Re: OT: accent atlas online

Mark J. Reed scripsit:
> http://classweb.gmu.edu/accent has a fascinating survey of
> 300+ different English speakers (including natives from a variety of locales
> as well as non-natives of many different backgrounds) reading the same
> paragraph.
Fascinating material.

I note that the L1 speakers, like the L2 speakers, are on their best
linguistic behavior: the speech samples are uniformly clear and slowly
and carefully spoken.  None of them are "dialect speakers" in the
classic sense, but it is clear that the Americans are using regional
norms, whereas the English are using various approximations to RP.
(There are also two Australians and one speaker from Northern Ireland,
about which I can't readily generalize).

--
John Cowan  www.ccil.org/~cowan  www.reutershealth.com  jcowan@reutershealth.com
[T]here is a Darwinian explanation for the refusal to accept Darwin.
Given the very pessimistic conclusions about moral purpose to which his
theory drives us, and given the importance of a sense of moral purpose
in helping us cope with life, a refusal to believe Darwin's theory may
have important survival value. --Ian Johnston

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