linguist – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Northerners have upper crust in UK language divide

By Guest PostJanuary 6, 2014Culture, Generalbrummies, dunlop athletic plimsolls, geographical barriers, george bailey, jessica fox, laurel mackenzie, linguist, mancunian, moray in scotland, my northern roots, north of manchester, north south divide, northerners, political, residents of merseyside, rhyme, south of england, southerners, uk language divide, upper crust

Whereas ‘pants’-wearing Northerners enjoy a ‘bap’, ‘bun’ or ‘barm’ for their ’tea’, Southerners in ‘trousers’ are more likely to tuck into a ‘roll’ for their ‘dinner’, find language researchers at The University of Manchester.

A survey of 1400 English speakers by linguist Dr Laurel MacKenzie and her students reveals a North-South divide on how we describe everyday items such as bread, trousers, footwear and evening meals.

They also show how Northerners and Southerners can pronounce the same words in completely different ways. (more…)

Pronunciation of ‘s’ sounds impacts perception of gender, CU-Boulder researcher finds

A person’s style of speech — not just the pitch of his or her voice — may help determine whether the listener perceives the speaker to be male or female, according to a University of Colorado Boulder researcher who studied transgender people transitioning from female to male.

The way people pronounce their “s” sounds and the amount of resonance they use when speaking contributes to the perception of gender, according to Lal Zimman, whose findings are based on research he completed while earning his doctoral degree from CU-Boulder’s linguistics department. (more…)

Tag Archives: linguist

Northerners have upper crust in UK language divide

Pronunciation of ‘s’ sounds impacts perception of gender, CU-Boulder researcher finds