Global English Accents: Phonetic Characteristics and Variations

Northern Irish English (Ulster English)

Female voice (heavy breathing)

• Rhotic: particular, alternative, opportunities
• Diphthongs: /eu/ & /au/ realized as /oi/ (e.g., however)
• Consonants: No intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., facilities, intelligibility, varieties)

Irish English (Southern)

Female voice (teenager)

• Rhotic: however, other
• Diphthongs: No /eu/ & /au/ as /oi/ (e.g., however)
• Consonants: No intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., locality, inevitability)

US English (General American)

Female voice (deep)

• Rhotic: barriers, other, starts
• Consonants: Intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., possibilities, inevitability, opportunities)
• Vowels: /o/ is unrounded (e.g., possible, population, not)

Canadian English

Female voice (high-pitched)

• Rhotic: barrier, part
• Vowels: Short /o/ is unrounded (e.g., possible, population)
• Consonants: Intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., intelligibility, political)
• Intonation: Canadian rising (e.g., “another perfectly well”, “who stayed behind”, “so that today”, “was not possible”)

South African English

Female voice (mature)

• Non-rhotic: over, particular
• Vowels: Long /a:/ (e.g., barring, part); short /o/ is rounded (e.g., opportunities, possibilities)
• Consonants: No intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., density, communities); /w/ realized as /v/ (e.g., however)

Scottish English

Male voice (middle-aged)

• Rhotic: words, other, particular
• Diphthongs: /eu/ as /o/ (e.g., growth, modes, spoke); /ei/ as /e/ (e.g., changes, places)
• Vowels: Schwa realized as /i/ (e.g., places, migrated)

Australian English

Male voice (messy)

• Non-rhotic: starts, part, speakers, words
• Consonants: Intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., British, density)
• Vowels: Long /a:/ (e.g., part, starts)

West African English (Nigeria)

Male voice (young)

• Non-rhotic: speakers, other
• Consonants: Reduction of final clusters (e.g., recen(t)ly, varian(t)s); /th/ as /t/ (e.g., thousand, three)
• Rhythm: Syllable-timed (e.g., distance, locality, German, divergence, as-a-language)

Indian English

Male voice (elderly)

• Non-rhotic: particular, over
• Consonants: /sk/, /st/, /sp/ clusters include /i/ (e.g., speakers, speaks); no intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., inevitability, political, facilities)
• Vowels: Long /a:/ (e.g., part, starts)
• Rhythm: Distinctive stress patterns (e.g., “the reason, to simplify somewhat”)

Received Pronunciation (RP)

Male voice (articulate)

• Non-rhotic: other, closer
• Vowels: Long /a:/ (e.g., part, starts); short /o/ is rounded (e.g., possible, not, population)
• Consonants: No intervocalic /t/ as flap /d/ (e.g., politics, communities, locality)