Differences Between English of Ireland and Northern Ireland

The English spoken in Ireland is different from that of Northern Ireland. In fact, the English spoken in Ireland and Northern Ireland varies from one region to another. Nevertheless, the two varieties are clearly distinct.

The English of Ireland and Northern Ireland is rhotic. The /r/ is pronounced in all positions. North Dublin, however, has low rhoticity. This is especially true when the /r/ is in an unstressed syllable. 

The intervocalic /d/ and /t/ are usually flapped in Northern Ireland. In Ireland, this is also possible, but many speakers from Ireland use intervocalic plosives. However, the voiceless /t/ can become voiced.

The vowels /o/ and /e/ are pronounced as monophthongs. This is not the case in many other varieties of English. In Dublin, however, these vowels are diphthongs.

The foot/strut split, a historical development which resulted in different vowels in foot and strut, definitely applies to Northern Ireland. In Ireland, however, many speakers use the foot vowel in words which do not have it in Standard English. This is especially true in North Dublin.

The intonation of Northern Ireland is often identified by its rising intonation. This intonation is also used in declarative statements. This is in contrast to the English of Ireland which does not use rising intonation in declarative statements.

The /l/ tends to be light in all positions, but many speakers in Dublin have velarized laterals syllable-finally. These velarized laterals are also found in many other varieties of English. They include RP and American English.

The interdental fricatives represented by the letters th are often pronounced as plosives in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, though, they are not pronounced as plosives. They are always pronounced as fricatives.

In Northern Ireland, words such as raise/rays and nose/knows are not pronounced identically. As in Scottish English, the words with affixes have longer vowels. The vowels of rays and knows are longer than the vowels of raise and nose.

Another difference is that words such as boot and goose are pronounced with a central vowel in Northern Ireland. The vowel is more advanced than the one used in Ireland. The vowel used in Northern Ireland resembles that of Scotland.

Though the English of Ireland and Northern Ireland share many similarities, they can be distinguished. The English of Northern Ireland has many influences from Scottish English. In Ireland, the English has been influenced more by the Irish language.

Yorkshire Assimilation Rule

The Yorkshire Assimilation Rule states that voiced obstruents become fully devoiced when followed by a voiceless segment. It occurs not only in Yorkshire but also in other parts of northern England. However, the rule is not categorical. It can occur word-internally and across word boundaries.

The following are examples in which the Yorkshire Assimilation Rule can apply:

bagpipe

egg salad

headquarters

lab coat

live performance

log cabin

newspaper

old car

sand castle

wide table

The process known as Yorkshire Assimilation was first termed by John Wells in 1982. It is an example of regressive assimilation. According to Kate Whisker-Taylor and Lynn Clark (2019), the frequency with which the rule is applied has declined in recent years. They also claim that is used most by older speakers.  

Inherent and Non-Inherent Adjectives

Most adjectives denote an attribute of the noun that they modify. In the phrase a blue car, an attribute of the car is that it is blue. Such adjectives are called inherent adjectives.

However, not all adjectives are related to the noun in the same manner. For example, a small businessman does not denote an attribute of the businessman. It cannot be rephrased as a businessman who is small. In fact, it refers to a businessman whose business is small.

Here are examples to illustrate the contrast between inherent and non-inherent adjectives:

Inherent                                         Non-Inherent

distant hills                                   distant relatives

old woman                                    old friend

complete chapter                         complete fool

heavy box                                     heavy smoker

new book                                      new friend

Inherent adjectives describe an intrinsic quality of the noun they modify. In the phrase heavy box, the box is heavy. In the phrase new book, the book is new, but in the phrase new friend, the word new simply indicates that two people have been friends for a short period of time. The phrase does not specify the age of the friends. The phrase late president is non-inherent because it means that the president is dead. However, the phrase late train is inherent because it denotes a train that runs late.

Use of Pronoun Vos in Spanish

The pronoun vos means you. It is an informal singular pronoun that is never used in Spain. However, it is used in a number of countries. They include Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.

For speakers who use vos, it is also used after prepositions. The word contigo (with you) is con vos. To say the phrase without you, sin vos is used instead of sin ti and  to say for you, para vos is used instead of para ti.

In most dialects that use vos, the verb only varies in the simple present and in the imperative. Here are examples with tú and vos in the simple present:

(tú) 

comes (eat)

duermes (sleep)

eres (are)

escribes (write)

hablas (speak)

haces (make)

juegas (play)

puedes (can)

quieres (want)

vienes (come)

(vos)

comés (eat)

dormís (sleep)

escribís (write)

hablás (speak)

hacés (make)

jugás (play)

podés (can)

querés (want)

sos (are)

venís (have)

The imperative with vos is stressed on the final syllable while the one with tú is stressed on the penultimate. Here are examples:

¡Comé!(Eat!)

¡Hablá! (Talk!)

¡Vení! (Come!)

¡Come!(Eat!)

¡Habla! (Talk!)

¡Ven! (Come!)

The pronoun vos is used exclusively in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay and also in other countries. However, it is not used in Spain and only in a small part of Mexico. In most dialects that use vos, verbs are the same as they are with tú with the exception of the simple present and the imperative.

Variation in Swiss German /r/

Swiss German differs from Standard German in many aspects. Most German speakers use a uvular /r/ before vowels and a vocalic /r/ after. These two sounds can be classified as consonantal /r/ and vocalic /r/. However, many speakers of Swiss German use the alveolar trill.

The pronunciation of the /r/ varies in Swiss German. Many speakers use the alveolar trill in all positions. However, in the northern parts of Switzerland such as Basel, the uvular trill and uvular fricative are common. 

The uvular /r/ is most common in urban areas and the alveolar /r/ in rural ones. In Basel, a city in northeastern Switzerland, the uvular /r/ is common, but in Pratteln, a suburban area not far from Basel, the uvular and alveolar pronunciations are both common.

The uvular /r/ is common in Standard German. However, in Swiss German the alveolar /r/ is the most common. The pronunciation of the /r/ varies in Swiss German. In certain parts of German-speaking Switzerland such as Basel, the uvular /r/ is preferred.

Scope of Negation

With verb phrases that contain modals, the modals are sometimes included within the scope of negation. The negation extends throughout the verb phrase. This is despite the fact that the modals always precede the adverb not or its contracted form. 

In the following sentences the modals are within the scope of negation:

David won't come to our party.            

Vanessa may not attend the concert.

The first sentence means that David has no desire to go to the party. In other words, he does not accept the invitation. In the case of the second sentence, Vanessa does not have permission to attend the concert. Maybe her parents have told her that she must stay home and study.

However, in the following sentences, the modal is not within the scope of negation. Only the meaning of the main verb is negated. Consider the following sentences:

I won't tell your brother.

Andrew might not pass the exam.

In the first sentence, the speaker promises not to tell the hearer's brother. In other words, the speakers agrees to the hearer's request. This is the opposite of the previous example in which the speaker declines the invitation to the party.

The second sentence expresses the possibility that Andrew could fail the exam. Here the modal might could also be replaced with could and may. It is not certain that Andrew will pass.

The sentence Vanessa may not attend the party is ambiguous. It has two possible interpretations. One is that Vanessa is not allowed to attend the party. In this interpretation, the modal is within the scope of negation. However, if may expresses probability, Vanessa may not attend the party has the meaning of Vanessa might not attend the party. In this case, the modal is outside the scope of negation.

The scope of negation does not always include modals in verb phrases. When the modal may is within the scope of negation, the meaning expresses prohibition. However, when the modal may is not within the scope of negation, the meaning expresses the probability that the intended event will not happen. Modals in verb phrases are sometimes within the scope of negation, and sometimes they are not.

English Loanwords in Maori

Maori is the indigenous language of New Zealand. It is a Polynesian language which has borrowed many words from English. However, Maori has few consonants. The result is that many English loanwords look quite different in Maori. 

In Maori long vowels are written with a bar over the vowel. All syllables end with a vowel. Here is a list of ten words to illustrate:

hararei (holiday)

hipi (sheep)

hupa (soup)

kāreti (carrot)

keke (cake)

kirīmi (cream)

miraka (milk)

paraihe (brush)

pēpi (baby)

tēpu (table)

witi (wheat)

From the list, it is clear that sh in English corresponds to h in Maori, l corresponds to r and b to p. The consonant clusters in brush and cream are not consonant clusters in Maori. Many Maori loanwords appear quite different from their English words.