Liverpudlian accent of English based on the song of the band «The Beatles»

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PEOPLES' FRIENDSHIP UNIVERSITY OF RUSSIA

Institute of Foreign Languages

Department of Foreign Languages in Theory and Practice

APPROVED FOR PRESENTATION

The Head of the Department of Foreign Languages in Theory and Practice

COURSE PAPER

«Liverpudlian accent of English based on the song of the band «The Beatles»

45.03.02 - Linguistics

Submitted by P.E. Palamarchuk

Student's ID ¹ 1032206228 Full-time course

Course Paper Advisor PhD, Professor

N.L. Sokolova

Scientific Advisor Lecturer of the Linguistics Department

E.O. Popova

Moscow 2022



Contents

Introduction

Charter 1. General concept and classification of accents

1.1 The concept of accent and its relation to Received Pronunciation

1.2 The concept of literary language and Received Pronunciation (RP)

1.3 Social significance and the problem of defining RP

1.4 Types of accents of English in the UK

1.5 Liverpool accent or Scouse

1.6 Peculiar properties of the Liverpool accent

1.7 Summary of the Results

Chapter 2. Liverpool accent of the english language on the material of the songs of the beatles

2.1 How the Beatles appeared, biography

2.2 The influence of the Beatles on the English language

2.3 The Liverpool accent in the song «Girl»

2.4 Summary of the results for the song «Girl»

2.5 Analysis of the cover of «Rock and roll music»

2.6 Summary of the results for the song «Rock and roll music»

2.7 Demonstration of scouse in other songs

2.8 Summary of the Results

Conclusion

References



Introduction

English is the mother tongue of a billion native speakers, and it is also a universal way of communication for people around the world. Therefore, when you go to Britain, you understand that you will come across exactly the British version of English, but in practice, it is quite difficult to understand native speakers, even having a high level of English skills. This language has a huge number of options; it all depends on the country and region. At the same time, the English language of each locality has its own characteristics and distinctive features which were formed during historical development and as a result of the influence of the languages of neighboring countries.

Nowadays, each country has its own pronunciation variant; this is its own accent. In linguistics, it is important to differ between the concepts of accent and dialect. The accent affects exclusively the phonetic level of the language (features in pronunciation) when the accent also includes lexical and grammatical levels.

The relevance of the topic is to get acquainted with the importance of the Liverpool accent in the English language, how much the Liverpool accent differs from the standard of the English language.

The objective of this course work is to study the features of the Liverpool accent in English.

In accordance with the topic and purpose of the study, the following tasks were identified:

1. To reveal the concept of accent in English

2. Give a classification of accents in English

3. Consider the Liverpool accent and reveal its features.

4. To analyze the similarities and differences between the pronunciation norm of the Liverpool and British accents (vocal and consonant systems, stress, and intonation).

5. To conduct research and identify the characteristics of the Liverpool accent based on the creativity of the Beatles.

The course work consists of two chapters. The first chapter is theoretical in character and generalizes the studied literature on the pronunciation norm. It includes the definition of the concept of orthoepic norm, the study of various types of pronunciation, from the point of view of several researchers. Also, in this chapter, questions about what accents are and what characteristics of the Liverpool accent we are considering are revealed. The second chapter analyzes the similarities and differences between the pronunciation norm of the Liverpool and British accents.

The object of the study are the accents of the English language.

The subject of the study is the Liverpool accent based on the example of The Beatles' music.

The material of the research are the works and articles devoted to the Liverpool accent; the study was conducted based on the creativity (or rather their songs) of the Beatles.

The methods of research are analysis, synthesis, classification, description and comparison.

The structure of the work and the scope of work are determined by the goal and objectives of the study. The thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, a list of references. The total amount of work is 34 pages.

This work is devoted to the study of accents and their features, in particular the Liverpool accent, characteristic of modern English.

accent english liverpool british



Charter 1. General concept and classification of accents

1.1 The concept of accent and its relation to Received Pronunciation

A foreign-language accent is a special quality of the speaker's speech caused by the interaction of the phonetics of related languages. A. A. Reformatsky believes that accent is the replacement of unfamiliar sounds and atypical combinations of sounds with their typical ones and the reinterpretation of words and phrases with their morphological component and meaning according to the abilities of their language [9].

Initially, the concept of «accent» was associated with the allocation of individual parts in the flow of speech (vowels and consonants, syllables, words, and parts of phrases) by voice. In modern linguistics, this term is used both in relation to the stress in a word or expression, and to describe the specific nature of the accent of a speaker who does not know the generally accepted pronunciation norm of this language. A foreign accent is associated with the peculiarities of the pronunciation norm of a speaker in another language.

It is believed that RP speakers speak standard English, avoiding the use of non-standard constructions in their speech. Consequently, a large number of linguists agree that RP is an accent. But there are also those who consider this phenomenon as a sociolect [41]. This is due to the high status that pronunciation occupies in society, as well as the different use of vocabulary between representatives of the upper class and other classes.

1.2 The concept of literary language and Received Pronunciation (RP)

As part of the course work, it is necessary to consider the concepts: English literary language and normative pronunciation. Language is a social phenomenon that allows people to communicate with each other. Each folk language forms a «literary language», that is, one that allows you to express yourself briefly and competently.

Despite the absence of any features that elevate RP above other accents of the English language, certain sociolinguistic factors have allowed RP to gain a high status in many parts of the UK. From the beginning to the middle of the XX century, people with power, money and influence in society spoke with such an accent. Recently, the bearers of this accent have been criticized as a symbol of the possession of undeserved material benefits.

A detailed analysis of a foreign language accent is considered in order to overcome cross-cultural communicative failures, mainly in business communication. Some linguists and authors draw our attention to several important points that are related to the effect of a foreign accent on the success of business communication: who says - sender, who is told - receiver, under what circumstances communication takes place - communication variables [26].

The English language has a large number of dialects and accents. This reflects the territorial and social affiliation in the society. Language simultaneously functions in three dimensions - spatial (diachronic), temporal (synchronic) and social.

Alan Ross's article «Linguistic class-indicators in present day English» discusses pronunciation issues. He claims that there are words in the English language that define the speaker's class. A. Ross introduces two concepts of U, which means «upper U» (upper class) and «non-U» (all other classes) [29]. Based on the work of A. Ross, it can be concluded that RP is a social accent, not a sociolect.

Peter Trudgill, a well-known sociolinguist, suggested using a pyramid of dialects [30]. At the base of the pyramid are the local dialects of native speakers, who are representatives of the lower strata of society. At the top of the pyramid is the Received Pronunciation, which is used for communication by the social elite (the royal family, politicians, judges, BBC announcers, doctors, clergy, representatives of the education sector). RP is associated with power and prestige [13]. The higher the social status and level of education of the speaker, the more difficult it is to determine his place of birth. The pyramid proposed by Trudgill gives an idea of the qualitative and quantitative ratio of dialects and accents. In the UK, only about 3% of the population uses RP for everyday communication.

The main field of application of Received Pronunciation is international communication, where the British version of the English language is presented. In the UK itself, RP is a socially marked minority accent, where it simultaneously evokes negative social connotations and is prestigious.

1.3 Social significance and the problem of defining RP

The emphasis is associated with the concept of social identity. That is, a person's dialect shows various aspects of his social origin, therefore, this is an important point for the interlocutor. From the point of view of sociolinguistics - RP is a kind of accent, as it enjoys special prestige in formal situations. Some sociolinguists believe that RP and all other accents are highly differentiated [34].

There is such a phenomenon that RP is associated with a certain social status. Phonetist P. Trudgill explains this by an incomplete description of the British accent, in which there is little unified speech [24]. But at the same time, when parsing pronunciation changes, it is necessary to refer to RP as the standard pronunciation.

The main problems that arise when determining RP will also be discussed here. As mentioned above - Received Pronunciation was defined by the phonetist Daniel Jones at the beginning of the XX century. When considering this concept, he describes the «generally accepted pronunciation» that took place on a national scale. The pronunciation of the Southerners of England, who studied in private schools, is considered the basis. Nowadays, there are many descriptions that list the phonological and phonetic features of this pronunciation, but very few talk about criteria.

The definition of modern RP is very problematic, since it is not used in any special territory or social group. In addition, this pronunciation is constantly changing and includes several varieties.

As mentioned above, RP is associated with prestige and status. In the name itself there is a social assessment of correctness. The evolution of RP as a prestige standard was accompanied by a negative attitude towards local dialects and accents. Because of its high social status, it has become a model for comparison and imitation.

In the UK, studies have been conducted that have helped to fix and measure the criteria for determination. In sociolinguistics, there is such a method as the «matched-guess technique». During these experiments, it was necessary to listen to various accents of the English language recorded on the recorder and determine the status of the speakers (level of education and personal qualities). The essence of this experiment was that these recordings were made by an actor who knows different types of pronunciation. This is what allowed the participants of the experiment to draw conclusions based on the assessment of different variants of the English language. The result was this - RP carriers were characterized positively, assuming their financial situation, social status, and intellectual and business qualities. Regarding personal sympathy, preference was given to speakers of other accents, as listeners perceived more friendly, generous and responsive people [16]. So, the concept of prestige can basically be correlated only with certain characteristics.

Also, the definition of RP can be correlated with a certain social group. The first definitions of RP are related to the social aspect and indicate that the speaker belongs to a certain class, showing his level of education. Over time, the structure of British society began to change, social mobility appeared and the number of people who had access to higher education increased. There is no longer a strict separation between social class, education, and profession. Many linguists share the view that RP is still associated with a high level of education in society but is no longer an exclusive criterion of one class; social origin cannot indicate a person's possession of this type of accent [21]. A. Gimson believes that education and social aspects are not reliable criteria for definitions of RP; that only phonetic criteria can be used as a basis for determining RP. Phonetist D. Lewis believes that there are no phonetists who agree on where the line separating RP from non-RP runs. For example, there is the phenomenon of «glottal stop», which does not apply to RP, but it can be heard in the speech of the RP carrier. And one could say that this phenomenon is included in the pronunciation standard, but other experts say that it is no longer a carrier of RP. Summing up, it can conclude that the accent changes over time and these changes occur in the speech of native speakers, as the phonetic description improves.

The speaker's oral speech contains a large amount of information about him. There are cases of positive influence of a foreign accent on a native speaker. When the accent is not strongly pronounced, some peculiarity of the speaker's speech can contribute to improving communication. The peculiarities of the speaker's sound are considered a rich source of information for communication, and sometimes even a crucial role in successful intercultural communication. Native speakers generally rate the accent negatively, as this is a deviation from the norm, which provokes a decrease in the native speaker's interest in communication. Overcoming the interfering influence of one's own language is associated with a deep awareness of the peculiarities of the native and studied languages in comparative analysis. Here you need to pay attention to language differences and the search for commonalities in the native and the studied languages.

The pronunciation norm is a complex speech phenomenon. Deviations from this norm in the speaker's non-native speech have their own specifics, which reflects the linguistic affiliation of a person with a «foreign» accent. But the accent is associated with «common signs» that are characteristic of a person who speaks a non-native language due to the lack of generally accepted speaking skills due to a certain psychological barrier. The main reason for this barrier is the transition to a non-native language in communication.



1.4 Types of accents of English in the UK

In the specialized English literature, the accent theory has already been thoroughly described.

Researchers focused on the sociolinguistic significance of different accent types in the dialects of the British Isles in the XXth century, including Scottish English, Irish English, Welsh English, Yorkshire English, Lancashire English, Cockney, Multicultural London English (MLE), Geordie, Estuary English, Cockney English, Royal English, etc. [33]

Nowadays, English is spoken not only by residents of England. Now it is the official language for the former colonies of Great Britain, and the population of the countries is studying it all over the world as a foreign language. English is used as a means of communication, respectively; pronunciation on the territory of entire countries or even their regions varies significantly. Now the accents will be considered, what influenced their formation and what features they have.

It is important to remember that a dialect is a kind of language that differs from its other varieties in grammar, pronunciation and spelling, vocabulary. Dialects are used in a certain area. Accent is a special manner of pronunciation characteristic of a group of people in any locality. Regional accents are part of regional dialects. As a rule, the name of the accent coincides with the name of the dialect to which it belongs.

Now we will look at the main types of accents:

1. The Posh English accent.

This is an accent that is used by the upper stratum of society or the media, since it is a pure pronunciation. You can hear this accent during the speeches of famous politicians, announcers, TV presenters of the BBC channel. There is an opinion that this accent is the most understandable since every word is pronounced slowly and prudently.

2. The Welsh English accent.

This accent is spoken by people living in the Principality of Wales. Unlike the normative version of the English language, there are interesting «melodious» intonations. The Welsh accent is characteristic only for those who live in Wales, as it arose as a result of the influence of the local language. It is believed that it is difficult for the British to make out this accent.

3. The Scottish English accent.

This accent is spoken by the people of Scotland. Each region of Scotland has its own accent, which is different from the rest. What distinguishes this accent from British is that native speakers of Scottish English emphasize the letter «r» at the end of the word, that is, this sound is harder and longer. Locals also use slang words and words borrowed from the Scottish language in everyday life, creating a mixture of the two languages.

4. The Liverpool English accent (Scouse).

The accent appeared as a result of the immigration of people from neighboring countries and regions, as well as because of the speech of sailors who came to the port city. Initially, the attitude towards this accent was negative, but everything changed after the Beatles became popular. Public opinion has changed and softened. The Liverpool accent can be distinguished from the rest due to its nasal tone or as it is called a «cold» tone. The accent is also distinguished by the speed of pronunciation and pitch change, the rigid pronunciation of consonant sounds and the brevity of vowels.

5. The Irish English.

The Irish version of English developed under the influence of the Irish language, there were also some borrowings from the Scottish language. If you listen to the speakers of the Irish accent, you will notice how they clearly pronounce the sound [r], and the sound «th» changes to the deaf sounds [t] and [d] depending on the situation - «thirty» [t??t?]. They pronounce the diphthong «ai» as the sound [?i] - «bike» [b?ik]. You can also notice that instead of the usual «yes» and «no», the Irish simply, repeat the verb - Can you play football? I can.

6. The Cockney English accent.

It is believed that this is not a prestigious accent spoken by the working class of society, as they are usually small traders, artisans, thieves and scammers. One of the most striking features is the rounding of «ai» [oi] - «bike» [boik], also «ei» is pronounced as [ai]. In words with the letter «h» at the beginning, as a rule, we do not hear it at all. And in the combination of «th» instead of [a] and [è] we hear [v] and [f].

7. The American English accent.

An important feature of this variant of English is the sound [r], which is pronounced clearly and is not swallowed. After the letters «d, n, s, t» sound [ju:] pronounced as [u:].

8. The Canadian English accent.

Although it refers more to American English, this accent combines the British and American varieties of the language. Given that French is the official second language of Canada, it is also possible not to pay attention to the fact that many nouns are pronounced with an accent on the last syllable.

9. The Australian English accent.

The Australian version of English originated from many accents, so it is considered difficult to understand. In the speech of a native speaker of the Australian language, you can notice a large number of local words and abbreviations. The [r] sound is not pronounced. From the outside, it may seem that all the words are combined into one long and monotonous word.

10. The New Zealand Accent.

The New Zealand accent is somewhat similar to the Australian accent, especially it was noticeable before the Second World War. They have an interesting intonation - ascending, that is, any statement can sound like a question. Many words were borrowed from the Mâori language (the national language of the aborigines of New Zealand).

Every accent has a unique history and set of traits. It is vital to think about each accent in greater detail in order to learn more about each one. The Liverpool accent will be thoroughly explained in this work.



1.5 Liverpool accent or Scouse

As already described above, English has many national variants around the world and all of them have been studied by linguists.

Liverpool English is an accent of the English language, which is popular in the metropolitan county of Merseyside. Liverpool is the largest city in this county, so these accents and dialects are associated with it.

Scouse is a special accent that has nothing to do with the accents of neighboring countries. The Liverpool accent was on the territory of Liverpool until 1950, when the reconstruction of poor areas began. This process forced part of the population to move to the vicinity of Liverpool. After that, the development of nearby territories began.

Liverpool was initially an insignificant fishing village, which later became a port and an economic center. Maritime trade developed there, especially with Ireland. Soon Liverpool became a central port with developed trade networks. The result was that languages, and consequently accents, began to mix due to visiting sailors from other countries, as well as immigrants from Ireland, England, and the Nordic countries.

Until the 19th century, the Liverpool accent was not much different from another accent. Then it was probable to see the visible impact of accents of other neighboring countries from where residents immigrated. This is what allowed the Liverpool accent to become a special accent that was characteristic only for the residents of Liverpool. In 1890, there was the first mention of the Liverpool accent as an independent, separate one. According to linguist Gerald Knowles, the «incomprehensible» Liverpool accent could have appeared in connection with the poor public health of the XIX century, which resulted in the spread of the common cold. This later led to the fact that the nasal accent began to be considered the norm, which was copied by other people learning a foreign language. Speakers of the Liverpool accent, in turn, use this nasal technique, not because they have health problems, but because it has already become accepted by society. The same quality can be seen in the Beatles group, the accent and their intonation allowed them to stand out from the rest of the performers.

The Beatles' accent played an important role in their career. When they participated in BBC Radio and performed on various programs, the main topic for discussion and banter was their Liverpool accent. And even during the discussion, it was heard how much the Liverpool accent differs from the generally accepted Received Pronunciation that the hosts of the show had [42].

1.6 Peculiar properties of the Liverpool accent

The Liverpool accent became known all over the world thanks to the boundless popularity of The Beatles in the 1960s. In general, over the centuries, the attitude towards Liverpool in the UK has developed negative, the Liverpool accent was considered something low-grade. Thanks to certain songs, this accent has become the most recognizable in the country, and then in the world. It is renowned for his harsh nasal tones. Also, despite some similarities, it differs significantly from the accents of neighboring territories. For example, in the north the Liverpool accent is harder and rougher, and in the south, it is melodic and soft.

The Liverpool accent has many features, differences from the Received Pronunciation.

It is worth noting that the Liverpool accent is distinguished by a rapid and very accented manner of speech, with its own ranges of growth and falls. And this is fundamentally different from British English. For example: «It's cold outside. »; «What time is it? ».

To begin with, let's look at all the features of the Liverpool accent, which are associated with consonant sounds.

Firstly, there is the phenomenon of «H-dropping», in which the letter «h» is not pronounced. This is especially noticeable in the pronouns «her», «his», «him», «he», as well as in the auxiliary verbs «have», «has», «had» [32]. Elision occurs because, as a rule, the sound [h] is in an unstressed position in the middle of the utterance.

Secondly, the absence of NG-coalescence, that is, pronounced [?g]. For example, the word «among» is pronounced as [a'm???] [32];

Also, the letter «t» is pronounced completely otherwise. It all depends on the letters surrounding it. For example, the oral alternation of [t] to [h]. Often this option can be heard at the end of service words with a short vowel - «what» [w?h] or «it» [?h]. But there are also cases when this technique is used in the polysyllabic words «accumulate» [?'kju?.mj?.le?h];

Consider the sound [r], which is pronounced only at the beginning of syllables and between them: brother - [`br?d?].

In addition, there is a loss in the accent of the sonorous dental fricatives [ð] and [è]. These sounds are expressed, respectively, through the sounds [d] and [t]. However, in some territories, there are many more young people who utter these sounds as labiodental fricatives. That is, consonants, when articulating which, the speech organs themselves come close to each other, but do not close completely. As a result, turbulent air fluctuations occur in the oral volost, which create a noticeable noise.

In the case of fricativity, one should also consider deaf explosive sounds [p], [t], [k]. They change and sound completely different. For example, the sound [t] can sound like [ts] at the beginning of a word and like [è] at the end of a word. The sound [k] can be transformed into a fricative sound when it comes before a vowel. And the sound [p], in turn, may sound like [f], but this is a rare case [31].

The sounds [d], [b], [g], in turn, are considered sonorous explosive sounds, which are also fractalized.

Also, an important feature is the sound [r], which is not pronounced when followed by a consonant. It is pronounced [r] only when it stands between vowels.

Next, features of vowel sounds in the Liverpool accent will be considered.

First, separate sounds were identified: «The square-nurse merger» is when the sounds [??] and [??] merge into one sound. But there are also diphthongs [??] and [??]. The middle class of people can distinguish SQUARE from NURSE. So, the front sound [??] is used for SQUARE, and the center sound [??] is used for NURSE. By the way, the latter is very analogous to Received Pronunciation [32].

Secondly, it can be noticed that in the Liverpool accent there is no foot-strut split. This is the division of the sound [u] into phonemes [?] (foot) and [?] (cut). The absence of this division means the presence of the phoneme [?] in different words - both luck [l?k] and mood [m?d] [31].

Also, the presence of a short sound [a] instead of a long [??], since there is no of the trap-bath split (separation of vowels depending on the next coming consonant) [14].

There is a process of merging weak vowels, so some unstressed sounds [?] merge with [?]. For example, the word "eleven" is read [?l?v?n] instead of [??l?v?n] [33].

The vowel "ai" can be transformed into [a?] at certain moments. According to Wells and Watson, the sound of these diphthongs is like RP [32]. But Collins and Beverly claim that it's more like the sound of [a?] [14].

1.7 Summary of the Results

In conclusion of the theoretical part, it is necessary to say that English is the language of international communication. The number of people using it is increasing very quickly. Therefore, the problems of the pronunciation standard or accent are considered relevant for native speakers and for language learners. From the sociolinguistics side, Received Pronunciation is of particular interest because of its uniqueness. There is no accent that would be used in a minority in their country and would act as a model of pronunciation in the world.

In theoretical connection, aspects related to the definition of standard English pronunciation in its general format and concluded that it is based on a value approach.

The history of the accepted pronunciation, its features, classification were considered. It is also important to note that this pronunciation is considered a social accent, where there are class and social characteristics.

Linguists and native speakers have shown that RP on the one hand causes negative ratings, and on the other is prestigious. Accent is an important means that shows the social, geographical, cultural, class, national and individual characteristics of the speaker's identity.

XXI century - the development of linguistic globalization and the emergence of interest among scientists in the problem of foreign accent on a global scale due to the intensive use of English in intercultural communication and the emergence of a large number of new variants of the English language. Many authors point out that the definition of the concept of "accent" still causes difficulties for scientists due to the complex and variable nature of this unique phenomenon of oral speech, showing the individual, territorial, age, social, as well as national identity of the speaker. Many speech disorders are often accidental. They are determined by the communication situation, the emotional state of the speaker, his mood, and his attitude to the interlocutor. There are no several representatives of the same speech community who would sound the same. Therefore, the accent is a smooth expression of individual and social identity.

Liverpool English is different from any other English language variants. Scouse is a unique phenomenon that was formed by mixing local accents of the north-west of England, as well as using Celtic accents and dialects of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. This action can be traced precisely at the level of phonetic features. In addition to the fact that the Liverpool accent has its own peculiarities, but there are also similar elements with other languages, borrowings. This is especially noticeable when comparing it with American English. But if it considers British English, the difference between these accents is very noticeable.



Chapter 2. Liverpool accent of the English language on the material of the songs of the Beatles

2.1 How the Beatles appeared, biography

The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. All the musicians are talking about this, and numerous fans of this band are sure of it. No other artist or band in the 20th century has achieved such success.

The legendary band «Beatles» was born in 1959 in the UK, in the city of Liverpool. In fact, four ordinary boys with not the most outstanding vocal abilities, with a simple playing of musical instruments.

Initially, there was an idea to name the group «Quarrymen» in honor of the name of their school, where the band members studied. Then one of the musicians came up with the idea to change the name. And in the end, they settled on "The Beatles".

In October 1965, the band recorded a new turning point album «Rubber Soul», as new elements (mysticism, surrealism) began to appear in their work, and each of the participants began to write something of their own.

The album «Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band» became the last album of the Beatles. After the death of their manager, the band started to break up and didn't want to see any new manager. Each of the participants began to perform separately and continue an independent career. The band officially disbanded in 1970.

2.2 The influence of the Beatles on the English language

According to one linguist, Harold Somers, the group began to have a special form of British pronunciation. Harold Somers has compiled a reference book of Anglicisms in the songs of the Beatles, among which you can see references related to cultural phenomena, for example - National Health Service. It included British cities, traditions and everyday phenomena that the Beatles used in their work. You can also find British phrases instead of American ones (for instance, «ring my friend» instead of «call my friend» or «dressing gown» instead of «bathrobe») [36].

For the first time, pop music got an unusual Liverpool accent thanks to the Beatles. At that time, only the standard version of the English language was heard from the media, that is, Received Pronunciation, but after the popularity of the Beatles, the pronunciation of the working class began to be considered fashionable. A large number of people from different countries began to listen to English, not American songs, and also began to learn English from the songs of the legendary Liverpool four. Some «beatlisms» have entered the English language. Even the name of the band itself is a made-up word consisting of the words «beat» and «beetls». It was after this that there was a tendency to deliberately misspell the names of songs or groups. As The Sunday Times newspaper noted, it was thanks to The Beatles that Liverpool words and phrases began to be used by many people in everyday life.

The Beatles often used neologisms in their lyrics. A neologism is a word or phrase that has appeared in a particular language recently (a neoplasm that was absent earlier). This phenomenon happens all the time, because language does not stand still, as does our life. In the songs of our Liverpool quartet, you can find several examples of neologisms: «crabalocker» or «eggman». These are all invented words, like the name of the Beatles band itself.

During this analysis of the Liverpool accent and the Beatles, it became known that the musicians also wrote books. The first was John Lennon, who published his book of short stories and poetry in 1964 «In His Own Write». His book is given as an example, because there you can see the repeated use of slang "tug-of-war" - áåñïîëåçíîå ñîïåðíè÷åñòâî, «to dig something» - ñèëüíî ëþáèòü, îáîæàòü; «put down» - ïðèíèæàòü êîãî-ëèáî; «make the grade» - ïðîñëàâèòüñÿ, «to poop» - âïàñòü â îò÷àÿíèå è òàê äàëåå.

You can also notice cases when phraseological units occur: «to feel two foot small» - ÷óâñòâîâàòü ñåáÿ óíèæåííûì. «Till the cows come home» - äî ïîçäíåãî âå÷åðà.

According to experts, the Beatles revived the English language. They made it so that slang, which used to be at the bottom of society and was not used, has now become commonly used.

2.3 The Liverpool accent in the song «Girl»

This practical part will be based on the material of the Beatles songs. This accent is unpopular and can be heard very rarely.

The song «Girl» was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The meaning of this song is that the author is hopelessly in love, he is even ready to put up with her pride and other shortcomings. But after the breakup of the band, other interesting information appeared, as it turned out, John Lennon's feelings towards Christianity were also touched upon in the song.

Now that known what the song as a whole is about, it is necessary to proceed to a detailed analysis of the Liverpool accent in this piece of music.

The peculiarities of the Liverpool accent are noticeable from the very first lines:

«All about the girl who came to stay? » [38]

* Firstly, if you listen closely, you will notice how the [th] sound was added between the words all and about. Initially, you may not even notice it, it does not hurt the ear, but when analyzing, it was concluded that this is a kind of «connecting sound», which is necessary for the convenience of pronouncing two words (because the next word begins with a vowel sound).

* Secondly, heard the word «girl» in this line as [gzl], while the British version of this word sounds like [???l]. It can be concluded that John Lennon used a non-rotic version of American English.

Rhoticity in English is the pronunciation of the historical consonant "r" by all native speakers of certain varieties of English. It is in the presence or absence of rhoticity that varieties of English can be classified.

Accordingly, with a neurotic variation, as in our case, the letter «r» is deleted. All this happens because Liverpool English is «unoriginal», as well as many other English accents. «Girl» will not have the sound [r] but will sound more like «gzhl» [gzhl]. Any native English speaker will call it «omitting» the letter «r».

* Third, the word «who». A barely noticeable sound [h] is heard, instead of the usual transcription [hu?]. But the meaning of this line is so clear that one can understand by ear what this word meant.

«It makes you sorry» [38]

Sound is added here [sh] between the words «makes» and «you». Adding a different sound is quite atypical for a Liverpool accent. I believe that John Lennon used this sound as a «binding» between two words, as well as for the beauty of the sound of this line.

This line sounds like «make should be sorry», which, when translated into Russian, changes the meaning of the text in the other direction. That is, initially it is heard that the author regrets something, but if you open the text, you can understand that the opposite is true - he says that the heroine of this story is sorry.

Thus, it can be concluded that each accent introduces something new into its meaning and understanding.

There is epenthesis here. Epenthesis is a phonetic phenomenon in which an additional sound is introduced for the convenience of pronunciation.

«Still, you don't regret a single day» [38]

Here comes a new feature called «flapping» or «flap-t». This is a special pronunciation of the sound [t], it can be pronounced in different ways, depending on its location and the sounds standing next to it. Sometimes this sound is pronounced as short [d], or as fast and hard [r], depending also on the accent used.

In the above line, the sound [t] is at the end of the word, followed by the vowel sound [æ]. This means that the sound merges with the vowel and turns into one word, it becomes deafer and makes the word softer to perceive.

«I've tried so hard to leave her» [38]

· The word «tried» in this case is pronounced with the addition of the sound [s], characteristic of the Liverpool accent. The transcription looks like this - [tsra?d], unlike the British norm [tra?d]. This moment is not audible to a person who has recently studied the language, because it is invisible. But after conducting a detailed analysis of the Liverpool accent, you can see that such a feature occurs in every word where there is a letter «t».

· It is also interesting to make out the sound of the word «her», in this case John Lennon pronounces it as [h?], unlike the British version of [h??r].

This feature is characteristic of Liverpool English. In the pronunciation that is accepted by society, such words, for example, as «chair», «where» and «there» pronounced as [t???], [w??] and [ð??], in this case, the vowel is used as in the word «chair». In pronunciation, this differs from the words «her» and «fur», the transcription of which is [h?] and [f?]. In Liverpool English, words like «chair», «where» and «there» use the same vowel as the words «her» and «fur», so in Liverpool English they become [t?z], [wz] and [wz].

«She will turn to me and start to cry» [38]

There is already a familiar phenomenon here- «flapping» or «flap-t», so it is not necessary to consider it in detail. The only thing that is important to note here is that here the sound [t] is deafened, since the sound [r] is in front of it. This is one of several «flap-t» rules under which this stunning occurs.

«After all this times I don't know why» [38]

It is important to note here that the performer in the word «times» does not pronounce the last consonant [s]. This phenomenon is called elision, that is, the falling away of sound from a word or phrase. This happens to facilitate the pronunciation of a word. Sometimes sounds can be omitted to improve the euphony. As a rule, elision is a phenomenon that does not happen on purpose, but there are cases when it happens intentionally. To a person who does not know about this phenomenon, it will seem that the pronunciation is slurred.

«She's the kind of girl who puts you down» [38]

· In this case, John Lennon omitted the word «who» and did not utter it at all. When omitting this word, he did not ensure that people with a British English accent did not understand him, that is, this line allows the listener to understand the meaning of the text that does not know the Liverpool accent.

· In the next word «puts», you can notice that the sound [s] is either not pronounced at all or is connected to the next word using the sound [tch].

Analyzing the songs of The Beatles, it was noticed that one of the main themes is the theme of love. She is either unforgettable, or sensitive and bright. In this case, when listening to this composition, we heard the part where John Lennon uttered the line with a sense of tragedy. The listener notices this in the word where the sound [tch] is pronounced. The author seems to focus on this line in order to interest the listener.

«When you say she's looking good» [38]

At this stage, you should not focus on special attention since the performer also uttered a different sound for the convenience and beauty of the line - [zh]. This sound sounds like it should be. This is the beauty of the Liverpool accent - you can only notice it if you analyze some points in detail. And a simple listener or fan will not notice these moments.

«She's cool, cool, cool, cool» [38]

There is an interesting situation here - the sound [k]. John Lennon pronounces it only in the first word, because repeating the same word is not considered the norm for a song, since the listener will not be interested in the meaning of this composition. This is an interesting situation, since the word seems different because of the sound, but the listener understands that the first word is repeated several times. It makes no sense for the author to focus on this, he just enjoys the moment and makes music that will sound beautiful!

«Would lead to pleasure? »

«His day of leisure? » [38]

Some words are implemented in British. For example, Americans pronounce words such as «Moscow», «leisure» and «pleasure» a little different: [?m??.sko?], [?li?.??] and [?ple?.?]. In British, these words sound different: [?m?s.k??], [?le?.?r] è [?ple?.?r].

So, the Beatles band in this case adhered to the American version, thereby proving that the Liverpool accent is very similar to American English. It stands out only by some individual moments that are not like anything else. This is because the accent, as we said above, depends on the place of residence and stay of the performer. They said some words in a way that was «convenient» for them. But the most important thing is that the listener in any case understands the meaning of a word.

«That a man must break his back to earn» [38]

· In this example, you can hear that in the word «his» the sound [h] is almost imperceptible, that is, it sounds like [?z]. Logically, you can guess that there is exactly this word. In the context of the line, it sounds as if the performer lowered the [h] sound for a better sound of the text.

There is also such a thing as "weak form" and "strong form" - phrasal stress. This is the selection of some words in a sentence by the voice among others. Consequently, some words are pronounced with more emphasis (more clearly), unlike others.

A word in a sentence can take both a strong and a weak position. It depends on the place where the word is located. As a rule, a strong position is heard mainly at the end of a sentence (the last word), since it is on it that attention should be focused.

· Next, Americanism is heard again in the word «earn», the performer pronounces the consonant «r», when in the British version of the English language the transcription of this word will be - [??n]. The Beatles pronounce this word as [?r?n]. This is a very small feature, but it is noticeable.

Thus, after analyzing one song, some features were found that distinguish the Liverpool accent.



2.4 Summary of the results for the song «Girl»

As already known, the Liverpool accent is unpopular in Britain and is heard almost exclusively in the songs of The Beatles.

Based on the analyzed work on the accent in the song «Girl», the main were found characteristics that differ from the basics of British English.

Firstly, often in a song a «connecting sound» was added between two words - [th]. It is usually used to make it convenient for people who listen to this composition to understand and feel all the energy of the song.

Secondly, after analyzing this song, it was noted that when listening to each line, some passages stand out. For example: «It makes you sorry». What's not clear here? Initially, heard in the song a completely different line «make should be sorry», which shows us the author's regrets, but if you open the text on the Internet, it becomes clear that the author wanted to convey to the listener something completely different. Each accent introduces something new into its meaning and understanding.

Therefore, people who do not know this accent may make a mistake when translating.

Thirdly, it can be noticed that in this accent there are short sounds that are most often pronounced, but the author can also swallow the ending of the word. Also, in some lines, consonant sounds seem to merge with vowels, thereby turning two words into one. This is quite an interesting fusion that can be heard in a Liverpool accent.

Thus, the Liverpool accent in this song has a huge number of discrepancies with British English. With the help of the Beatles, the English language revived, as some root features from around the world were introduced into it with the help of songs.



2.5 Analysis of the cover of «Rock and roll music»

Next, a more positive composition called «Rock and Roll Music» will be considered. It is important to note that the Beatles covered this song. In comparison with the original, you can see how clearly the Liverpool accent is heard in their performance of this composition. As you know, it's not the first time the Beatles took a finished song and changed it beyond recognition due to their unique style. By the name of this composition, it is impossible to remain indifferent to this song. Next, the key points that indicate the presence of a Liverpool accent will be analyzed.

Already in the first line one can notice a deviation from the Received Pronunciation, which was analyzed in the theoretical part.

«Just let me hear some of that» [39]

Here Paul McCartney can be heard singing [ea] instead of «hear». This phenomenon was considered in the analysis of the previous song - Elysia. Às already mentioned, this is the loss of sounds in a phrase or word to facilitate pronunciation. But often it is elision that makes it difficult to perceive foreign speech by ear, since a native speaker is glued together by words or «eaten» by syllables. It is important to note that this is not an abbreviated form, namely elision. The main difference is that the abbreviated form is acceptable on the letter, for example, «can't» «don't», but the elision is not.

It is this phenomenon that occurs very often in the works of the Beatles. This is especially noticeable in the pronouns «her», «his», «him», «he», as well as in auxiliary verbs «have». «has», «had». Elision occurs because, as a rule, the sound [h] is in an unstressed position in the middle of the utterance. So, in this situation - the word «hear» is in the middle of the sentence and is not percussive.

«Any old way you choose it» [39]

· Paul McCartney pronounces the word «old» completely without rules, that is, instead of the usual British version, the performer pronounces [oll] closer to the American version, and he completely ignores the letter «d», and this construction sounds like «all». But if you understand the context of this line, then you can think about the meaning invested by the author.

· In the word «choose» instead of the usual British [t?u?z] heard [d?u?s], reminiscent of the word "juice". But again, by the simple meaning of this song, you can understand which word is used here. Linguists believe that one can get used to the Liverpool accent. That is, if you constantly listen to the songs of the Beatles, you can begin to understand what they are singing about, and not check the lyrics, but it will take a lot of time. But there is an idea that this Liverpool accent is the uniqueness of the group, that is, creativity is not banal. You can also understand the features of the accent for your own overall development.

«It's got a back beat, you can't lose it» [39]

Paul McCartney pronounced the phrase "beat you" here as a whole, using the sound [ch] between these words. In this situation, the first word ends with a consonant [t], and the next word begins with a vowel [y]. To make the speech sound beautiful and not abrupt, the performer used a fusion of sounds by adding another consonant. This phenomenon can be called "Epenthesis", that is, a phonetic phenomenon when one or more sounds are added to a word. This is because our articulatory apparatus takes a comfortable position before pronouncing a sound, at which the least waste of energy occurs.

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