Recommendations

for standardized phonetics of Estuary English

J.C. Wells, University College London

From a talk given in Heidelberg, November 1994

Transcribe EE as RP, including

• /i/ for the final/prevocalic vowel in weak syllables, previously written /I/ in RP, thus /ÈhQpi/ happy, /Ève«ri«s/ various;
• /u/ for the final/prevocalic vowel in weak syllables, previously written /U/ in RP, thus /ÈTQNkju/ thank you, /ÇgrQdZuÈeIS«n/ graduation;

but with the following changes:

• EE /AI/ for RP /aI/, thus /prAIs/ price;
• EE /QU/ for RP /aU/, thus /mQUT/ mouth (cf. Cockney [mQùf]);
• EE /o/ for final/preconsonantal /l/, thus /mIok/ milk, /ÈmIdo/ middle;
• EE /?/ for /t/ when syllable-final and preceded by a sonorant:
  • within a word, when followed by a consonant other than /r/, thus /ÈfU?b�ùo/ football, /ÈdZen?li/ gently;
  • word-finally, optionally at the end of a stressed syllable, categorically at the end of an unstressed syllable: thus /beot/ or /beo?/ belt, /ÈtIkI? Ç�fIs/ ticket office, /If I? ÈIz/ if it is;
• EE /tS, dZ/ for RP /tj, dj/, thus /ÈtSuùzdeI/ Tuesday, /rIÈdZuùs/ reduce.

In regard to the lexical incidence of phonemes,

• the participle/gerund ending -ing fluctuates stylistically between /I n/ and /I N/, thus /ÈrÃnIn/ or /ÈrÃnIN/ running;
• the suffix -thing is usually /TINk/ rather than /TIN/, thus /ÈeniTINk/ anything;
• EE usually has /n/ for RP /nt/ in the items /Ètweni/ twenty and /Èpleni/ plenty, and for want and went when prevocalic, thus /Èw�nId/ wanted, /wen ÈQU?/ went out - but note that there is no American-style nt-reduction in other items, e.g. winter remains /ÈwInt«/;
• EE prefers /«n/ in various environments where RP would prefer syllabic /n/, thus /ÈsteIS«n/ station.

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