Page:An outline of English phonetics ... with 131 illustrations (IA cu31924027389505).pdf/22

4 in normal Southern English the pronunciation is pɑːt (§ 250). In many parts of the North and the West of England on the other hand, the effect of the r appears as a modification known as “inversion” of the preceding vowel (see § 515). In educated Parisian speech the vowel represented by an in sans is ɑ̃ (viz. a nazalized ɑ, §§ 96, 420), while in Lausanne it often tends towards ã (a nazalized a, § 404). In North Germany initial w as in Wein is generally pronounced v, but in Middle and South Germany it is more often pronounced ʋ (a sound intermediate between v and w, § 351).

21. The following are examples of differences between educated and uneducated speech. Uneducated speakers in many parts of England omit the standard English sound h altogether; in Cockney, words like name are pronounced with the diphthong ai or æi instead of ei (naim or næim instead of the normal neim). In popular Parisian the French brun is often pronounced brɛ̃ instead of the standard brœ̃ (the vowel being a nazalized ɛ, § 393). In Berlin it is regarded by many as a vulgarism to pronounce der (which in stage pronunciation is deːr, dɛr, or dər according to circumstances) as dɛɑ. Many Germans regard as a vulgarism jə′jeːbm, which may often be observed instead of the stage pronunciation gə′geːbən (gegeben).

22. The differences between the pronunciation of old and young persons, and between that of women and men of the same locality and social position, are sometimes very marked. Thus in English the word soft is more usually pronounced sɔːft by educated men in the South, but ladies more often say sɔftː of the two forms of which, hwitʃ and witʃ, the former is more frequent among ladies and the latter among men.

23. Individual peculiarities may be the result of habit, e. g. childish mispronunciations which have never been corrected, or they may arise from some physical defect.

24. The existence of all these differences renders it necessary to set up a standard of pronunciation. Many suitable standards of English pronunciation might be suggested, e. g. educated Northern English, educated Southern English, the pronunciation commonly used on the stage, etc. It is convenient for present purposes to choose as the standard of English pronunciation the form which appears to be most generally used by Southern English persons who have been educated at the great English public boarding schools. Where such usage varies, that form will be chosen which is shown by experience to give the best results with foreigners (see preface).