Diphthongs

[ei]

In GA this diphthong is very often pronounced as [e]:

			ey
GA	[ei]		e	RP
	make [meyk]			[meik]
		[mek]
[əu]		[ow], [o]

In GA this diphthong is very often pronounced as [o]:

GA		RP
home	[howm]	[haum]
	[hom]

Very often in GA the length of the vowels [ɑ:], [ɔ:], [ɜ:] or the glide of centring diphthongs [ıə], [ɛə], [ɔə], [uə] is compensated with the help of the retroflexed [r] which is indicated by [h], [hr] or [^v] placed above the vowel phoneme:

e.g. GA	RP
here [hi^v] [hihr]	[hıə]
poor [pu^v] [puhr]	[puə]

Within the system of consonants principal differences in the pronunciation of GA and RP are the following:

[t]

In GA this consonant is short and voiced in intervocalic position, it is intermediate between [d] and [r]:

GA [ij]	RP
city ['sitij]	['siti]
pity ['pitij]	['piti]

[l]

In GA [l] is dark in all positions:

GA	RP
look [luk]	[luk]
fill [fil]	[fil]

[r]

In GA it is retroflexed, but not after [t], [d], [θ], [ʃ]. The symbol of a vowel retroflextion is [^v]. The retroflexed [r] is pronounced with a considerable lip rounding.

[j]

[u:]

In GA this sound is weakened and in words like news, Tuesday is not pronounced, e.g. [nu:z], [ˈtu:zdi].

Most of the principal differences between the GA and RP pronunciation are not absolute but combinatonary, which proves the GA dependend nature on the National English Language, the variant of which it represents.

The literary language (its structural unity is reflected in the orthoepic standard) may have variants which are manifested in the pronunciation of different large regional types and in the pronunciation typical of local dialects.

Dialectal variations of a national language are connected with idiolects used on a large territory, but they occur within the limits of literary style.

Regional variations in the pronunciation of a language peculiar to different styles are called stylistic variations. Stylistic variations are manifested in full style which is characteristic of distinct speech and colloquial style characteristic of familiar talk (rapid colloquial style).

The knowledge of language variations is very important for mastering a foreign language. Thus the knowledge of interdialectal variations helps to trace tendencies in the development of the phonetic system, to predict future changes, to explain causes of the existing phonetic changes.

The knowledge of stylistic differences is also of great importance in mastering a foreign language. During the first stages of learning a foreign language the teacher of English (or any other foreign language) should draw the attention of the learners to the peculiarities typical of careful or full style of speech. At the advanced stages of learning the other types of stylistic changes should be also introduced to enable the learners to understand rapid colloquial style.

H.C. Gimson considers it possible to single out within the British English two pronunciation types which are the following: 1) regional (educated, popular and modified), 2) received (conservative, general and advanced).

Educated and popular regional English are not influenced by RP. Modified Regional English may have some RP characteristics.

The conservative form of RP is used by the older generation. General Received English is adopted by the BBC. Advanced RP is used by young people of exclusive social groups and in certain professional circles for prestige value.

D. Jones points to the following modifications that have taken place within the English pronunciation system for the last thirty or forty years:

1. diphthongization of [i], [e], [æ];

2. lengthening of [e];

3. London dialect of [ɔ:];

4. southern English unrounded [u];

5. London dialect of [ɜ:];

6. London monophthongization of [ei];

7. southern English central first element in [əu];

8. reduction of [ei], [ai], [au];

9. the instability of the final elements of the closing diphthongs [ei], [əu], [ai], [au], [ɔi]. This weakening doesn't take place when the diphthongs occur in syllables closed by a fortis voiceless consonant, e.g. late, coat, light, rate, moat, night, doubt, voice.