Scotland Sixteen - Text
The subject is a 24-year-old white Scottish female, born and raised in Edinburgh and educated to BA Level at Cambridge University. She is a an actress and writer and also works as a television subtitler. She spent 3 years living in Cambridge while studying for her degree, and has lived in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, for a further 2. She notes that her accent became more Anglicised while at Cambridge but feels it has returned to its more ‘natural’ form since moving to London.
Running time: 04:09
The following features can heard on the recording:
- The subject often uses a mid-open front hesitation sound, heading towards Primary Cardinal 3
- Short front unrounded GOOSE vowel
- Raised onset for SQUARE
- Raised centralised STRUT vowel
- Half-long DRESS vowel
- Fronted BATH and PALM vowels
- Raised PRICE onset
- /l/ is usually dark in all positions
- Close FLEECE vowel
- LOT vowel close to Primary Cardinal 7
- Slightly retracted TRAP vowel
TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH
I was born in Edinburgh. Erm, I then went and studied at Cambridge. Erm erm when I was 18. But I lived in Edinburgh all my life after er, after being born there. I come from quite a kind of middle class er part of Edinburgh, em, so, I think in Edinburgh peoples maybe speak in a slightly more Anglicised way than they do in the rest of Scotland. Erm I have a couple of times played parts, erm, where I’ve er played people from the Highlands, and I wonder if I’ve maybe kept that slightly in my accent, em, uh-b-which makes it kind of a bit more lilting than it might otherwise be. I had a trumpet teacher that I really admired when I was about 10, erm, and she s-was from, I dunno where she was from but she said ‘Now, now’, instead of ‘Nehw’, and I think I’ve maybe kept a bit of that in my accent as well, em, for no real…good reason. And then erm, yeah I went to Cambridge. I think probably whilst I was at Cambridge I anglicised my accent further, erm and then moved to London. And I think since I’ve come to London I’ve actually probably returned to something which is more like my original accent, um, again for for no very good reason. But my boyfriend is from London. So erm, I imagine that my accent changes around erm when I’m with him so that I maybe have a bit more kind of er, uh-it’s not as, as sort of soft and…I’m just blethering now I-I really don’t know what I’m saying (laughter). Oh okay, erm. My parents were from Stirling, and my grandparents were from Stirling. Erm, but I think my parents both have basically Edinburgh accents now, whatever that really means.