A contrastive analysis of southern welsh and cockney accents

Abstract

This study is concerned with comparing the pronunciation in Southern Welsh, a Celtic language, and Cockney, an English dialect , regarding the place of articulation. The study uses a comparative method to shed light on the similarities and differences between the two accents. The data were collected from YouTube videos of speakers of Southern Welsh and Cockney and the consonant sound systems were analysed and compared. This study answers two main research questions: Do Southern Welsh and Cockney accents have the same consonants? What are the phonological differences between Southern Welsh and Cockney regarding place of articulation? The findings show that there are some phonological differences between Sothern Welsh and Cockney in terms of bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, lateral, palatal, velar, and uvular sounds. However, they are similar in terms of post-alveolar and glottal sounds. Awareness of these phonological differences is important for EFL learners to develop strong competencies in dealing with these accents which are gaining an increasing popularity due to the unprecedented spread of social media networks and applications.