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English World-Wide
Vol. 39:2 (2018) ► pp.157–189

Revisiting Hebrides English

| University of Nevada, Reno

This paper describes a study of phonetic variation in Hebrides English, a variety of English spoken in the Scottish Hebrides island chain. Study participants included 24 English-Scottish Gaelic bilinguals, ten male and 14 female, representing a range of ages and geographic origins within the Hebrides. Three features are considered: preaspiration, preglottalization, and T-glottalling. Preaspiration, once commonplace in some varieties of Hebridean English, is now found to be abundant only among older women, suggesting that the feature is obsolescent. By contrast, preglottalization and T-glottalling, already widespread in urban varieties of Scottish English, now appear to be making inroads in Hebrides English as well. The evidence therefore suggests that Hebridean English is undergoing significant changes, though the precise trajectory or outcome of these changes remain unclear.

Keywords: preaspiration, preglottalization, T-glottalling, Hebrides English, Scottish English, Scottish Gaelic, convergence
Article outline
  • 1.Hebrides English
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Study participants
    • 2.2Stimuli and recording procedure
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1Analysis of preaspiration
    • 3.2Analysis of preglottalization
    • 3.3Analysis of T-glottalling
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Preaspiration
      • 4.1.1Predictors of preaspiration: Social factors
      • 4.1.2Predictors of preaspiration: Phonological factors
    • 4.2Preglottalization
      • 4.2.1Predictors of preglottalization: Social factors
      • 4.2.2Predictors of preglottalization: Phonological factors
    • 4.3T-glottalling
  • 5.Discussion and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 31 May 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.00009.cla
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