ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE IPA

Liverpool English
Kevin Watson
Department of Linguistics and English Language
Lancaster University
[email protected]

Liverpool English (LE) is the variety of English spoken in Liverpool and much of the
surrounding county of Merseyside, in the north-west of England. After London, the north-
west of England is the most densely populated of all regions in England and Wales, with
the population of Liverpool standing at around 450,000. LE itself is said to have developed
in the middle of the 19th century, after rapid immigration from Ireland during the Irish
potato famines of 1845–1847 (see Knowles 1973). Arguably as a result of this immigration,
as we will see, there are some similarities between LE’s phonological system and those of
Irish Englishes. Of course, as we might expect, the phonological system of LE maintains its
connection with other northern Englishes, too.
There is a greater amount of previous work on LE than on many other accents of British
English, particularly other varieties of the north-west of the country. The earliest systematic
study of LE, Knowles (1973), remains the seminal work and is where the widest range
of phonological features is considered. Later work, including De Lyon (1981), Honeybone
(2001), Sangster (2001) and Watson (2006, 2007), has tended to restrict its focus to a smaller
number of variables which are amongst the variety’s most characteristic features. This article
bases most of its descriptive detail on data gathered during fieldwork carried out by the
author (see Watson 2007), but at times information is gleaned from elsewhere (most notably
Knowles’ early work) to provide comparison.
The transcription of the reading passage is based on the speech of a 21-year-old working-
class female speaker who was born in the district of Netherton, in the north of Liverpool,
and has always lived there. She self-identifies as having a ‘broad’ Liverpool accent, although
the difficulty in remaining objective about such labels should be acknowledged. There is
considerable phonetic variation in LE according to age, gender and socioeconomic class,
although this is an area where modern research is lacking. In what follows, where the speaker
produces some phonetic feature which is known to be atypical of LE or where a feature varies
according to some sociolinguistic parameter, this will be pointed out.

Consonants
Whilst the consonant system of LE is phonologically identical to most other varieties of
English English, there is much allophonic variability. Of course, this is to be expected in
every variety, but as we will see, the realisational potential of certain LE phonemes is much
greater than elsewhere.

Journal of the International Phonetic Association (2007) 37/3

C International Phonetic Association
doi:10.1017/S0025100307003180 Printed in the United Kingdom
352 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Labio- Post-
Bilabial dental Dental Alveolar alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p b t d k g
Affricate tS dZ
Nasal m n N
Fricative f v T D s z S Z h
Approximant r j w
Lateral l
approximant

Dental fricatives /T, D/ are often realised as dental stops [t1, d1] both word-initially, medially
and finally, although dental fricatives are also found. This is arguably a feature which has been
innovated into LE from varieties of Irish (Honeybone 2004). It has recently been suggested
that TH-fronting, the process by which /T, D/ are realised as labiodental fricatives [f, v]
and which is frequent in many other British varieties (e.g. Milton Keynes, Reading, Hull
(Williams & Kerswill 1999), Newcastle (Watt & Milroy 1999)), is infrequent in LE (Watson
2005). The speaker can be heard using both standard fricative variants ([T] in north, [D] in
other) and the more localised dental stop ([d1] in then). She does not use a labiodental variant.
Post-vocalic /r/ is absent in LE, so that words like car, farm, park are r-less. In pre-
vocalic and intervocalic positions, /r/ is typically realised as [®] or [|]. The tap is common
in intervocalic position (e.g. mi[|]or, ve[|]y) but can also occur when /r/ follows an onset
obstruent (e.g. st[|]ip, b[|]eath, f[|]ee). The speaker’s variety is somewhat atypical of basilectal
Liverpool English in this respect, as she uses the standard variant [®] in all positions (e.g.
ag[®]eed, a[®]ound, st[®]onger). The tapped realisation of /r/ is not categorically absent from
her repertoire, however, as she uses [|] as the linking /r/ in stronger[|] of the two. The
labiodental variant, [√], is not a feature of LE, despite it spreading in other accents of British
English (Foulkes & Docherty 2000).
LE is similar to other accents in the north of England in that the /g/ in ng clusters
is maintained. For example, the speaker realises along as [´lÅNg]. In the -ing morpheme,
forms with the velar nasal and plosive are found, as in singing [sINgINg], but a realisation of
[´n] is also likely (e.g. sing[´n], walk[´n]). The speaker uses [´n] for the -ing of making.
Another similarity between LE and elsewhere is the dropping of /h/, most often in high
frequency grammatical words (e.g. the speaker’s realisation of him, who, his). H-dropping is
not categorical, however, as the speaker’s maintenance of [h] in more he blew testifies. /h/ is
frequently maintained in lexical words (e.g. as it is in the speaker’s hard).
It is in the system of plosives where the widest range of phonetic variation is attested. As
in other varieties of English, voiceless plosives /p, t, k/ are aspirated in word-initial position,
except when following syllable initial /s/. /p, t, k/ can also be aspirated in word-final and
utterance-final positions (Knowles 1973, Watson 2007). The voiceless stops are frequently
realised with noticeable preaspiration utterance-finally, which might manifest itself either as
a period of glottal noise or as oral frication which is produced homorganically to the stop.
As is the case in Newcastle (see e.g. Docherty & Foulkes 1999), preaspiration in Liverpool
English is primarily the domain of female speakers (Watson 2007).
As well as these aspirated and preaspirated variants, there is an additional range of plosive
realisations which are more or less unique to Liverpool. Most of these realisations can be
described as processes of LENITION – a term frequently used to group together a series of
phonological weakenings which turn underlying plosives into affricates and fricatives (see
e.g. Lass 1984; Harris 1990, 1994; Honeybone 2002). Indeed, plosive lenition is arguably one
of the most characteristic features of Liverpool English, and one which forms a major part of
the variety’s stereotype.
 Kevin Watson: Liverpool English 353

For /t/, affrication is common word-initially, whilst spirantisation is common in

intervocalic and word-final positions. The speaker uses an affricated /t/ in word-initial
position in two (see figure 1). She spirantises /t/ as well, but there are a limited number
of potential candidates in the reading passage due to phonological environment restrictions.
The presence of sibilant fricatives for /t/ does not lead to the loss of phonological contrast
with /s/. Honeybone (2001) transcribes lenited /t/ as [ D ] which, following Pandeli et al.
(1997), implies a fricative with a flat cross-sectional tongue shape (signaled by [T]) at a
precisely alveolar place of articulation (signaled by the double-underscore diacritic which
is adapted from the ‘extended IPA’ used in the transcription of disordered speech). There
are durational differences, too, with a longer phonetic fricative for /s/ than for /t/ (Sangster
2001). Recent work has suggested that there is a wide range of possibilities of ‘stopless
/t/’, which can all be described as fricatives, but which are all articulated with varying
degrees of approximation (Watson 2007). Rather than these realisations being the result
of articulatory undershoot, there is evidence that fine-grained phonetic differences provide
indexical information in LE, as they have been found to do elsewhere (see e.g. Docherty
& Foulkes 1999 for Newcastle, and Jones & Llamas 2003 for Middlesbrough). Thus, these
realisations represent the learned articulatory behaviour of the speakers (Docherty & Foulkes
2000, Foulkes & Docherty 2006). For example, LE /t/ for male speakers is often realised as
the [ T ] described above, but for female /t/ the relationship between the oral and glottal gesture
is more variable, so that realisations such as [hsh] are common. An example of a preaspirated,
postaspirated fricative /t/ is provided in figure 2. Space restrictions inhibit detailed discussion
of these realisations in this illustration, but see Watson (forthcoming) for a more detailed
examination.
As well as realising /t/ as an oral fricative, it can also be debuccalised to [h]. In older
speakers, this occurs only in pre-pausal position in a small set of high frequency monosyllabic
(pseudo)function words with short vowels (e.g. it [Ih], what [wÅh], not [nÅh], that [d1ah], lot
[lÅh]). For younger speakers, the realisation of /t/ as [h] can also occur in polysyllabic
words which end in an unstressed syllable (e.g. market [ma…xIh], maggot [magIh], aggregate
[ag|IgIh]). As the debuccalisation of /t/ does not occur in any other variety of north-western
English, it has been suggested that the extension of the process to polysyllabic words is an
innovation which represents phonological divergence from supralocal norms (Watson 2006,
2007). Because pre-pausality is a conditioning environment for the realisation of /t/ as [h],
there are no potential candidates in the reading passage. Connected to the realisation of /t/
as [h], in terms of the environments in which it occurs, is the realisation of /t/ as a rhotic
(typically [®] but also [|]). /t/ → [®] and /t/ → [h] can occur in a similar sets of monosyllabic
words, but whereas pre-pausality is necessary for the realisation as [h], the conditioning factor
for [®] is the presence of a following vowel (e.g. get off [gE®Åf], that apple [d1a®ap´l], lot of
[lÅ®´v]). The realisation of /t/ as [®] is not unique to Liverpool English, but can be found in
a range of northern English varieties (see e.g. Wells 1982). Like for /t/ → [h], the tightly
constrained phonological environment in which /t/ → [®] occurs means it is not produced
by the speaker in the passage. The final realisation of /t/ is one which is very frequent in
just about all varieties of British English; the realisation of /t/ as [/]. Early accounts of LE
noted that the glottal stop was rare (Knowles 1973), and more recent work has corroborated
this (Watson 2005, 2006, 2007). Knowles (1973) does comment, however, that [/] is possible
preceding /l/ or other syllabic consonants. The speaker can be heard using [/] in disputing
[dIspju…/n`] and immediately [Imi…di´/li…].
It is also common for speakers to realise /k/ as an affricate or a fricative, too, as the
speaker’s various tokens of cloak testify. The exact place of articulation of the fricative is
mostly conditioned by assimilation to the preceding vowel. That is, palatal fricatives can be
found following the close front monophthong [i…] and closing diphthongs [ei, ai] (e.g. week
[wi…ç], like [laiç]), and more dorsal fricatives are attested following low and back vowels (e.g.
back [bax], dock [dÅX]). These dorsal fricatives can be velar or uvular. Fricativisation of /p/
also occurs, typically to [F], but this is much less frequent than that of /t/ or /k/.
354 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Figure 1 An affricated /t/ (circled) in word-initial position in the speaker’s production of the word ‘two’.
 Kevin Watson: Liverpool English 355

Figure 2 A preaspirated, postaspirated sibilant fricative (circled) for /t/ in pre-pausal out. The speaker was a 15-year-old
working-class female (Watson 2007).
356 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

Figure 3 Realisation of /d/ as [ D ] (circled) in the speaker’s production of the pre-pausal word could.
 Kevin Watson: Liverpool English 357

Phonetic fricatives are also found for the voiced plosives /b, d, g/, although of these the
lenition of /d/ is by far the most common. Because final-devoicing is common in LE, as
it is in other varieties of English, the fricative realisations of /b, d, g/ are rarely voiced in
final position. As with the lenited variant of /t/ described above, that of /d/ does not result in
neutralisation with /z/. Instead, the fricative is articulated with a flat cross-sectional tongue
shape which is not unlike the fricative variant of /t/ described above. The speaker does not
affricate or fricativise /b/ or /g/, but /d/ is realised as a fricative in could (see figure 3). In the
transcription that follows, taking Pandeli et al.’s (1997) lead, I transcribe the fricative variant
of /d/ as [ D ], with the caveat that it is frequently devoiced.

Vowels

Figure 4 Vowel trapeziums of monophthongs and diphthongs in Liverpool English.

i… heed eI hay
I hid aI high
e… heard (also hair, her) OI boy
E head E0 hoe
a had aU how
A… hard ([a…] also used) iE beer
Å hod
O… hoard
0… who’d (also book)
U hood
´ about

The similarities between the vowels of Liverpool English and those of other northern English
varieties are numerous. The distinction between [Ø] and [U] that is found in accents of southern
England (and elsewhere, e.g. in varieties of English outside the British Isles) is not found in LE.
Thus, words such as foot, put, butcher, bus and putt all have [U]. Similarly like other accents
in the north, LE has the short [a] in words such as bath, dance, and grass, where southern
English varieties have the longer [A…]. As might be expected, there is complex sociolinguistic
patterning here. According to Knowles (1973, 1978), the lack of distinction between /Ø, U/
and the use of the short [a] in bath words is most robust in working-class speakers, with some
middle-class speakers modifying towards higher prestige RP-like norms. Knowles (1978:
358 Journal of the International Phonetic Association: Illustrations of the IPA

86) suggests that this differentiation often leads to hypercorrection, with speakers sometimes
producing utterances such as good luck [gØd lUk] and black castle [blA…k kœsl]. Some middle-
class speakers may have a [Ø]∼[U] type contrast by using a more centralised, schwa-like
variant for one of the pair of vowels (e.g. good luck [gUd l´k]). Although the long [A…] is not
used for bath words, it is used in words such as start and palm, as it is elsewhere England. In
Liverpool, however, for some speakers the quality of the vowel is often more front, resembling
[a…] (e.g. start [sta…T ], shark [Sa…x]). Recent work has suggested that this fronter variant is
used mostly by male speakers, with female speakers preferring the back variant [A…] (Watson
2005). The speaker follows this pattern, using [A…] in hard.
For many speakers of LE, there is a lack of contrast between the vowel in words like
square, hair, and that in words like nurse, her. Typically, both sets have a front variant such
as [e…] or [E…], or even [I…]. De Lyon (1981) establishes no less than 18 different realisations
for the vowel in square words, ranging from [E´] to [‰™] to [‰…], and lists 15 different forms
of the vowel for nurse words, including [‰], [´E] and [{]. It is not clear from de Lyon
(1981), however, whether these variants pattern in sociolinguistically structured ways, as their
distribution is not successfully quantified. It could be, for example, that the variation is more
a result of phonological environment than any sociolinguistic patterning, but more research
is required to investigate this further. According to Knowles (1973), middle class speakers
are more likely to have an RP-like distinction between nurse and square words, using [‰…] and
something like [E…] respectively. In the passage, the speaker uses a close front variant [I…] in
first.
As with other accents in the north of England, words such as book, cook and look typically
have a long vowel in Liverpool rather than the short [U] found elsewhere. The long vowel
is typically produced in an advanced position, most frequently as a central [0] but also
as a fully front [y]. This results in minimal pairs such as look [l0…k]/luck [lUk], and book
[b0…k]/buck [bUk]. The use of [0…] in look words occurs more often in the working class than
the middle class for Knowles’ (1973) speakers, but recent work has suggested that this feature
is recessive, occurring less frequently in younger people (Watson 2005). The vowel in e.g.
goose and hoop, is also typically articulated in an advanced position. The speaker produces
an advanced variant in blew and two.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Liverpool English vowels and those of many other
northern English varieties is that Liverpool English has diphthongs in words like face [feIs]
and goat [gE0t]. Diphthongs are also used in choice [tSOIs], price [p®aIs] and mouth [maUT], as
they are elsewhere. For some speakers the vowel in price can monophthongise before certain
consonants (e.g. time [ta…m], five [fa…v]) but this has not yet been systematically investigated.
There is also variation in the vowel of goat, which most typically has a fronted onset and
offset (e.g. E0) but can also be realised as [eU, EU, ´0, e0] or the more standard [´U].

Stress and intonation

Previous work on LE intonation is minimal. Only Knowles (1973) has provided a systematic
auditory investigation of prosodic issues, although more recent acoustic work is underway
(Grabe 2004, Grabe, Kochanski & Coleman 2005). Knowles (1973) argues that LE pitch range
is narrower than other varieties of English, and that this makes the distinction of tones difficult
to detect. However, LE is known to have intonational similarities to other northern English
accents, and also to share features with varieties of Irish English. For example, Knowles
(1973: 188) refers to a tone which he calls the step, in which a high level tone follows the
initial rise. This is comparable to the RISE-PLATEAU which is one of the most common tones
in Belfast English (Grabe et al. 2005). More systematic investigation is required if we are
to understand the relationship between the prosodic system of LE and that of other English
varieties.
 Kevin Watson: Liverpool English 359

Transcription of recorded passage

Two transcriptions are provided. The first uses the phonemic symbols outlined above, whilst
the second is a narrower phonetic transcription that focuses specifically on the pronunciation
of the speaker and demonstrates some of the variation that has been encountered throughout
this illustration.

Phonemic transcription
D´ nO…T wInd ´n D´ sUn w´ dIspj0…t´n wItS w´z D´ strÅNg´ wEn ´ trav´l´ keIm
´lÅNg rapt In ´ wO…m klE0k DeI ´gri…d Dat D´ wÅn 0… fe…st sUksi…d´d In meIk´n
D´ trav´l´ teIk Iz klE0k Åf SUd bi… k´nsId´d strÅNg´ Dan Di… UD´ ´n DEn D´
nO…T wInd bl0… ´z hA…d ´z i… kUd bUt D´ mO… hi… bl0… D´ mO… klE0sli dId D´
trav´l´ fE0ld Iz klE0k ´raUnd Im ´nd at last D´ nO…T wInd geIv Up Di… ´tEmpt
DEn D´ sUn SaInd aUt wO…mli ´n Imi…dI´tli D´ trav´l´ tUk Iz klE0k Åf ´n sE0
D´ nO…T wInd w´z ´blaIdZd t´ k´nfEs Dat D´ sUn w´z D´ strÅNg´ ´v D´ t0…

Phonetic transcription
D´ nO…T wInd n` ´6 sUm w´ dIspj0…/m` wItS w´z9 D st®Åô Ng´™ wEn ´ tS®avl´ kÓeIm
´lÅô Ng ®ap}t In ´ wO…m kÓlE0x™ d1eI gri…d1 Dat} D´ wÅn 0… fI…s Uksi…dz Im meIç´n1
´ tS®avl´ ts eIç Iz klE0x Åf SUb} bi kÓn`sId´d stS®Åô N´ Dn` Di… UD´ ´n d1En1 ´ nO…T
wIm blu… ´z hA…D= ´z i… kÓUD= bUt1 d1´ mO… hi… blu… D´ mO… kÓl 9´0sli… dz Id1 D´ tS®avl´
f´ulD= … kÓlE0x™ ´raUndz m` ´n a/ las D´ nO…T wIN gIv Up Di… ´ts Emp}ts d1En1 ´ sUn
Sa…Ind aUp} wO…mli… an ´mi…D= ´/l 0 i0… D´ tS®9avl´ ts Ux ´z kÓlE0x™ Åf n` sE0 D´ nO…T
wIm w´z ´blaIZ( ´ kÓn`f Es D´/ D´ sUm ´z… sStrÅNg´| ´v9 D´ ts 0…

Acknowledgements
With thanks to Patrick Honeybone and Paul Kerswill for their comments on a draft of this illustration.

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