Phonological history of English diphthongs

English diphthongs have undergone many changes since the Old and Middle English periods. The sound changes discussed here involved at least one phoneme which historically was a diphthong.

Old English

Old English diphthongs could be short or long. Both kinds arose from sound changes occurring in Old English itself, although the long forms sometimes also developed from Proto-Germanic diphthongs. They were mostly of the height-harmonic type (both elements at the same height) with the second element further back than the first. The set of diphthongs that occurred depended on dialect (and their exact pronunciation is in any case uncertain). Typical diphthongs are considered to have been as follows:

  • high, fully backing, /iu/ /iːu/, spelt io (found in Anglian dialects, but merged into /eo/ /eːo/ in Late West Saxon)
  • high, narrower, possibly /iy/ /iːy/ or /ie/ /iːe/, spelt ie (found in Late West Saxon)
  • mid, /eo/ /eːo/, spelt eo
  • low, /æɑ/ /æːɑ/, spelt ea

As with monophthongs, the length of the diphthongs was not indicated in spelling, but in modern editions of OE texts the long forms are often written with a macron: īo, īe, ēo, ēa.

In the transition from Old to Middle English, all of these diphthongs generally merged with monophthongs.

Middle English

Development of new diphthongs

Although the Old English diphthongs merged into monophthongs, Middle English began to develop a new set of diphthongs. Many of these came about through vocalization of the palatal approximant /j/ (usually from an earlier /ʝ/) or the labio-velar approximant /w/ (sometimes from an earlier voiced velar fricative [ɣ]), when they followed a vowel. For example:

  • OE dæg ("day") and weg ("way") (where the /ɡ/ had been palatalized to /j/) became [daj] and [wɛj]
  • OE clawu ("claw") and lagu ("law") became [klaw] and [law]

Diphthongs also arose as a result of vowel breaking before /h/ (which had allophones [x] and [ç] in this position – for the subsequent disappearance of these sounds, see h-loss). For example:

  • OE streht ("straight") became [strɛjçt]
  • OE þoht ("thought") became [θɒwxt]

The diphthongs that developed by these processes also came to be used in many loanwords, particularly those from Old French. For a table showing the development of the Middle English diphthongs, see Middle English phonology (diphthong equivalents).

Vein–vain merger

Early Middle English had two separate diphthongs /ɛj/ and /aj/. The vowel /ɛj/ was typically represented orthographically with "ei" or "ey", and the vowel /aj/ was typically represented orthographically with "ai" or ay". These came to be merged, perhaps by the fourteenth century.[1] The merger is reflected in all dialects of present-day English.

In early Middle English, before the merger, way and day, which came from Old English weġ and dæġ had /ej/ and /aj/ respectively. Similarly, vein and vain (borrowings from French) were pronounced differently as /vejn/ and /vajn/. After the merger, vein and vain were homophones, and way and day rhymed.

The merged vowel was a diphthong, something like /ɛj/ or /æj/. Later (around the 1800s) this diphthong would merge in most dialects with the monophthong of words like pane in the pane–pain merger.

Late Middle English

The English of southeastern England around 1400 had seven diphthongs,[2] of which three ended in /j/:

  • /ʊj/ as in boil, destroy, coin, join
  • /ɛj/ as in nail, day, whey (the product of the vein–vain merger)
  • /ɔj/ as in joy, noise, royal, coy

and four ended in /w/:

  • /ɪw/ as in view, new, due, use, lute, suit, adieu (the product of a merger of earlier /iw/ and /ew/, and incorporating French loans that originally had /y/)
  • /ɛw/ as in few, dew, ewe, shrewd, neuter, beauty
  • /ɔw/ as in low, soul
  • /ɑw/ as in cause, law, salt, change, chamber, psalm, half, dance, aunt.

Typical spellings are as in the examples above. The spellings eu and ew are both /ɪw/ and /ɛw/, and the spellings oi and oy are used for both /ɔj/ and /ʊj/. The most common words with ew pronounced /ɛw/ were dew, few, hew, lewd, mew, newt, pewter, sew, shew (show), shrew, shrewd and strew. Words in which /ʊj/ was commonly used included boil, coin, destroy, join, moist, point, poison, soil, spoil, Troy, turmoil and voice, although there was significant variation.[2]

Modern English

16th century

By the mid-16th century, the Great Vowel Shift had created two new diphthongs out of the former long close monophthongs /iː/ and /uː/ of Middle English. The diphthongs were /əɪ/ as in tide, and /əʊ/ as in house.[3] Thus, the English of south-eastern England could then have had nine diphthongs.

By the late 16th century, the inventory of diphthongs had been reduced as a result of several developments, all of which took place in the mid-to-late 16th century:[4]

  • /ɛw/ merged into /ɪw/ and so dew and due became homophones.
  • /ɛj/ (from the vein–vain merger) became monophthongized and merged with the /ɛː/ of words like name (which before the Great Vowel Shift had been long /aː/). For more information, see pane–pain merger, below.
    • For a time, many speakers had an /ɛː/ monophthong in pain distinct from an /æː/ monophthong in pane.[5]
  • /ɑw/, as in cause, became monophthongized to /ɒː/, later raising to modern /ɔː/.[5]
  • /ɔw/, as in low, was monophthongized to /ɔː/. That would later rise to /oː/, which merged with the vowel of toe; see toe–tow merger, below.

That left /ɪu/, /ɔɪ/, /ʊɪ/, /əɪ/ and /əʊ/ as the diphthongs of south-eastern England.

17th century

By the late 17th century, these further developments had taken place in the dialect of south-eastern England:[4]

  • The falling diphthong /ɪw/ of due and dew changed to a rising diphthong, which became the sequence [juː]. The change did not occur in all dialects, however; see Yod-dropping.
  • The diphthongs /əɪ/ and /əʊ/ of tide and house widened to /aɪ/ and /aʊ/, respectively.
  • The diphthong /ʊɪ/ merged into /əɪ/~/aɪ/. Contemporary literature had frequent rhymes such as Mindjoin'd in Congreve, joinline in Pope, childspoil'd in Swift, toilssmiles in Dryden. The present-day pronunciations with /ɔɪ/ in the oi words result from regional variants, which had always had /ɔɪ/, rather than /ʊɪ/, perhaps because of influence by the spelling.[6]

The changes above caused only the diphthongs /aɪ/, /aʊ/ and /ɔɪ/ to remain.

Later developments

In the 18th century or later, the monophthongs /eː/ and /oː/ (the products of the panepain and toetow mergers) became diphthongal in Standard English. That produced the vowels /eɪ/ and /oʊ/. In RP, the starting point of the latter diphthong has now become more centralized and is commonly written /əʊ/.

RP has also developed centering diphthongs /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/, as a result of breaking before /r/ and the loss of /r/ when it is not followed by another vowel (see English-language vowel changes before historic /r/). They occur in words like near, square and cure.

Present-day RP is thus normally analyzed as having eight diphthongs: the five closing diphthongs /eɪ/, /əʊ/, /aɪ/, /aʊ/, /ɔɪ/ (of face, goat, price, mouth and choice) and the three centering diphthongs /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/. General American does not have the centering diphthongs (at least, not as independent phonemes). For more information, see English phonology (vowels).

Variation in present-day English

Coilcurl merger

The coilcurl or oilearl merger is a vowel merger that historically occurred in some non-rhotic dialects of American English, making both /ə/ and /ɔɪ/ become /əɪ/. This is strongly associated with New York City English and New Orleans English, but only the latter has any modern presence of the feature.

Cotcoat merger

The cotcoat merger is a phenomenon exhibited by some speakers of Zulu English in which the phonemes /ɒ/ and /oʊ/ are not distinguished, making "cot" and "coat" homophones. Zulu English often also has a cot-caught merger, so that sets like "cot", "caught" and "coat" can be homophones.[7]

This merger can also be found in some broad Central Belt Scottish English accents. The merger of both sounds into /o/ is standard in Central Scots.

Lineloin merger

The lineloin merger is a merger between the diphthongs /aɪ/ and /ɔɪ/ that occurs in some accents of Southern English English, Hiberno-English, Newfoundland English, and Caribbean English. Pairs like line and loin, bile and boil, imply and employ are homophones in merging accents.[8]

Homophonous pairs
/aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ IPA
aisleoilˈɑɪl
allyalloyˈælɑɪ
bileboilˈbɑɪl
buyboyˈbɑɪ
byboyˈbɑɪ
byeboyˈbɑɪ
buybuoyˈbɑɪ
bybuoyˈbɑɪ
byebuoyˈbɑɪ
dividedevoiddɪˈvɑɪd
drieddroidˈdrɑɪd
filefoilˈfɑɪl
firefoyerˈfɑɪə(r)[Note 1]
grindgroinedˈɡrɑɪnd
guygoyˈɡɑɪ
heisthoistˈhɑɪst
hihoyˈhɑɪ
highhoyˈhɑɪ
Ioiˈɑɪ
Ioyˈɑɪ
I'lloilˈɑɪl
implyemployɪmˈplɑɪ
isleoilˈɑɪl
Jainjoinˈdʒɑɪn
Kaicoyˈkɑɪ
Kaikoiˈkɑɪ
kinecoinˈkɑɪn
Kylecoilˈkɑɪl
liarlawyerˈlɑɪə(r)
liedLloydˈlɑɪd
lineloinˈlɑɪn
Lyleloyalˈlɑɪəl[Note 2]
lyrelawyerˈlɑɪə(r)
milemoilˈmɑɪl
nighsnoiseˈnɑɪz
Nilenoilˈnɑɪl
piepoiˈpɑɪ
piespoiseˈpɑɪz
pintpointˈpɑɪnt
plyployˈplɑɪ
psisoyˈsɑɪ
quitequoitˈkwɑɪt
rideroidˈrɑɪd
rileroilˈrɑɪl
rileroyalˈrɑɪəl[Note 2]
ryeRoyˈrɑɪ
sighsoyˈsɑɪ
siresawyerˈsɑɪə(r)
siresoyaˈsɑɪə[Note 3]
Thaitoyˈtɑɪ
tidetoyedˈtɑɪd
tietoyˈtɑɪ
tiletoilˈtɑɪl
tryTroyˈtrɑɪ
vicevoiceˈvɑɪs
viedvoidˈvɑɪd
wryRoyˈrɑɪ

Long mid mergers

The earliest stage of Early Modern English had a contrast between the long mid monophthongs /eː, oː/ (as in pane and toe respectively) and the diphthongs /ɛj, ɔw/ (as in pain and tow respectively). In the vast majority of Modern English accents these have been merged, so that the pairs panepain and toetow are homophones. These mergers are grouped together by Wells[9] as the long mid mergers. All accents with the pane-pain merger have the toe-tow merger and vice versa.

The usual outcome of the merger is /ej/ and /ow/, with some dialects having /eː/ and /oː/. However, a few regional dialects maintain the distinction: East Anglia, south Wales, and in older Northern England, Scottish, Newfoundland, and Maine accents. As late as 1800s England, the distinction was still very widespread; the main areas with the merger were in the northern Home Counties and parts of the Midlands.[10]

In accents that preserve the distinction, the diphthong phoneme /ej/ is usually represented by the spellings ai, ay, ei, and ey as in pain, day, reign, or they; with /ow/ is being the spellings ou, ow, or ol as in soul, tow, bolt, or roll. The monophthong phoneme /eː/ is usually represented by ane, -ange, ae, aCV, ea, and borrowed é and e as in pane, baking, range, Mae, wear, café, and Santa Fe; while /oː/ is usually represented by oa, oe, or oCV as in boat, toe, home, or over.

The distinction is most often preserved in East Anglian accents, especially in Norfolk. Peter Trudgill[11] discusses this distinction, and states that "...until very recently, all Norfolk English speakers consistently and automatically maintained the nose-knows distinction... In the 1940s and 1950s, it was therefore a totally unremarkable feature of Norfolk English shared by all speakers, and therefore of no salience whatsoever." In a recent investigation into the English of the Fens,[12] young people in west Norfolk were found to be maintaining the toe-tow distinction, with back [ʊw] or [ɤʊ] in the toe set and central [ɐʉ] in the tow set. This has tow but not toe showing the influence of Estuary English. However, Trudgill also describes a disappearance of the pane-pain distinction in Norfolk: "This disappearance was being effected by the gradual and variable transfer of lexical items from the set of /eː/ to the set of /æɪ/ as part of dedialectalisation process, the end-point of which will soon be (a few speakers even today maintain a vestigial and variable distinction) the complete merger of the two lexical sets under /æɪ/ — the completion of a slow process of lexical diffusion.".[11]

Walters (2001)[13] reports the survival of the distinction in the Welsh English spoken in the Rhondda Valley, with [eː] in the pane words and [ɛj] in the pain words. Likewise, the Rhondda Valley, has [oː] in the toe words and [ow] in the tow words.

Pane-pain pairs
/eː/ /ej/ IPA
adeaidˈeɪd
aleailˈeɪl
ateeightˈeɪt[Note 4]
balebailˈbeɪl
badebayedˈbeɪd
blareBlairˈbleə(r)
blazeBlaiseˈbleɪz
caneCainˈkeɪn
cladeclayedˈkleɪd
ClareClaireˈkleə(r)
batebaitˈbeɪt
Dalydailyˈdeɪli
Danedeignˈdeɪn[Note 4]
dazedaysˈdeɪz
e'erairˈeə(r)
e'erheirˈeə(r)
ereairˈeə(r)
ereheirˈeə(r)
fanefainˈfeɪn
farefairˈfeə(r)
fazefaysˈfeɪz
flareflairˈfleə(r)
galeGailˈɡeɪl
gategaitˈɡeɪt
gazegaysˈɡeɪz
glaveglaiveˈɡleɪv[Note 5]
gradegrayedˈɡreɪd
grazegraysˈɡreɪz
halehailˈheɪl
harehairˈheə(r)
hazehaysˈheɪz
hazeheysˈheɪz
ladelaidˈleɪd
lanelainˈleɪn
lazelaysˈleɪz
mademaidˈmeɪd
MaeMayˈmeɪ
malemailˈmeɪl
manemainˈmeɪn
mazemaizeˈmeɪz
mazeMaysˈmeɪz
pagePaigeˈpeɪdʒ
palepailˈpeɪl
panepainˈpeɪn
parepairˈpeə(r)
pearpairˈpeə(r)
phasefaysˈfeɪz
phrasefraysˈfreɪz
planeplainˈpleɪn
plateplaitˈpleɪt
Raerayˈreɪ
razeraiseˈreɪz
razeraysˈreɪz
razorraiserˈreɪzə(r)
rerayˈreɪ
salesailˈseɪl
sanesainˈseɪn
saneseineˈseɪn
saneSeineˈseɪn
spadespayedˈspeɪd
starestairˈsteə(r)
suedeswayedˈsweɪd
taletailˈteɪl
theretheirˈðeə(r)
therethey'reˈðeə(r)
tradetrayedˈtreɪd
valevailˈveɪl
valeveilˈveɪl
vanevainˈveɪn
vaneveinˈveɪn
wadeweighedˈweɪd[Note 4]
walewailˈweɪl
waleswailsˈweɪlz
Waleswailsˈweɪlz
wanewainˈweɪn
waneWayneˈweɪn
wastewaistˈweɪst
wavewaiveˈweɪv
waverwaiverˈweɪv
whalewailˈweɪl[Note 6]
Toe-tow pairs
/oː/ /ou/ IPA
Bobowˈboʊ
bodebowedˈboʊd
bornebourn(e)ˈboə(r)n
borneBourneˈboə(r)n
coaledcoldˈkoʊld
coarsecourseˈkoə(r)s
do (note)doughˈdoʊ
doedoughˈdoʊ
dozedoughsˈdoʊz
floeflowˈfloʊ
foaledfoldˈfoʊld
forefourˈfoə(r)
forthfourthˈfoə(r)θ
frofrowˈfroʊ
froefrowˈfroʊ
frozefrowsˈfroʊz
groangrownˈɡroʊn
holedholdˈhoʊld
moanmownˈmoʊn
modemowedˈmoʊd
Moemowˈmoʊ
noknowˈnoʊ
noseknowsˈnoʊz
Ooweˈoʊ
odeowedˈoʊd
ohoweˈoʊ
polepollˈpoʊl
porepourˈpoə(r)
roadrowedˈroʊd
roderowedˈroʊd
roerowˈroʊ
rolerollˈroʊl
roserowsˈroʊz
shoneshewnˈʃoʊn
shoneshownˈʃoʊn
sosewˈsoʊ
sosowˈsoʊ
solesoulˈsoʊl
soledsoldˈsoʊld
soledsouledˈsoʊld
throethrowˈθroʊ
thronethrownˈθroʊn
toadtowedˈtoʊd
toetowˈtoʊ
toedtowedˈtoʊd
toletollˈtoʊl

Maremayor merger

The maremayor merger occurs in many varieties of British English, in the Philadelphia dialect, and the Baltimore dialect. The process has bisyllabic /eɪ.ə/ pronounced as the centering diphthong /eə/ in many words. Such varieties pronounce mayor as /ˈmeə(r)/, homophonous with mare.

North American English accents with the merger allow it to affect also sequences without /r/ since some words with the /eɪ.ə/ sequence merge with /eə/, which is associated with æ-tensing. Particularly in the case of /eə/ derived from /æ/, such words are frequently hypercorrected with /æ/. The best-known examples are mayonnaise (/ˈmeəneɪz~ˈmæneɪz/), crayon /ˈkreən~ˈkræn/, and Graham (/ˈɡreəm~ˈɡræm/, a homophone of gram).

Homophonous pairs
/eə/ /eɪə/ IPA
bareBayerˈbeə(r)[Note 7]
flareflayerˈfleə(r)
flairflayerˈfleə(r)
gram, grammeGrahamˈɡreəm[Note 8]
lairlayerˈleə(r)
maremayorˈmeə(r)
pairpayerˈpeə(r)
parepayerˈpeə(r)
pearpayerˈpeə(r)
prayerprayerˈpreə(r)
starestayerˈsteə(r)
swareswayerˈsweə(r)
swearswayerˈsweə(r)
therethey'reˈðeə(r)

Prideproud merger

The prideproud merger is a merger of the diphthongs /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ before voiced consonants into monophthongal /a/ occurring for some speakers of African American Vernacular English; making pride and proud, dine and down, find and found, etc. homophones. Some speakers with this merger, may also have the rod–ride merger hence having a three–way merger of /ɑ/, /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ before voiced consonants, making pride, prod, and proud and find, found and fond homophones.[14]

Homophonous pairs
/aɪ/ /aʊ/ IPA Notes
biboughˈba
bibowˈba
bidebowedˈbad
bightboutˈbat
biteboutˈbat
brinebrownˈbran
buyboughˈba
buybowˈba
byboughˈba
bybowˈba
byeboughˈba
byebowˈba
chaichowˈtʃa
Clydecloudˈklad
dinedownˈdan
diredourˈda(ə)r
dynedownˈdan
filefoulˈfal
filefowlˈfal
findfoundˈfand
finedfoundˈfand
flightfloutˈflat
Gilesjowlsˈdʒalz
hihowˈha
highhowˈha
hindhoundˈhand
Iowˈa
I'llowlˈal
irehourˈa(ə)r
ireourˈa(ə)r
isleowlˈal
Kaicowˈka
Kylecowlˈkal
liarlourˈla(ə)r
licelouseˈlas
liedloudˈlad
lightloutˈlat
liteloutˈlat
lyrelourˈla(ə)r
lyselouseˈlas
micemouseˈmas
mindmoundˈmand
minedmoundˈmand
nighnowˈna
ninenounˈnan
Nyenowˈna
phialfoulˈfa(ə)lWith vile-vial merger.
phialfowlˈfa(ə)lWith vile-vial merger.
plyplow; ploughˈpla
prideproudˈprad
priedproudˈprad
priesprowsˈpraz
priseprowsˈpraz
prizeprowsˈpraz
pryprowˈpra
pyrepowerˈpa(ə)r
riderowedˈrad
rightroutˈrat
rightrouteˈrat
rindroundˈrand]
riserouseˈraz
riserowsˈraz
riteroutˈrat
riterouteˈrat
ryerowˈra
ryesrouseˈraz
saisowˈsa
sighsowˈsa
signedsoundˈsand]
siresourˈsa(ə)r
sizesowsˈsaz
slysloughˈsla
thythouˈða
tietauˈta
tighttoutˈtat
tinetownˈtan
tritetroutˈtat
Tytauˈta
vievowˈva
whywowˈwaWith wine-whine merger.
wisewowsˈwaz
Y; wyewowˈwa

Rodride merger

The rodride merger is a merger of /ɑ/ and /aɪ/ occurring for some speakers of Southern American English and African American Vernacular English, in which rod and ride are merged as /rad/.[14] Some other speakers may keep the contrast, so that rod is /rɑd/ and ride is /rad/.

Homophonous pairs
/ɑ/ /aɪ/ IPA Notes
aheyeˈa
ahIˈa
baabuyˈba
baabyˈba
baabyeˈba
blotblightˈblat
bockbikeˈbak
bodbideˈbad
botbightˈbat
botbiteˈbat
boxbikesˈbaks
conkineˈkan
cotkiteˈkat
docdikeˈdak
dockdikeˈdak
domdimeˈdam
Domdimeˈdam
dondineˈdan
Dondineˈdan
fafieˈfa
farfireˈfar
gromgrimeˈgram
hahighˈha
hockhikeˈhak
hotheightˈhat
jargyreˈdʒar
jobgibe, jibeˈdʒab
knotknightˈnat
knotnightˈnat
lalieˈla
lalyeˈla
locklikeˈlak
lotlight, liteˈlat
loxlikesˈlaks
mamyˈma
marmireˈmar
mockmicˈmak
mockMikeˈmak
mommimeˈmam
mottemightˈmat
mottemiteˈmat
nahnighˈna
nahNyeˈna
notknightˈnat
notnightˈnat
oddideˈad
oddsidesˈadz
oxIke'sˈaks
papiˈpa
papieˈpa
parpyreˈpar
pockpikeˈpak
podpiedˈpad
plodpliedˈplad
plotplightˈplat
poppipeˈpap
poxpikesˈpaks
prodprideˈprad
prodpriedˈprad
promprimeˈpram
rahryeˈra
rocReichˈrak
rockReichˈrak
rodrideˈrad
ROMrimeˈram
ROMrhymeˈram
rotrightˈrat
rotriteˈrat
scrodscriedˈskrad
shahshyˈʃa
shodshiedˈʃad
slotsleightˈslat
slotslightˈslat
sockpsychˈsak
sodsideˈsad
sodsighedˈsad
sotsightˈsat
spaspyˈspa
sparspireˈspar
spotspiteˈspat
stropstripeˈstrap
swanswineˈswan
swapswipeˈswap
tatieˈta
tartire, tyreˈtar
todtideˈtad
todtiedˈtad
Toddtideˈtad
Toddtiedˈtad
tomtimeˈtam
tomthymeˈtam
Tomtimeˈtam
Tomthymeˈtam
toptypeˈtap
tottightˈtat
trodtriedˈtrad
trottriteˈtrat
wadwhy'dˈwadWith wine-whine merger.
wadwideˈwad
wattwhiteˈwatWith wine-whine merger.
wattwightˈwat

Smoothing of /aɪ.ə/

Smoothing of /aɪ.ə/ is a process that occurs in many varieties of British English where bisyllabic /aɪ.ə/ becomes the triphthong /aɪə/ in certain words with /aɪ.ə/. As a result, "scientific" is pronounced /saɪənˈtɪf.ɪk/ with three syllables and "science" is pronounced /ˈsa(ɪ)əns/ with one syllable.[15]

See also

Notes

  1. Foyer may also be pronounced /ˈfɑɪeɪ/ or /ˈfwɑːjeɪ/.
  2. With vilevial merger
  3. Non-rhotic accents
  4. With waitweight merger
  5. Homonyms
  6. With winewhine merger
  7. North American English pronunciation of Bayer
  8. With æ-tensing

References

  1. Wells (1982), p. 192
  2. Barber (1997), pp. 112–116
  3. Barber (1997), p. 108
  4. Barber (1997), pp. 108, 116
  5. Mazarin, André (2020-01-01). "The developmental progression of English vowel systems, 1500–1800: Evidence from grammarians". Ampersand. 7: 100058. doi:10.1016/j.amper.2020.100058. ISSN 2215-0390. S2CID 212820754.
  6. Barber (1997), pp. 115–116
  7. "Rodrik Wade, MA Thesis, Ch 4: Structural characteristics of Zulu English". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  8. Wells (1982), pp. 208–210
  9. Wells (1982), pp. 192–194, 337, 357, 384–385, 498
  10. Britain (2001)
  11. "Norfolk England Dialect Orthography". Friends of Norfolk Dialect. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  12. Britain (2002)
  13. Walters (2001)
  14. Wells (1982), p. 557
  15. Wells, John "Whatever happened to received pronunciation?" Wells: Whatever happened to received pronunciation? Author's webpage; accessed 19 April 2011.

Bibliography

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