northern welsh
Listening samples
Oral posture
Oral posture refers to a dialect or accent's "home base" in terms of articulatory settings - specifically the jaw, the lips, the tongue, the cheeks, and the velum (soft palate).
LIPS
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Lip posture is relatively neutral — neither strongly rounded nor spread. Welsh has a simpler rounding system than other dialects of English, and this bleeds into Welsh English. You won't find the exaggerated rounding of some British accents, nor the horizontal spread of American speech at its most casual.
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When the lips round, for vowels such as those the GOAT and THOUGHT lexical sets, it is only slight. Think about only activating the outer muscles of the lips, or even pursing the lips in towards the teeth.
Magic Phrase
A great way to find the oral posture of the North Welsh Accent is through a magic phrase "you know" which is frequently utilized by the speakers in the audio samples. KNOW is part of the GOAT lexical set, and the vowel is useful in feeling how the tongue can do the work in this accent rather than lip rounding. Focus on slightly arching the back of the tongue, and retracting it a bit.
JAW
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The jaw stays relatively raised, but flexible. — Sounds are not made with big jaw drops.
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You can think about the tongue really doing the work in this accent.
TONGUE
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The main star of the North Welsh accent's oral posture.
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The Welsh vowel system is organized around a front-to-central column, so the tongue body is active, forward, and present, especially in the formation of tapped R's, light L's (not the "dark" L you'll hear in other Welsh accent varieties), and central vowel sounds.
pronunciation
Welsh Vowel Chart
Vowels
Words like BATH/TRAP --> [ a ]
Front open vowel performed without lip rounding or much jaw opening. Think of a blueberry resting on the front of your tongue.
all of whom are exquisite actors
with huge landscapes and a vast emotional canvas.
WORDS LIKE LOT/CLOTH → [ ɒ̜ ]
Back open vowel performed with less lip rounding than its RP equivalent. Let the back of the tongue do the work by cupping (blueberry resting on the back of the tongue.
It was the last kind of film I shot before covid
this is the first song I kind of heard in Welsh
WORDS LIKE THOUGHT → [ ɔ̜ ]
Back fairly open vowel performed with less lip rounding than its RP equivalent. Let the back of the tongue do the work by slightcupping (blueberry resting on the back of the tongue).
I just had this kind of small epiphany one day.
we've been recalling it this week,
WORDS LIKE GOOSE → [ ʉ̜ ] or [ ɪu ]
Words spelled with /u/, /ue/, /ew/, or /eu/ will be pronounced with the diphthong [ ɪu ], as you’ll hear in the audio sample with the word AMUSE.
Words with the spelling /o/ or /oo/ will receive the [ ʉ̜ ] pronunciation. This vowel is erformed with less lip rounding. Let your tongue to the work, which is center body of tongue arching up high towards hard palate. Energy of the vowel lives in the center of the mouth.
we need to be thoroughly amused and entertained and moved
the more you remove yourself from the job you do
WORDS LIKE STRUT → [ ɜ ]
This vowel is performed with no lip rounding, and a raised jaw position. Again, you want to think of the tongue doing the work for you. The center of the tongue will slightly cup. Energy of the vowel lives in the center of the mouth.
for a number of reasons as a young punk rocker in north Wales,
WORDS LIKE GOAT → [ o̜̠ ]
Performed with less lip rounding. Tongue retracts slightly.
I mean, it's quite a long time ago, because I'm sure you know
they have to get you and take you home because your livestock
WORDS LIKE FACE → [ ëː ]
The FACE sound becomes a single vowel in North Welsh English. This is a close front vowel (tongue is slightly arched at the front) that is slightly centralized and has some length.
Acting in theater, for the first time, at quite a young age, gave me a sense of real responsibility.
it's so unfathomably shallow if two words could be put together in such a way.
WORDS LIKE PRICE → [ æ̈i ]
The onset of the PRICE diphthong is similar to the General American TRAP vowel, but a little more centralized. The coda of the diphthong is tense, moving towards the FLEECE vowel.
that song really genuinely does bring a tear to my eye,
to bridge that cultural divide,
WORDS LIKE MOUTH → [ ɐʉ̜ ]
Both the onset and coda of the MOUTH diphthong are central vowels, meaning the center of your tongue is doing all the work.
Basically the center body of your tongue is moving from fairly cupping to arching. Performed with less lip rounding.
I think the film's coming out at a perfect time for us all.
I cower and I get a round of applause
WORDS LIKE CHOICE → [ ɔi ]
The coda of this diphthong is very tense, moving towards the FLEECE vowel.
We need strong voices running our country, we need younger voices
RHOTICITY (R-COLORING)
Rhoticity in a Northern Welsh accent impacts the realization of the following lexical set groups: BATH, NURSE, START, SQUARE, NORTH, FORCE, CURE, NEAR, FIRE, HOUR. Here are some guide posts when dealing with /R/
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When /R/ comes after a vowel, but is followed by a consonant, the /R/ is dropped.
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In initial consonant clusters, such as in the word TRAP, BREAD, TRANCE, the /R/ will become tapped.
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When /R/ occurs between two vowels, it will generally be tapped.
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When a consonant precedes a word that starts with /R/, it will generally be tapped.
Dropped /R/ after a vowel and followed by a consonant:
Acting in theater, for the first time,
Tapped /R/ in consonant clusters:
So we shot it with all the freedoms that we so took for granted then,
/R/ occurring between two vowels
for a number of reasons
Consonant preceding a word that starts with /R/
Last Track is called bourgeois rock
WORDS LIKE NURSE → [ ɜ ]
In performing this central vowel, the center of the tongue will be slightly cupped. Little to no lip rounding.
This is the first song I kind of heard in Welsh
Matthew Vaughn of course who's somebody I've always wanted to work with
WORDS LIKE START → [ aː]
A front open central vowel performed with length. The same vowel you used for the BATH/TRAP lexical set.
He is like a mixture of Roxy Music, Iggy Pop and Bob Marley
you know that a car comes to get you every morning,
WORDS LIKE NORTH/FORCE → [ ɔ̜ ]
Similar to the RP NORTH/FORCE, but with less lip rounding.
The forced vanity
as a young punk rocker in north Wales
GLIDES
In words such as NEAR, FIRE, HOUR, Welsh speakers will sometimes add an extra glide at the offset of the word, so that NEAR becomes [nɪ.jə], FIRE becomes [fæ̈i.jə] and HOUR becomes [ɐʉ̜.wə].
FIRE: No translation required.
NEAR: that song really genuinely does bring a tear to my eye
HOUR: It's ours.
VOWEL REDUCTION RESISTANCE
North Welsh speakers have a tendency to retain the full vowel in the final unstressed vowel of a syllable. For example, in the word REPRESENTED, in American English, we tend to reduce that last vowel to a schwa. North Welsh speakers preserve the vowel, aiming for a pronunciation close to the DRESS vowel.
It's about how Wales is represented
PROSODY
FEATURE 1 - RISE FALL
A tendency for rise-fall patterns.
FEATURE 2 - PHYSICAL ENERGY OF THE PROSODY
There is a generalization that all Welsh accents have a lilting quality. While that can certainly be a quality of the Northern Welsh acccent, the physical energy of its rhythm feels more like bouncing a ball into the ground with your hand. Operative words are emphasized through a WRINGING action.
