1.1 Demographics of native speaker 1

1.2 Demographics of native speaker 2

2.0 Background History of the English

2.1 United States of America

2.2 North Wales of United Kingdom

3.0 Analysis of American English

• Audio Recording & IPA Transcription

3.1 Phonemic variation

3.2 Lexical variation

3.3 Grammar/syntactic variation

4.0 Analysis of Welsh English

• Audio Recording & IPA Transcription

4.1 Phonemic variation

4.2 Lexical variation

4.3 Grammar/syntactic variation

5.0 Reflection and Conclusion

6.0 References

LG2432D

2023444082

LG2432D

2023690028

For example, the word "book" is used in English. However, in Malay, "buku" is used.

This is simply because different locations may have their own unique terms or phrases to convey the same concepts.

Although Welsh people use British English as their official language, the grammatical characteristics of Welsh English differ from those of ordinary British English in a number of ways.

For example: The vowel sound in the word "cat" can be pronounced differently by the same speaker, such as by exploding or not exploding the final /t/ sound

• My favorite movie is Harry Potter.

Thus, the term "film" may be used more commonly among the Welsh people. So, instead of saying, "My favorite movie is Harry Potter," A Welsh person might say, "My favorite film is Harry Potter," since the term "film" is commonly used, although the word "movie" is still widely understood.

Both British and American English comply with the same basic grammar rules, though there are some remarkable differences between American English grammar and other English varieties.

1. Early Settlement: In the early 17th century, the first English-speaking settlers arrived in North America. They encountered a new environment with unfamiliar plants, animals, and landscapes. To describe these new discoveries, they created new words and borrowed from the languages of Native Americans, earlier Spanish settlers, and the French.

2. Linguistic Influences: Over time, English-speaking Americans developed their own distinct vocabulary and pronunciations. Many of these words and pronunciations were adopted in England and other languages. For example, the word "ok" originated from American jokesters in the early 19th century and has since spread to languages worldwide.

3. Dialects: The United States is a diverse and geographically vast country, which has resulted in a variety of regional accents and dialects. Linguists have identified four main speech groups: Southern, New England, Northern, and Midland. Although regional accents exist, American English is largely standardized, with speakers on the East and West Coasts speaking with similar accents.

4. Linguistic Mixing: The movement of people within the United States, including immigrants from different countries, has created a melting pot of languages. As people interacted and assimilated, speech patterns in American English became more similar rather than divergent. Social pressures also influenced individuals, particularly children of immigrants, to adopt "normal" American speech.

5. Evolution and Standardization: American English has become globally dominant, reinforced by mass media exposure. This dominance has led to the standardization of the English language, as it tends to conform to how it is spoken in the United States. However, this also means that the language's variety and distinctiveness may be diminished.

1. Acts of Union: The English language began to spread in Wales following the Acts of Union in 1536 and 1542. These acts acknowledged Wales as a principality of England and its people as British subjects.

2. Bilingualism: Initially, bilingualism was mainly observed in cities, border towns, and coastal villages, where interactions with English-speaking communities through business and trade were frequent.

3. Influence of Welsh Grammar: Welsh English, also known as "Wenglish," refers to the English dialects spoken by Welsh individuals. These dialects are notably influenced by Welsh grammar and often incorporate words derived from the Welsh language.

4. Regional Accents: Wales, including North Wales, encompasses a variety of accents. Western Wales has been more strongly influenced by the Welsh language, while eastern dialects have been shaped by English dialects. In North Wales, the accent has been influenced by Merseyside English.

5. Pronunciation: Welsh English exhibits distinct patterns of pronunciation. For instance, the vowel sound in "cat" /æ/ can be pronounced as an open front unrounded vowel [a] or a more central near-open front unrounded vowel [æ̈]. The vowel sound in "end" /ɛ/ is pronounced similar to the modern RP as a close cardinal vowel [ɛ]. These pronunciation patterns can vary across different regions of Wales.

6. Distinctive Vocabulary and Grammar: Welsh English employs unique vocabulary and grammar influenced by the Welsh language. Examples include the use of tag questions like "isn't it?" regardless of the preceding statement's form and the placement of the subject and verb after the predicate for emphasis.

Phonemic variation is when people use different sounds to express the same meaning in a language. It can occur within a single language or across different dialects or accents of a language. (Bacon, 2023)

Factors:

i) regional dialects

ii) social class

iii) age

iv) individual speech patterns

For example: in English, the /t/ sound in the word "top" can be pronounced as an aspirated /tʰ/ sound in some dialects, while in other dialects it may be pronounced as a non-aspirated /t/ sound. These different pronunciations of the /t/ sound do not change the meaning of the word "top" in English.

2. /aɪ æksədɛnəli kət maɪ fʊt/

3. /maɪ feɪvrət muvi ɪz ˈhærɪ ˈpɑːtər./

4. /aɪ ləv tu drɪŋk kɔfi ɪn ðə ˈmɔːrnɪŋ./

5. /ðə treɪn livz ɪn tɛn mɪnəts/

2. /aɪ æksɪˈdɛntli kʌt maɪ fʊt./

3. /maɪ feɪvərɪt muːvi ɪz ˈhærɪ ˈpɒtə./

4. /aɪ lʌv tə drɪŋk ˈkɒfi ɪn ðə ˈmɔːnɪŋ./

5. / ðə treɪn liːvz ɪn ˈtɛn ˈmɪnɪts. /

Thus, there might be a difference in meaning when the term "cake" is used in casual conversation.

For example, the word "tidy" in standard English can be referred to as neat and organized. However, in Welsh English, tidy means good or great (Sumner, 2021).

Another example is the word "butty," which means "friends" in Welsh English (Sumner, 2021). However, in standard English, "buddy" is used for a close friend.

(Refers to the pronunciation of the "r" sound.) 

In some American accents, such as those in the South, the "r" sound is pronounced strongly, while in other accents, like those in the Northeast, the "r" sound is often dropped. 

For example: the pronunciation of “r” sound by Maria is pronounced “strongly” or “fully” in / ˈpɑːtər / and /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

American English tend to use or have more short vowels.

For example: 

1. David bakes great cakes.

"David": The "a" in "David" is a short "a," similar to the sound in "cat" or "hat." It's a quick, crisp vowel that doesn't linger.

"bakes”: The "a" in "bakes" is also a short "a," with a similar sound to the "a" in "bake" or "take."

“great”: The "e" in "great" is a short "e," like the sound in "bed" or "head." It's a quick and clear vowel, not drawn out.

"cakes": The "e" in "cakes" is another example of a short "e," similar to the sound in "check" or "neck."

According to (WELSH ENGLISH: A 'MYSTERY' FOR THE KINGDOM, n.d.) , in Welsh English, it is typical for the letter "r" to be left unpronounced. Wells (1982:380) explains that this pronunciation pattern is mainly due to the influence of English taught by schoolteachers in Wales throughout history.

For example, examples of words in given sentences like “Potter”

/ ˈpɒtə / in “My favourite movie is Harry Potter”, the “r” pronunciation are left unpronounced by Leah.

Another example is that the word “morning” in the sentence “I love to drink coffee in the morning” are also left unpronounced and hence the pronunciation would be

/ˈmɔːnɪŋ/

In comparison with American English, Welsh English tends to use /ʌ/ sound (as in "strut") more often than American English, which uses schwa sound /ə/ (as in "about").

For example: In the recording, you can hear Leah pronounce the word “love” in “I love to drink coffee in the morning” with /ʌ/ hence, the pronunciation would be /lʌv/

Another example:

British English: "butter" is pronounced with /ʌ/ as in "strut”

American English: “butter" is pronounced with /ə/ as in "about.".

1. The placement of the verb phrase is sometimes at the end of the sentence to emphasize (How to Understand the English of Wales, 2019). This can also be proven from the Youtube video below, where a Welsh person uses the subject and the verb at the end of the sentence in minute 9:06 to 9:17.

• For example, "Always drink coffee in the morning, I am".

• Another example is, "Fed up, I am"

• American and British English use modal verbs differently (Turner, 2023). This is because both American and British English use the modal verbs "will" and "won't." However, British English also uses "shall" and "shan't."

• The difference is that American English uses "will" and "won't" all the time.

• American English: I will eat.

• British English: I shall eat.

5. The train leaves in 10 minutes.

This sentence uses the standard American English verb "leave" to indicate departure. However, in some informal contexts, you might hear "depart" or "pull out" as synonyms.

Another expression that Welsh people use to indicate time expression of "soon" is "now in a minute". So instead of saying "The train leaves soon", a Welsh person might say "The train leaves now in a minute"

• David bakes great cakes.

The word "tidy" has an informal meaning in Welsh English, meaning "good," "great," or "excellent." It's frequently used to convey contentment or acceptance of something. Therefore, instead of saying "David bakes great cakes", A welsh person can say "David bakes tidy cakes."