ABSTRACT
A general phonetic assessment of the qualities of these vowels in GB, in terms of the Cardinal Vowels (see §4.4.2 above), is made on p. 97, with examples in word-final and word non-final positions.
Final. Non-jinal. Quality Notation I Short
bid centralised, raised [e] III bed between [e] and [10] lei bad near [al lai bod C.[n] Inl hood centralised, raised [0] lul bud central, open-mid !AI
barber aboard central, mid I;}I 11 Long (relatively pure) pea bead lowered [i] or [ri] li:1 pair bared C.[f] or [f;}] IE:! par bard centralised [a] la:1 purr bird central, mid 13:1 paw board raised [;)] 1;):1 pooh booed centralised [u] or [ur] lu:1 11 Long (diphthongal glides, with prominent first element) (a) glide to [I] pay fail pie file coy foil
(b) glide to [u] no load now loud
(c) glide to [;}] peer beard poor moored
Notes
lowered [e] ---> [I] between lal and lcl ---> [I] [;)] ---> [I]
[;}] ---> [u] between lal and lcl ---> [u]
feil lall I;)II
(1) Word-final unaccented III has now been replaced in all but the oldest OB speakers by lil in word-final position, e.g. in copy (see §8.9.2(2)). This change is much less complete in inflected forms, e.g. in copies, copied. Although this lil is, strictly speaking, not a separate phoneme, in phonemic transcriptions throughout the book, final unaccented Ii/ is generally shown rather than II I, e.g. pity /prti/, This is partly to bring this book into line with current pronouncing dictionaries, partly to show that Ii/ is much shorter than li:1 word-finally, and partly to show that alternative pronunciations with III are used by some speakers, particularly speakers of COB. This final short lil contrasts with li:1 in word-final position, cf, lil in pity, probably, mummy, folly with li:1 in aborigine, filigree, jubilee, epitome. This short lil is also
heard and transcribed (rather than Ir/) when it occurs before other vowels as in recreation /rekri' erfJ;l1 and in the prefixes in words like semicircle /'semis3:kV and antidote /'antid;:lutl.
