5 ms·
Isolation is probably an important factor for the development of an accent
by baxtr 8y ago
Isolation is probably an important factor for the development of an accent
- geezerjay 8y agoI would add that isolation is a fundamental factor in the theory of evolution.
- vidarh 8y agoI'm sure it may be, but physical isolation is certainly not a necessity. E.g. London has several separate recognisable accents ignoring the ones tied to specific ethnic groups. What physical isolation tends to give is much clearer lines - the London accents blur into each other a lot, and people moving around a lot makes it more a game of averages.
- matt_the_bass 8y agoI agree. I live in Rhode Island, the smallest state I the US and we have multiple distinct accents that are clear to those who grow up here. Even from adjacent towns! Many people in RI down even travel within the state very far.
- DoofusOfDeath 8y agoI've spent a lot of time in RI myself. Can you say more about the differences you have in mind? All I can think of is Cranston vs. elsewhere.
- matt_the_bass 8y agoWell I’ve noticed the accents mostly with people who’s family have been here for at least a few generations. Cranston acccent is quite different than providence even though they are adjacent. Johnston also has a similar accent to Cranston but a little different still to an acute ear. I don’t know how to really describe them in words. I’ve also noticed quite bit of difference in accent by age group. For example, my grandmother is from providence and is 92. She pronounces “bottle” as “baw’ull”. Many of her friends around her age speak similarly. My wife’s family is from south shore MA, about 30 minutes from providence. Their accent is way different too (and different from Boston). They pronounce “bath” as “bawth” (almost British) but Boston says “Baath”.
- DoofusOfDeath 8y agoThanks. I spend most of my time in South County, so I'm not exposed to a lot of the accents you're talking about.
- matt_the_bass 8y agoYes I haven’t heard much variation in south county accents. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cranston and Johnston and providence accents sound the same to many south county residents. I find it amazing that there is so much difference in so small a distance.
- arethuza 8y agoI grew up in a small fishing village in the north of Scotland - an area notorious for its very strong accents (to the point of some documentaries filmed locally having to be subtitled in English!). However, people who lived on farms spoke with a noticeably different accent (at least to the ears of locals) - even though they might be physically on a kilometer or two from the nearest village. NB This was in the 70s - I suspect none of these communities are quite as insular as they used to be.
- ilamont 8y agoThe movie "Hot Fuzz" played up variations in regional accents in England. There's a scene (1) where the London cop (Simon Pegg) has to use two rural cops in order to interpret the dialect of an old farmer. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cun-LZvOTdw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cun-LZvOTdw
- jdietrich 8y agoThat scene is only a slight exaggeration. Rural West Country accents can be almost totally unintelligible to users of standard English. https://youtu.be/WjTIFkWJctY?t=40s https://youtu.be/WjTIFkWJctY?t=40s
- swarnie_ 8y agoIts amazing how diverse the accent can be in such a tiny part of the world. Its extremely easy to tell if someone is from Bristol, Gloucester, Swindon or Salisbury immediately.
- Cthulhu_ 8y agoThis is true, and not just in language - Africa has some of the highest genetic diversity found in relative short distances because of isolated villages. I can imagine local accents and by extension languages form even faster than detectable genetic traits.
- dghughes 8y agoDefinitely. I live in Atlantic Canada we're quite isolated from Canada plus geographically it's difficult to move between the provinces. On top of that my province is an island, rural, small population, lots of isolated towns, farms and fishing towns. For an island of only 150,000 and 170km long I can easily spot dialects from other parts of the island. Broadly speaking west is more French and east is more English. Add in Irish, Scottish, Dutch, Lebanese, First Nations and now more recently Chinese. At least 50% of the population lives in the capital city region so the remaining rural areas are quite small in population and isolated. Cars have changed a lot of that but in the olden days horse and buggy meant a few days between towns, add more time in the winter. We have the inhale yes sound which is fairly rare. I'm not sure what other unique terms or patterns are here but out isolation certainly has made this area of Canada unique language-wise.
- sorokod 8y agoAlso a factor in retaining the accent while the rest of the world moves on ( e.g. Canadian French )