On the intonation of a South Wales Valleys accent of English

Abstract

This article is an account of the intonation of a variety of Welsh English. The layman's perception of a South Wales ‘Valleys’ accent is that, along with many other Welsh accents of English, it has a highly tuneful intonation which is distinct from that in any other part of the British Isles. The article sets out to describe the phonetic features of the main intonational forms that contribute towards this ‘melody’. This is done with the aid of a modified ToBI transcription system and supporting acoustic readings, which together enable reference to both pitch movements and pitch levels at any point in the overall ‘tune’ of an intonational phrase. Most of the distinctive melody-forming features of the dialect are found to be connected with the different kinds of accent-contour occurring at non-final and final (‘nuclear’) accents, and the phonetic realisations of these accent-contours. Finally, some discussion takes place on what may be general discourse meanings associated with the different intonational forms described in the dialect.