppy ears.
The RP [ʌ] vowel in ‘cut’. Jaw: Remains in neutral to first position. C[ʌ]/[ə]me tə L[ʌ]/[ə]ndon
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Tongue: In RP it would lay in a gentle flat position along the bottom of the mouth and bounce on the middle of the tongue. In EE it moves upward to an [ʌ] or [ə] position.
Lips: Lips follow the jaw. Still spread.
[ʌ]/[ə]ne S[ʌ]/[ə]nday m[ʌ]/[ə]ver.
The RP [ɒ] vowel in ‘lot’. Jaw: Remains in first position.
Tongue: In EE the tongue drops flatter and the sound is made in the back of the mouth as per RP.
Lips: Remain neutral.
T[ɒ]m’s d[ɒ]g squ[ɒ]ʔed and w[ɒ]tched him sh[ɒ]p for h[ɒ]ʔ s[ɒ]sages.
The RP [ʊ] vowel in ‘foot’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first position.
Tongue: In RP the tongue rises to the back/middle of the mouth. In EE the [ʊ] sound lowers from the high RP position to a more centralised [ə], but still back in the mouth, position.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
G[ʊ]d c[ʊ]kery b[ʊ]ks c[ʊ]ld be f[ʊ]ll of s[ʊ]gary w[ʊ]d.
The RP [ə] vowel in ‘again’. Jaw: Remains in the neutral/first H[ə]r moth[ə]r op[ə]ned the
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position. Jaw tightness flattens the schwa vowels sound.
Tongue: As per RP
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
leʔ[ə]r thaʔ was [ə]ddressed t[ə] h[ə]r fath[ə]r.
Estuary English (London): Practice Sentences for Shaping Long Vowel Sounds
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Vowel sounds Mouth/Tongue shape Practice sentence
The RP [i:] vowel in ‘please’. Jaw: Remains in the neutral/first position. Jaw tightness flattens the vowel sound.
Tongue: As per RP [I] sound but elongated and centralised.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
Pl[I:]se be p[I:]ceful and discr[I:]ʔ by l[I:]ving the t[I:]m imm[I:]diaʔely.
The RP [ɜ:] vowel in ‘nurse’. Jaw: Remains in the neutral/first position. Jaw tightness flattens the vowel sound.
Tongue: As per RP sound.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
That n[ɜ:]rse is geʔin’ w[ɜ:]rse at c[ɜ:]rsin’.
The RP [a:] vowel in ‘bath’. Jaw: First position. Jaw tightness flattens the vowel sound.
Tongue: As per RP
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
L[ɑ:]ghin’ h[ɑ:]rd aʔ m[ɑ:]rgareʔ’s c[ɑ:]r
The RP [ɔ:] vowel in ‘thought’.
Jaw: Remains in the neutral/first position. Jaw tightness flattens the
B[ɔ:]red with [ɔ:]ll the t[ɔ:]lking my sm[ɔ:]ll
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vowel sound.
Tongue: Flatter than RP which normally lifts higher at the back. In EE let the tongue remain flat and centralise the vowel sound.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
d[ɔ:]ghʔer’s j[ɔ:]w opened m[ɔ:]re with a y[ɔ:]wn
The RP [u:] vowel in ‘goose’. Jaw: Remains in the neutral/first position. Jaw tightness flattens the vowel sound.
Tongue: In RP the back of the tongue lifts quite high. In EE the tongue remains quite flat but with a gentle rise in the back.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
Feeling in a gl[u:]my m[u:]d, J[u:]de fr[u:]w ch[u:]wed fr[u:]iʔ at dhe bl[u:]e m[u:]n.
Estuary English (London): Practice Sentences for Shaping Diphthong Vowel Sounds
Vowel sounds Mouth/Tongue shape Practice sentence
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The RP [ɪə] vowel in ‘near’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Starts at the EE [I] vowel and attempts to glide to the neutral but is cut short, staying with primary vowel.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
It’s w[ɪə]rd n[ɪə]r h[ɪə]r
The RP [eə] vowel in ‘square’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Start at the EE [e] vowel and attempts to glide to the neutral but is cut short and stays with the primary vowel.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
The c[eə]reless h[eə]re d[eə]ringly st[eə]red aʔ the p[eə]ir of b[eə]rs.
The RP [ʊə] vowel in ‘cure’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Starts at EE [ʊ] vowel, attempts glide to neutral but merges.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
S[ʊə]rely end[ʊə]ring another
t[ʊə]r in the m[ʊə]rs is p[ʊə]re hell.
The RP [eɪ] vowel in ‘face’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Start at the EE [e] vowel and
P[eɪ]ce and f[eɪ]ce sp[eɪ]ce m[eɪ]ke verbal gr[eɪ]ce on a
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attempts to glide to the [I] vowel but the two merge almost immediately.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
d[eɪ]ily b[eɪ]sis.
The RP [ɔɪ] vowel in ‘choice’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Start at the EE [ɔ] vowel and attempts to glide to the [I] vowel and just makes it, but not for long.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
J[ɔɪ]ce was empl[ɔɪ]yed to h[ɔɪ]st and b[ɔɪ]l [ɔɪ]sters.
The RP [aɪ] vowel in ‘price’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Start at the EE [a] vowel and attempts to glide to the [I] vowel and just makes it, but not for long.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
Aʔ m[aɪ] t[aɪ]me of l[aɪ]fe aɪ feel l[aɪ]ke fl[aɪ]ing h[aɪ]gh and sm[aɪ]ling w[aɪ]de.Where’s m[I] scarf?
The RP [əʊ] vowel in ‘goat’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Start at the EE [ə] vowel and attempts to glide to the [ʊ] vowel but
D[əʊ]n’ʔ thr[əʊ]w st[əʊ]nes into l[əʊ]nely h[əʊ]les with n[əʊ] kn[əʊ]wing.
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the two merge almost immediately.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
The RP [aʊ] vowel in ‘mouth’. Jaw: Remains in neutral/first positon.
Tongue: Start at the EE [a] vowel and attempts to glide to the [ʊ] vowel and just makes it.
Lips: Remain as neutral as possible.
H[aʊ]rs an h[aʊ]rs of l[aʊ]d c[aʊ]nʔless fl[aʊ]wers.
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Quick Sentence Cheat ListShort vowels
[I]
Normal Bridget kicked her little sister and hit her with her fists.
Phonetic Br[I]dgeʔ w[I]ckedly k[I]ked her l[I]ʔle s[I]ster and h[I]ʔ her w[I]v her f[I]sts.
[e]
Normal Evidently Fred intends revenge by sending a dreadful letter.
Phonetic [E]vid[e]ntly Fr[e]d int[e]nds r[e]v[e]nge by s[e]nding a dr[e]adful l[e] ʔer.
[æ]
Normal The black cat, that’s sat on the mat, having a nap, has flat, flappy ears.
Phonetic The bl[æ]ck c[æ]ʔ that’s s[æ]ʔ on the m[æ]ʔ, h[æ]ving a n[æ]p, h[æ]s fl[æ]ʔ, fl[æ]ppy ears.
[ʌ]
Normal Come to London one Sunday, mother.
Phonetic C[ʌ]/[ə] me tə L[ʌ]/[ə] ndon [ʌ]/[ə] ne S[ʌ]/[ə] nday m[ʌ]/[ə]ver.
[ɒ]
Normal Tom’s dog squatted and watched him shop for hot sausages.
Phonetic T[ɒ]m’s d[ɒ]g squ[ɒ]ʔed and w[ɒ]tched him sh[ɒ]p for h[ɒ]ʔ s[ɒ]sages.
[ʊ]
Normal Good cookery books could be full of sugary wood.
Phonetic G[ʊ]d c[ʊ]kery b[ʊ]ks c[ʊ]ld be f[ʊ]ll of s[ʊ]gary w[ʊ]d.
[ə]
Normal Her mother opened the letter addressed to her father.
Phonetic H[ə]r moth[ə]r op[ə]ned the leʔ[ə]r thaʔ was [ə]ddressed t[ə] h[ə]r fath[ə]r.
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Long vowels
[i:]
Normal Please be peaceful and discreet by leaving the team immediately.
Phonetic Pl[I:]se be p[I:]ceful and discr[I:]ʔ by l[I:]ving the t[I:]m imm[I:]diaʔely.
[ɜ:]
Normal That nurse is getting worse at cursing.
Phonetic That n[ɜ:]rse is geʔin’ w[ɜ:]rse at c[ɜ:]rsin’.
[a:]
Normal Laughing hard Margaret’s car.
Phonetic L[ɑ:]ughin’ h[ɑ:]rd aʔ m[ɑ:]rgareʔ’s c[ɑ:]r
[ɔ:]Normal Bored with all the talking, my small daughters
jaw opened more with a yawn.
Phonetic B[ɔ:]red with [ɔ:]ll the t[ɔ:]lking my sm[ɔ:]ll d[ɔ:]ghʔer’s j[ɔ:]w opened m[ɔ:]re with a y[ɔ:]wn
[u:]
Normal Feeling in a gloomy mood Jude threw chewed fruit at the blue moon.
Phonetic Feeling in a gl[u:]my m[u:]d, J[u:]de fr[u:]w ch[u:]wed fr[u:]iʔ at dhe bl[u:]e m[u:]n
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Diphthongs
[ɪə]
Normal He disappeared? How weird.
Phonetic He disapp[ɪə]rd? How w[ɪə]rd.
[eə] Normal The careless hare daringly stared at the pair of bears.
Phonetic The c[eə]reless h[eə]re d[eə]ringly st[eə]red aʔ the p[eə]ir of b[eə]rs.
[ʊə] Normal Surely enduring another tour on the moors is pure hell.
Phonetic S[ʊə]rely end[ʊə]ring another t[ʊə]r in the m[ʊə]rs is p[ʊə]re hell.
[eɪ] Normal Pace and face space make verbal grace on a daily basis.
Phonetic P[eɪ]ce and f[eɪ]ce sp[eɪ]ce m[eɪ]ke verbal gr[eɪ]ce on a d[eɪ]ily b[eɪ]sis.
[ɔɪ] Normal Joyce was employed to hoist and boil oysters.
Phonetic J[ɔɪ]ce was empl[ɔɪ]yed to h[ɔɪ]st and b[ɔɪ]l [ɔɪ]sters.
[aɪ] Normal I feel like flying high and smiling wide.
Where’s my scarf?
Phonetic Aʔ m[aɪ] t[aɪ]me of l[aɪ]fe aɪ feel l[aɪ]ke fl[aɪ]ing h[aɪ]gh and sm[aɪ]ling w[aɪ]de.
Where’s m[I] scarf?
[əʊ] Normal Don’t throw stones into lonely holes with no knowing.
Phonetic D[əʊ]n’ʔ thr[əʊ]w st[əʊ]nes into l[əʊ]nely h[əʊ]les with n[əʊ] kn[əʊ]wing.
[aʊ] Normal Hours and hours of loud countless flowers.
Phonetic H[aʊ]rs an h[aʊ]rs of l[aʊ]d c[aʊ]nʔless fl[aʊ]wers.
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