Rhoticity in Scottish English. A Sociolinguistic Study of Parliamentary Speech

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, LMU Munich (Anglistik), course: Seminar Sprachwissenschaft: Varieties of English, language: English, abstract: In this paper, rhoticity in Scotland and gender differences in realization are in the focus. Particularly of interest is whether Scottish is proved to be mostly rhotic and whether there is a discrepancy between male and female speakers in rhoticity, as well as in type of realization. First, the theoretical background on the variable in question is provided and important existing studies on this topic introduced. Subsequently, methodological procedure and collection of the envelope of variation are explained. Finally, the results on rhoticity are displayed and discussed against the backdrop of similar findings giving insight into the language situation in Scotland.

Scottish English is a rather complex term describing the linguistic situation in Scotland Apart from Gaelic, which is considered a separate language, Scots and Standard Scottish English fall under the term Scottish English and include an array of varieties beginning with aforementioned SSE and ending with broad Scots. While the latter comprises several dialects varying from town to town, SSE can be seen as the standard variety of English in Scotland. In fact, Scots and Standard Scottish English function as "two opposite poles of a bipolar language continuum". According to Aitken¿s model, speakers unconsciously shift between points on the continuum. However, Scots is usually spoken by the working class and amongst family and friends; SSE on the other hand is preferred by middle-class speakers and/or used for rather formal occasions. Boundaries between the two language plus Received Pronunciation, which only forms a small percentage of speakers, are overlapping and ambiguous.

As other varieties of English, Scottish English provides distinctive features, which are frequently used yet not always. Highest discrepancy with Received Pronunciation, which serves as the status quo, is the pronunciation. Alongside with the shortening of vowel length and th-fronting, rhoticity displays a marker for Scottish varieties. Akin to other languages, /r/ "is particularly variable and exhibits several phonetic realizations". This is the case in Scotland where rhotic consonants are "extremely variable"and in contrast to other varieties of English most commonly rhotic. The likelihood of a rhotic pronunciation is, though, dependant on social as well as intra-linguistic factors.