Interpretation of the text

Exercise 1. Match the definitions with the terms:

1) glottalization	a) a regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.
2) phonetic	b) the opposite or absence of something regarded as actual, positive, or affirmative.
3) negation	c) vocal prominence or emphasis given to a particular syllable, word, or phrase.
4) diphthong	d) the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound.
5) accent	e) in phonetics, a vowel in which there is a noticeable sound change within the same syllable.
6) dialect	f) regional variety possessing a literary form.
7) variant	g) representing the sounds of speech with a set of distinct symbols, each designating a single sound.

1. – d) 3) – b) 5) – c) 7) – f)

2. – g) 4) – e) 6) – a)

Exercise 2. Define whether the statement is true or false:

1. The United Kingdom is the most dialect-obsessed nation in the world;

2. Regional varieties possessing a literary form are called accents;

3. In Great Britain there are 5 variants and 2 main groups of dialects;

4. Cockney refers to people from Scotland;

5. Cockney has its own usage in the form of ‘rhyming slang’;

6. Scottish English is different than Scots;

7. In a Geordie dialect people say I amn’t instead of I’m not.

Keys:

1. – T 3) – F 5) – T 7) – F

2) – F 4) – F 6) – T

Exercise 3. Insert the words missing in the text:

variants Scottish intend lexical phonetic dialects pronoun vocabulary pepper standard indicate describe

The inhabitants of the British Isles speak with a broad range of dialects, each with specific 1)_______ properties. In Great Britain there are two 2)______, Scottish English and Irish English, and five main groups of 3)______: Northern, Midland, Eastern, Western and Southern. Cockney English is characterized by its own special 4)______ and usage in the form of "cockney rhyming slang". The way it works is that you take a pair of associated words where the second word rhymes with the word you 5)_____ to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to 6)_____ the word you originally intended to say, for example: pride and joy -  boy.

Many Scottish dialects, but also dialects in Northern Ireland, use the ending -s in the first and second persons and in the third person plural to 7)_____ a past event in present tense e.g.  I goes along the river and I sees this squirrel hiding behind a tree. Those in 8)______ English may be replaced by they in 9)______ English e.g. Look at they shoes. Scottish English has inherited a number of 10)_____ items from Scots, which are comparatively rare in other forms of Standard English.

A speaker from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for instance, might 11)_____ his speech with localised vocabulary, such as gan for “to go” or clarts for “mud”. Probably the most noticeable feature of Geordie grammar is a confusing difference in 12)_____ forms.

Keys:

1. phonetic; 4) vocabulary; 7) describe; 10) lexical;

2. variants; 5) intend; 8) standard; 11) pepper;

3. dialects; 6) indicate; 9) Scottish; 12) pronoun.

Exercise 4. Answer the questions:

1. What is the peculiarity of a dialect?

2. How many variants and main groups are in Great Britain?

3. How does the Cockney dialect work?

4. What is the difference between Standard English and Scottish English?

5. What is the most noticeable feature of Geordie grammar?