ACCENTS ACROSS ENGLAND

ADELE&
JAMES ARTHUR

Botaș Denisa
English language-phonetics and phonology
“AUREL VLAICU” UNIVERSITY OF ARAD, Year I
 THE CHARACTER

 ADELE- Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born 5 May 1988 in

Tottenham, London.
 She is a singer and songwriter.
 1.Activity type: a television interview
 2.Situational context: formal, pretending to be informal
 3.Social distance between S&H: close
 4.Subject matter: they talk about the new song „Hello“ of Adele
 The text
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0A41LlIOTc
 Reporter: …First of all, I think everybody, because you‘re
amazing and you sing in front of a lot of people, did it
doesn‘t make you nervous?
 Adele: I still do, more than ever. Yeah.
 LANGUAGE ANALISYS
 1. Pronunciation
VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS:
-[a:] (open, long, back) < /æ/ (half-open, short, unrounded front)
e.g. ever
[eva‘] <[‘ever]
-[ɔ:] (half-close, back, short, slightly rounded) e.g. work [wo‘rk] <
[work‘]

CONSONANTS:
 Rhythm of the speech:
She make gestures when she speaks and she laugh.
 Intonation:
She is very relaxed and she is speaking fluently.
2. Word choice
-Words belonging to the basic word stock
-Not using too much formal words, but speak correctly

3. GRAMMAR
- accurate, but simply sentences e.g. ...„I may believing that are all real“
4. Style:
-neutral, informal

5. Para/body language:
-tone of voice: neutral
-facial expression: friendly
-eye contact: looks interviewer directly in the eyes
-body language: restrained (non-emotionall or controlled)
 CONCLUSION: WHO’S THE SPEAKER?

Geographic background: tottenham, london, england

Social status: Female, young, educated
Personal features: A singer, independent, creative.
 THE CHARACTER
 JAMES ARTHUR- James Andrew
Arthur was born on 2 March 1988
in Middlesbrough to an English
mother, Shirley Ashworth, and a
Scottish father, Neil Arthur.
 James Arthur started writing and
recording songs when he was 15 as
an unsigned artist both solo and in
many bands.
 1.Activity type: a television interview about how being famous nearly ruined his life
 2.Situational context: formal, pretending to be informal
 3.Social distance between S&H: distand, pretending to be close (TV host vs. guest)
 4.Subject matter: he had to get people believe again in hisself and how he had to
move on from his problems
 The text
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQJnMmCnM68
 TV host: …”How do you get people to believe in you again? It‘s not so
much that you made mistakes and that you had issues… How do you get
people to believe in you this time?“
James Arthur: ….”I think the most important thing was to believe in myself.“
 LANGUAGE ANALISYS
 1. Pronunciation
VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS
-[a:] (open,short, central) < /æ/ (half-open, short, unrounded front) e.g. have
[ˈhav] <[hæˈv ]
-[i] < diphthong [iə], e.g. really [ˈrili] < [riəli]

CONSONANTS
-[d] (plosive, alveolar and voiced), </ð/ (fricative, dental and voiced), as in though [dəu]
<[ðəu], that [dat] < [ dðt]
-[s] (fricative, alveolar), < [ʃ] (fricative, post-alveolar), as in sink [sɪŋk] <
 Rhythm of the speech:
He make gestures and is trying to hide his emotions.
 Intonation:
He is emotional and he speaks slowly.
2. Word choice
-Words belonging to the basic word stock
-Not using too much formal words, but speak correctly

3. GRAMMAR
- accurate, but simply sentences e.g. ...„It was the best experience in my life, I think“.
4. Style:
-neutral, informal
5. Para/body language:
-tone of voice: neutral
-facial expression: emotional
-eye contact: direct (openess, sincerity)
-body language:controlled, emotional
 CONCLUSION: WHO’S THE SPEAKER?
Geographic background: Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England
Social status: MalE, 29 YEARS, EDUCATED
Personal features: A singer, independent, creative.