Perception, production, variation and change

The GOAT vowel [oː] is a ‘mainstream’ northern variant (Watt 2002, 47) and it is the most common one in the MMB data set. The map shows that [oː] is associated mainly with the southern and central perceptual sectors. The centralized monophthong [ɵː], on the other hand, is preferred by speakers mainly in the north of the northern sector.

The picture for FACE is more complicated, with the mainstream northern variant [eː] widespread in the region, but also a more open vowel [ɛː] associated with parts of the southern perceptual sector and the south west of the central sector. Additionally, two diphthongized variants of the FACE vowel occur: [eə] and [eːə]. These are associated particularly with the east of the northern sector.

What about the spatial distribution of variants in the MOUTH, NURSE, and START vowels?

The monophthong [uː] in mouth, a pronunciation reflected in vernacular spellings such as <toon> (‘town’), <aboot> (‘about’), and <doon> (‘down’), is widely regarded as a “traditional Tyneside pronunciation” (Beal 2000:348), associated with some locations in the northern perceptual sector, while elsewhere the diphthongs [əʊ], [aʊ], and [ɛʊ] are prevalent.

In NURSE, there appears to be a regional north–south divide, with [øː] occurring mainly in the northern sector and [ɛː] in the southern. A third variant [ɔː] is associated with the broadest Geordie accents (Wells 1982:374), and it occurs only in the speech of the interviewee from Byker in Newcastle.

There is also a north–south divide in relation to the START vowel, with speakers in northern locations having an unrounded back vowel [ɑː] or a rounded back vowel [ɒː], while [aː] is preferred in southern locations.

The final feature from the MMB data to be mapped here is perhaps the most perceptually salient. So-called ‘h-dropping’ has been described by Wells as the “single most powerful pronunciation shibboleth in England” (1982, 254), and zero /h/ at the start of a stressed syllable with <h> in the spelling has traditionally been regarded as ‘vulgar’ and ‘uneducated’ (see Beal 2004, 180-83). Hughes et al. (2005, 66) claim that “most urban regional accents of England and Wales do not have /h/ or are at least variable in its usage”. They go on to point out, however, that initial /h/ is “retained in accents of the north-east of England such as that of Newcastle, although it disappears quickly as one travels southwards: /h/-dropping is reported for Sunderland, and it is virtually categorical in Middlesbrough and other parts of Teesside”. This makes the region unique, in that there appears to be variability in /h/ retention amongst vernacular speakers in closely neighbouring urban areas. Beal even suggests that “h-dropping is a shibboleth of Makkem speech” (2000, 352).