S Retraction in the South-East of England: A Snapshot of the Emergence of a Sound Change in Progress - Anglistik
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45
ULRIKE ALTENDORF, RACHEL MACDONALD, AND NIKLAS THIELKING
S Retraction in the South-East of England:
A Snapshot of the Emergence of a Sound Change in Progress
It is all very well for people to complain about the abuse hurled by fans at the England v
Portugal match, but this is hardly surprising when one hears our spoken language under
constant attack from the all-pervading virus of "London lad" speak – via the "meeja",
including, alas, Radio 3. I am tired of hearing presenters – from weather girls to news
readers – refer to "Chewsday" [Tuesday] [...] and to "Alec Shtewart" [Stewart] (who
keeps wicket for England) [...] The insidious degradation of spoken English saddens me
and someone ought to stand up and say "enough". (The Daily Telegraph 17 June 2000,
qtd. in Kerswill 2001, 57; our emphasis)
1. Introduction
What the "London lad" pronunciations of Tuesday as "Chewsday" and of Alec Stewart
as "Alec Shtewart" have in common is that they are presented here as new
developments although they had already been present before as features of
coarticulation in colloquial rather than formal styles. The former, termed 'yod
coalescence' by Wells (1982, 207), was for example already described by Daniel Jones
(1956) as an instance of "contextual assimilation" (§378; §402). The latter, now termed
'/s/-retraction,' can also be explained in terms of assimilation (Lawrence 2000; Shapiro
1995) but has only recently been mentioned in the literature (see below). At some point
in time, these instances of coarticulation must have been phonologized into sound
changes. We will argue that in the South-East of England, this process took place at the
end of the last century when both features had acquired social meaning and started to
attract the attention of language commentators (Rosewarne 1994, 4; Wells 1997, 21-
22). Wells (1997, 21) explicitly classifies yod coalescence in stressed syllables, such as
in Chewsday, as a "change in the late twentieth century" but does not mention /s/-
retraction, which will be the topic of the present study.
The term '/s/-retraction' refers to the retraction of the tongue away from the alveolar
ridge to a posterior position approaching post-alveolar /ʃ/. It is primarily found in /str/-
clusters in word-initial (street) and word-medial (Australia) contexts but also in other
pre-consonantal contexts, such as in word-initial /stj/-clusters (student). In this study,
we will explore the degree and distribution of /s/-retraction in /str/- and /stj/-clusters, in
two genders, male and female, three locations, London, Colchester and Canterbury, and
within London, in three classes, the working class (WC), the middle class (MC) and
the upper middle class (UMC). 40 adolescent speakers were interviewed in 1998 and
1999 by one co-author of this paper as part of her PhD project on Estuary English
(Altendorf 2003). For the PhD project, only 10 of these 40 informants were taken into
consideration and the data were analysed auditorily. For this paper, the remaining 30
speakers were included in the sample and the data were analysed acoustically.
Anglistik: International Journal of English Studies 32.1 (Spring 2021): 45-64.
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Theoretically, we will draw on a number of phonetic and social approaches to explain
our findings and the ensuing development as we now know it. In accordance with the
majority of researchers, we consider /s/-retraction as the result of "phonologization of
coarticulation" (Baker et al. 2011, 348). With regard to what has actually triggered this
process, we will discuss two different viewpoints, Shapiro's (1995) "non-local
assimilation at a distance" as opposed to Lawrence's (2000) "affrication account." In
order to explain the gradual increase in retraction, we will discuss Ohala's
"accumulation-of-error" theory (Baker et al. 2011, 353) and Baker et al.'s (2011, 351)
for personal use only / no unauthorized distribution
"extreme coarticulatory" theory. As to the enregisterment of the retracted variants with
social classes, we will refer to the often-cited effects of social mobility and the related
changes in "language-ideological schemata" (Johnstone 2017, 23).
2. Histories Meet Varieties
In the South-East of England, /s/-retraction was – to the best of our knowledge – first
Winter Journals
described by David Rosewarne in the context of Estuary English in 1994:
Similarly, /st/ in initial and in postvocalic medial (but not in final) position is pronounced
by a minority of EE-speakers as /ʃt/, for example, /'ʃtaɪʃən/ for station and /'eʃtʃueəri:/ for
estuary. (Rosewarne 1994, 4)
Since Rosewarne described /s/-retraction as a minor feature of Estuary English, it was
included in the data sample of the PhD project mentioned above. In a pilot study, /s/-
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retraction had been mainly observed in /str/ and /stj/ clusters in word-initial position
and it is in these phonetic contexts in which it was targeted in the main study. During
the process of data analysis, the following posting appeared on the Linguist LIST:
One of the first things I noticed when I lived in Hawaii in the early seventies was the
strong palatalisation of /(s)tr/ clusters e.g. street = [shchreet], tree = [chree]. I've recently
observed a similar phenomenon in some thirty-something speakers from the northeast of
the US, at least in the /str/ clusters. How widespread is this? (Harrison 1999)
Harrison's question was answered by quite a few linguists from different parts of the
English-speaking world, including Martin Ball, who reported to have observed /s/-
retraction in the South-East of England, where it seemed to be on the increase. In 2003,
Trudgill joined this group of linguists who had observed /s/-retraction informally.
This pronunciation [/s/-retraction in /str/ clusters] is now also beginning to occur in
England. I have observed it informally from a number of people, including broadcasters,
all of them apparently under 30, during the course of 2001. (Trudgill 2003, 59)
For the South-East of England, the 1990s seem to be the decisive years in which
retracted /s/-variants had reached a degree of retraction and pervasiveness that lay and
expert commentators felt that they were observing a new phenomenon rather than the
familiar connected speech process. By presenting historical data from this period, this
study will offer an insight into the state of affairs at this stage of development. What
this study cannot offer is apparent-time or real-time data that will substantiate the
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informal observations that this state of affairs really does constitute a change. This
remains a desideratum to be explored in future research.
3. State of the Art
/s/-retraction is a sound change documented in various varieties of English. This sound
change involves the palatalization of /s/, which in turn is similar to /ʃ/ as the tongue is
retracted away from the alveolar ridge towards a more posterior position. /s/-retraction
is primarily found in /str/-clusters in word-initial (street) and word-medial (Australia)
contexts. As a result of this, the word street sounds more like shtreet. In British dialects
/s/-retraction is also observed in /stj/ contexts (student) (Altendorf 2003; Nichols and
Bailey 2018; Thielking 2019). Previous research reported /s/-retraction in dialects in
the US (Baker et al. 2011; Durian 2007; Gylfadottir 2015; Labov 2001; Phillips and
Resnick 2019; Rutter 2011; Shapiro 1995; Wilbanks 2017), the UK (Altendorf 2003;
Bass 2009; Cruttenden 2014; Glain 2014; Nichols and Bailey 2018; Thielking 2019),
Australia (Stevens and Harrington 2016), New Zealand (Lawrence 2000; Warren 2006)
as well as in a large-scale cross-dialectal study (Stuart-Smith et al., 2019). Although
/s/-retraction has been extensively studied in recent years, particularly in the US, /s/-
retraction in South-Eastern British English remains rather understudied (Altendorf
2003; Bass 2009). While most previous studies investigated /s/-retraction as a sound
change in progress, the data analysed in the present contribution provides a unique
opportunity to study the historical origins of this sound change in south-east England
in the late 1990s.
In terms of its historic trajectory and social stratification, /s/-retraction as a sound
change in progress is generally found to be led by young as compared to older and
female as compared to male speakers. One exception to this is a study conducted by
Bass (2009) in Colchester. Using auditory analysis, Bass reported that while younger
speakers showed greater rates of retracted /s/ than older speakers, men displayed higher
use of the non-standard [ʃtr]-variant than women. Bass suggests that the increase in /s/-
retraction might be the result of the increased mobility of speakers from London
spreading the new retracted variants to its suburbs. Similarly, Durian (2007) also found
speaker mobility and urbanisation to play an important role in the spread of /s/-
retraction in Columbus, Ohio. Speakers from an urban origin i.e. born in Columbus
showed significantly higher use of retracted /s/ than speakers from the suburbs. In
addition, Durian (2007) found an influence of social class on retraction of /str/. The
highest use of retracted variants was found in working-class speakers (39%). While
middle-class speakers showed slightly lower use (26%), upper-middle-class speakers
demonstrated significantly lower rates of retracted /s/ (8%).
Early investigations into /s/-retraction largely relied on auditory analysis as well as
descriptive evidence (Lawrence 2000; Shapiro 1995) to study this sound change. In
recent years, research adopted new methodological approaches using acoustic analysis,
experimental methods (Baker et al. 2011; Nichols and Bailey 2018; Thielking 2019;
Rutter 2011) and large-scale corpus studies (Bailey et al. 2019; Gylfadottir 2015;
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Stuart-Smith et al. 2019; Wilbanks 2017), as well as perceptual studies (Phillips and
Resnick 2019; Steven and Harrington 2016).
4. Linguistic Variable
This study investigates sibilants in the word-initial consonant clusters /str/ and /stj/. The
two sibilants /s/ and /ʃ/ can be described based on their articulation as well as their
acoustics. Articulatorily, /s/ and /ʃ/ can be distinguished in terms of the placement of the
tongue, the tongue shape and lip rounding. As an alveolar fricative, /s/ is produced with
the tongue positioned close to the alveolar ridge. Furthermore, the tongue shape is
grooved and there is no to minimal lip rounding. In contrast, /ʃ/ is a post-alveolar fricative,
for which the tongue is held anterior to the alveolar ridge. It also shows a flat or slit tongue
and strong lip rounding. These articulatory differences are also captured in the acoustic
spectrum of the fricatives, and largely reflect the resonances of the cavity in front of the
constriction resulting from the tongue position at the alveolar ridge. As a result of the
retracted tongue position and stronger lip rounding, /ʃ/ has a larger front cavity than /s/.
Several acoustic measures were shown to reliably distinguish /s/ and /ʃ/ (Forrest et
al. 1988; Jongman et al. 2000). Firstly, the two sounds can be differentiated by their
spectral peak, "i.e. the most prominent energy density maximum (peak) in each
spectrum" (Hughes and Halle 1956, 306). Secondly, the spectral centre of gravity
(CoG), i.e. the weighted mean of the spectral energy, was found to capture the
differences between both fricatives. Both spectral peak and CoG show lower Hertz
values for /ʃ/ compared to /s/.
Acoustic studies conducted on /str stj/-retraction used one of these two measures to
analyse the retraction of /s/ (Baker et al. 2011; Gylfadottir 2015; Nichols and Bailey 2018;
Thielking 2019; Stuart-Smith et al. 2019; Wilbanks 2017; Steven and Harrington 2016;
Rutter 2011). These studies found that retracted /s/ displays lower spectral peak and CoG
than canonical /s/. As a consequence, retracted /s/ is acoustically shifted in the direction
of /ʃ/.
5. Data
Forty speakers, 19 male and 21 female, were interviewed in – with one exception – same-
sex pairs in dyadic interviews with the fieldworker. The fieldworker employed the
Labovian method of the structured face-to-face interview to elicit three styles, an
interview style, a reading style and a word-list style. All speakers were 16 to 17 years old,
born and brought up in London and the south-east and still lived there at the time of the
interviews (1998-1999). The two south-eastern localities chosen for this study were the
two capitals of the counties north and south of London, Colchester (Essex) and
Canterbury (Kent), both at a similar distance from London and likely to be under
comparable linguistic influence. They also defined an area that Rosewarne (1984, 29)
considered to be the "heartland" of Estuary English. Social stratification was based on the
assumption that the English school system reflected – and may still reflect – social class
differentiation in England. The choice of a particular school type was determined by
parents' educational values as well as by their financial resources. As qualitative and
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quantitative factors of class membership, they are in turn directly linked to the definition
of social class. That this "link" was still valid in the 1990s can be seen from the title of a
book on education in Britain, Class War: The State of British Education (2002), published
by the former Chief Inspector of Schools, Chris Woodhead. Within London three
different school types were chosen to stratify pupils as working class (comprehensive
school), middle class (grammar school) and upper middle class (public school). On the
basis of the hypothesis that native speakers of Estuary English are prototypically middle-
class speakers, it was only the middle class as represented by grammar schools that was
studied in all three locations. Table 1 provides an overview of the methodological design.
Social Regional Variation Stylistic
Variation Variation
Class Colchester London Canterbury Styles
Upper Middle PUBLIC SCHOOL
Class (UMC) 4 male, 4 female Interview
speakers Style
Reading
Middle GRAMMAR SCHOOL GRAMMAR SCHOOL GRAMMAR SCHOOL Style
Class 4 male, 4 female 4 male, 4 female 5 male, 3 female
(MC) speakers speakers speakers Word List
Style
Working COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL
Class 4 male, 4 female
(WC) speakers
Table 1: Methodological Design
6. Analysis
6.1 Acoustic Analysis
The acoustic analysis was carried out in Praat. All word-initial /str stj/ sibilant tokens
were annotated manually by the researcher and extracted automatically with the help
of a script. Annotation of the sibilants was based on the onset and offset of frication of
the sibilant visible in the waveform. All recordings were digitized at 44.1 kHz. Spectra
of each sibilant were extracted using the To spectrum function in Praat. After high- and
low-pass filtering at 1kHz and 22kHz, the spectra were converted using the LTAS (1-
to-1) function from which the spectral peak was calculated/measured automatically (see
Figure 1). A number of tokens was also checked manually by two of the researchers.
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Figure 1: Spectrum of sibilant in the word straight with a spectral peak of 5997 Hz
6.2 Statistical Analysis
In order to examine /s/-retraction in the sample, the spectral peak (Hz) of the sibilants was
analysed as a function of the variables Context, Gender, Location, Class and Speaking
Style using mixed-effects linear regression models with the lme4 and lmerTest packages
in R (Bates et al. 2015; Kuznetsova et al. 2017; R Core Team 2018). A summary of the
predictors used is given in Table 2, with reference levels shown in bold.
Predictor Type Levels/Units
Context Factor /str/, /stj/
Gender Factor female, male
Location Factor Canterbury, Colchester, London
Class Factor Upper Middle Class (UMC), Middle
Class (MC), Working Class (WC)
Style Factor Interview, reading, word list
Table 2: A summary of predictors used to model /s/-retraction
Due to the unbalanced sample, two models were run. The first examined the effect
of location across the MC speakers only, as Canterbury and Colchester only had MC
speakers (Nspeakers = 22, 11F; Nobs = 229). The second examined the effect of class
in London only, as WC and UMC data were only available for London (Nspeakers =
24, 12F; Nobs = 242). In order to decide which predictors and interactions to include
in the models, all possible potential model terms were manually fitted (separately for
the MC and London data) and then confirmed by using stepwise backwards model
selection (Kuznetsova et al. 2017) with a model with random intercepts by-speaker and
by-word and all possible two-way interactions as the starting point. Random intercepts
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allow for a different baseline sibilant Hz for each speaker and each word (e.g. Winter
and Wieling 2016). Degrees of freedom, F-values, and p-values are calculated using
Satterthwaite's approximation (Kuznetsova et al. 2017). In both models, values below
2500 Hz were omitted as these are unlikely to be sibilants.
7. Results
7.1 Results: Model 1 (MC Speakers)
The final model table examining the effect of location across the MC speakers is shown
in Table 3. The model includes effects of Location, Gender and Style and a
Location*Style interaction. Context was not a significant predictor, suggesting no
difference in spectral peaks in /str/ vs /stj/ contexts in this sample.
Estimate Std. Error df t value Pr(>|t|)
(Intercept) 5145.88 756.25 60.49 6.804 5.2e-09 ***
locationCanterbury -1015.56 883.30 83.14 -1.150 0.25355
locationLondon 438.50 823.74 68.82 0.532 0.59621
gendermale -1112.13 446.32 17.90 -2.492 0.02275 *
stylereading -240.57 626.76 134.52 -0.384 0.70172
styleword-list 110.66 670.47 142.80 0.165 0.86913
locationCanterbury: 2410.79 779.90 194.68 3.091 0.00229 **
stylereading
locationLondon: 712.25 724.47 169.92 0.983 0.32694
stylereading
locationCanterbury 1837.34 837.36 200.43 2.194 0.02937 *
styleword-list
locationLondon: -70.99 785.16 182.50 -0.090 0.92806
styleword-list
Table 3: Final model for MC speakers
The modelled effect of gender is shown in Figure 2. As might be expected, the MC
females are predicted to have higher spectral peaks than the MC males (t = 2.492, p =
0.023). This is likely to be at least in part due to anatomical differences, correcting for
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this in order to ascertain whether or not female /s/ is less retracted in this sample is
discussed below.
Figure 2: Estimated effect of gender for the MC speakers
The interaction between location and style is illustrated in Figure 3. Within
Canterbury, the spectral peaks for the interview style are predicted to be lower than
both the Reading (t = -4.11, p < 0.001) and Word List (t = -3.492, p < 0.001) styles,
which do not differ significantly from each other. Within location style differences are
also not significant for London or Colchester, suggesting that the interview style may
result in particularly low spectral peaks (i.e. more retracted, and perhaps more casual
speech) in Canterbury. A caveat to this is the low n in the speaker sample (see
discussion below).
Figure 3: Location*style estimates for the MC speakers
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The spectral peaks in the Canterbury interviews are also predicted to be lower than
those in the London interviews (t = -1.886, p = 0.048). The predicted differences
between London interviews and Colchester interviews and between Canterbury
interviews and Colchester interviews are not significant.
The spectral peaks in the Colchester reading style are lower than those in the
Canterbury reading style (t = -2.219, p = 0.029) and marginally lower than those in the
London reading style (t = -1.405, p = 0.064). This is suggestive of a more casual reading
style in Colchester than elsewhere.
Post-hoc comparisons were carried out using the difflsmeans test (Kuznetsova et al.
2017), which does not correct for multiple comparisons. There is some debate about
whether to correct for multiple comparisons in mixed models (e.g. Gelman et al. 2012).
In the interests of also being maximally conservative, when a more conservative test is
used (e.g. emmeans with the Bonferroni method specified (Lenth 2019)), the within-
Canterbury style effects remain (along with the main effect of Gender). It can therefore
be argued that these effects are more robust than the others described above.
7.2 Results: Model 2 (London Speakers)
The final model table examining the effect of class across the London speakers is shown
in Table 4. The model only includes effects of Class and Gender, and no interactions.
Context and Style were not significant predictors, suggesting no difference in spectral
peaks in /str/ vs /stj/ contexts, or in interview vs. reading vs. word list in this sample.
Estimate Std.Error df t value Pr(>|t|)
(Intercept) 6225.19 422.47 27.33 14.735 1.59e-14 ***
classMC -556.29 445.52 20.24 -1.249 0.226048
classWC -2055.88 447.54 20.59 -4.594 0.000165 ***
gendermale -813.26 363.12 20.10 -2.240 0.036573 *
Table 4: Final model for London speakers
The modelled effect of gender is shown in Figure 4. The London females again have
higher spectral peaks than the London males (t = 2.240, p = 0.036). As noted above,
correcting for anatomical differences is discussed below.
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Figure 4: Estimated effect of gender for the London speakers
The effect of Class is illustrated in Figure 5. The WC speakers in London have
lower spectral peaks than the MC (t = 3.390, p = 0.003) and the UMC (t = -4.593, p <
0.001) speakers, whilst the MC and UMC speakers do not differ. It therefore appears
that the sibilants of the WC speakers are more retracted. These Class differences remain
when conservative post-hoc testing is used.
Figure 5: Estimated effect of class for the London speakers
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8. Discussion
8.1 Synchronic Patterns of Variation
Regional variation
Spectral-peak differences among MC speakers from London, Colchester and
Canterbury are not significant unless one includes Style. The problem of Style in this
data sample will be discussed below. We can therefore confirm, at least on the basis of
our data sample and only with regard to /s/-retraction, Rosewarne's (1984; 1994) claim
that there was a great deal of local accent convergence in the South-East of England in
the middle of the 20th century. Whether this was and is true for all the other features
that he subsumed under the label of 'Estuary England' remains a matter of debate. To
this day, Trudgill and Hannah (2017, 22) consider the term "unfortunate" because there
is, in their opinion "plenty of regional variation within this area." Wells (2013) suggests
that "rather, we have various sound changes emanating from working-class London
speech, each spreading independently." On the other hand, Kerswill remarked in 2001
that "in the south-east of England around London, it is quite difficult to tell where a
person comes from" (45). Our results cannot settle this debate but constitute further
evidence for those who argue in favour of accent convergence in the South-East, at
least for individual features.
Social variation
Taken together, the models suggest that Gender, Class and an interaction between Style
and Location are the best predictors of spectral peak. However, Gender and Style are
not as reliable as these findings may suggest. The problems related to them will be
discussed below.
Stylistic variation
The Labovian notion of contextual styles predicts the lowest peaks for the interview
style, which is the least formal style, and higher peaks for the reading and the word list
styles respectively because they are the more formal styles. We find this pattern partly
in Canterbury, where the spectral peaks for the interview style are significantly lower
than those for the two more formal styles, but we do not find it anywhere else. In
Canterbury and in London the average peaks in the more formal word list style are
lower, albeit not significantly so, than in the less formal reading style and in London
and Colchester they are almost identical with those of the even less formal interview
style. It is likely that the reason for the lack of a clear pattern of stylistic variation lies
at least partly in the experimental design. To animate the interview, the investigator had
combined the word list with an association test. The resulting entertainment exceeded
her expectations, unfortunately also her intentions. Many interviewees were more
relaxed and distracted during this activity than during the interview, hence the lower
peak values in the word list style.
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Gender variation
In line with previous research on /s/-retraction, and sibilants more generally, female
speakers show statistically higher spectral-peak values than male speakers. These
results, however, should be viewed with caution. Peak frequency is related to the length
of the cavity in front of the constriction and shorter front cavities produce higher peak
frequencies (e.g. Stevens 1998, 398). Given that, on average, women have smaller
vocal tracts than men, they also have smaller front cavities. Female speakers are
therefore expected to display higher peak frequencies than their male counterparts.
Many studies into sex-based differences of the articulation of /s/ have shown this to be
the case (see e.g. summary in Flipsen et al. 1999). For the South-East of England, Levon
and Holmes-Elliott (2013) report such sex-based differences in peak frequencies
between male and female speakers in two scripted-reality shows set "in the greater
London area" (111). Despite the problem of the interfering anatomical differences, they
conclude that
the quality or the magnitude of the difference found between men and women's sibilant
production could not be accounted for by anatomical factors alone; in other words, /s/
appeared to be doing something in terms of gender. (Levon and Holmes-Elliott 2013,
112)
Bass (2009, 17) also finds more retracted variants in the speech of both older and
younger male speakers than in that of their female counterparts. He concludes that
"perhaps it is the case that, in this situation, the linguistic change is being led by males"
(15). Bass's results are based on auditory and not on acoustic analysis and are therefore
not subject to the aforementioned anatomical sex bias.
At this point of our research, we are tempted to agree with Levon and Holmes-
Elliott in accepting the differences between male and female speakers as gender
differences. A closer look at our results shows, for example, that the average peak
values of our female London WC speakers are lower than those of the male MC
speakers in all three locations and those of the Colchester female MC speakers and
lower than those of the London male UMC speakers. In other words, despite anatomical
differences, women can produce these retracted variants if they "want" to. On the other
hand, we cannot make a firm statement before we have explored options of
normalization for gender (for more information on ongoing work on this topic, see
Outlook).
Social class variation
With regard to social class it was found that the WC speakers produce significantly
lower-frequency peaks than the UMC and MC speakers. The MC speakers also produce
lower-frequency peaks than the UMC speakers but the difference is not statistically
significant. Still these differences constitute a trend that resembles the findings made
by Stuart-Smith (2007) in Glasgow and Durian (2007) in Columbus, Ohio. Stuart-
Smith (2007, 75) found significant differences between MC and WC speakers in
Glasgow and Durian (2007, 68) between all three classes in Columbus. In both cases,
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WC speakers were using more retracted variants than the higher social class(es). These
findings are central to our study. They show that /s/-retraction in the South-East of
England was a sociolinguistic marker in the 1990s and interestingly also around the
same time elsewhere. 1 We can thus conclude that retracted /s/-variants had been
enregistered with class by the late 1990s and were not only a phonetic reflex of
coarticulation.
8.2 Aspects of the Diachronic Development
In order to be able to propose an explanation for our synchronic pattern of social
variation in the 1990s, we also need to consider diachronic aspects of /s/-retraction. In
addition, our data, although not diachronic in nature, can shed some light on the
plausibility of competing theories of the origins of /s/-retraction.
Social class variation interpreted in diachronic terms
The social class stratification of /s/-retraction in our data is in keeping with previous
sociolinguistic work suggesting that MC speakers are both geographically and socially
more mobile than speakers at the other two ends of the social class continuum. If we
accept Bass's (2009) findings and the informal observations that /s/-retraction is on the
increase in the South-East of England, we can go even further and interpret the current
data in such a way that MC speakers are beginning to change their pronunciation of
/str/ and /stj/ towards a more retracted WC norm. Our data would then offer a snapshot
of an incipient change in the MC speakers, who are beginning to retract their /s/ in /str/
and /stj/ in the direction of /ʃ/.
The trigger
To date, most researchers agree that /s/-retraction is the result of processes of
coarticulation. As to what may have triggered the retraction of /s/, two theories have
been proposed. First, Shapiro (1995) argues for 'assimilation at a distance,' in which /s/
in /str/ is assimilated to the following rhotic. In support of the change from /s/ to /ʃ/,
Rutter (2011, 31) cites three phonetic characteristics shared by both /ʃ/ and /r/
promoting assimilation. First, both /ʃ/ and /r/ share a more postalveolar place of
articulation, as opposed to alveolar /s/. Secondly, the tongue shape of /s/ is grooved,
while /ʃ/ has a flatter or slit tongue shape. Lastly, both /r/ and /ʃ/ display considerable
lip rounding, whereas /s/ shows no or only minimal lip protrusion. In contrast,
Lawrence (2000) proposes that the retraction of /s/ is a secondary effect of the previous
affrication of /t/. In a first step, /tr/ in /str/ is affricated to /tʃr/. Only then /s/ is
assimilated to /ʃ/, resulting in the following realisation of /str/ [ʃtʃr]. The same processes
also hold true for /stj/ contexts. While Shapiro's 'assimilation at a distance' can only
1 We must admit, however, that we can base this categorization of /s/-retraction only on our
results for Class since the results for Style have turned out to be less reliable. They do show
some stratification but not always in the expected direction.
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explain /s/-retraction in /str/, this theory can also account for retraction of /s/ found in
/stj/ contexts.
The fact that /str/ and /stj/ pattern together in the present data – they are not
significantly different from each other in terms of spectral peak – is suggestive of a
single underlying cause of retraction. Since Shapiro's 'assimilation at a distance' theory
can only account for retraction found in /str/ but not in /stj/ contexts, affrication seems
to be the most likely cause. This is supported by impressionistic auditory analysis as
well as visual inspection of /str/ and /stj/ tokens, which displayed similar affrication in
the waveform in some of the tokens. Furthermore, Bailey et al. (2019) found evidence
of a concurrent apparent-time change of /str/ and /stj/ as well as affrication in
Manchester English, as these contexts showed increased CoG lowering over time.
However, investigation of other sibilant clusters containing a rhotic, such as /spr/ and
/skr/, is necessary to rule out the 'assimilation at a distance' account of /s/-retraction in
the South-East of England.
From coarticulation to sound change
In order to account for the phonologization of the retracted /s/-allophones, again two
theories have been proposed. One group of theories views language change as a gradual
process. Baker et al. (2011) call these theories "accumulation-of-error theories" (349).
The term "error" refers to "minor changes in language" (349) that Ohala (2012), a major
proponent of these theories, classifies as "mini-sound changes" (25). In the case of /s/-
retraction, these errors would be /s/-variants that are increasingly more retracted than
canonical /s/. Ohala's assumption is that listeners compensate for such fluctuations as
long as they recognize the context that causes them (27). In our case, these would be
phonetic environments that trigger the relevant CPSs, such as following /tr/ and /tj/. If
speakers can no longer recognize these contexts as the origin of allophonic variation,
they will interpret the allophonic variants as new production targets. Baker et al. (2011)
contradict Ohala's theory. They argue that it overapplies because it "fails to predict
cases where change does not occur" (349) although the relevant allophonic variants are
present. Instead, Baker et al. follow Janda and Joseph (2003) in considering language
change as abrupt and as the result of "the chance alignment of extreme coarticulation
with extreme influence" (Baker et al. 2011, 351). In other words, a speaker with
extreme social influence needs to produce an extreme variant that the listener notices
and considers worthy of imitation. In our case, we would be looking for a speaker who
was socially highly influential and produced an extremely retracted variant of /s/.
The gradual nature of the synchronic pattern of social variation of our data suggests
a gradual rather than an abrupt development.2 However, at some point before the 1990s
2 This model receives further support by exemplar-based models of speech production and
perception. They assume that abstract categories are represented by detail-rich exemplar
clouds (Pierrehumbert 2001). These exemplar clouds consisting of previous phonetic
experiences are updated constantly with new exemplars. As a consequence, these category
representations are subject to change. Phonetic production targets are chosen based on
sampling from these exemplar clouds (production-perception loop). With regard to /s/-
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something must have happened that caused some listeners not "to correct for
coarticulatory effects" (Ohala 2012, 28) anymore. Since the result is a socially stratified
pattern of variation, it is likely that the coarticulatory allophones had acquired social
meaning that had an impact on the speakers' "willingness" to compensate. Nolan and
Kerswill (1990) posit that this stage is a necessary condition3 for a coarticulatory effect
to become a sound change:
[B]efore a CSP [connected speech process] becomes fossilised, there must be variation
in the community with respect to that CSP. This being so, it is impossible for all
languages and all dialects to have the same CSPs at the same time. (Nolan and Kerswill
1990, 304)
This pre-condition would also meet Baker et al.'s objection that theories of gradual
change cannot account for the fact that "changes are rare, even though phonetic
precursors are common" (350). Social conditions also have to be favourable.
Social mobility and new language-ideological schemata
A theory that is geared to describe and explain how a linguistic form is linked with
social meaning is the theory of 'enregisterment' (Johnstone et al. 2006). Two of the five
components of Johnstone's (2017) "enregisterment formula" are of particular interest
in the context of this paper:
(a) a set of social and historical exigencies that give rise to 'metapragmatic' practices, that
is, practices by which people suggest how A [a linguistic sign] is to be enregistered
(Johnstone 2017, 17)
(b) the concept of language-ideological schema [which are] circulating ideas about how
language works (Johnstone 2017, 22)
The historical exigency in this case is in particular Margaret Thatcher's rise to power
in 1979 and the ideological schema of meritocracy (in the positive sense of the term).
In an interview for The Sun in 1983, Thatcher identifies and names her ideology:
I again insisted on keeping the grammar schools because there were people like me who
needed grammar schools to climb the ladder to be equal to the people who started in at
the top […]. I believe in merit, I belong to meritocracy, and I don't care two hoots what
your background is. (Thatcher 1983)
As a result, the Thatcher era saw a great deal of upward social mobility, as Saalfeld
points out:
retraction, the perception of retracted variants can lead to a shift in the exemplar cloud of /s/
in the direction of /ʃ/ in /str/ contexts, which in turn would also influence a speaker's
production target. This is supported by agent-based modelling of /str/-retraction in Australian
English (Stevens et al. 2019).
3 It is, however, not a sufficient condition since sociolinguistic markers can also be stable.
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Auch wenn man die jeweilige Klassenstruktur des jeweiligen Landes berücksichtigt,
bleibt England im Vergleich mit anderen westlichen Industriegesellschaften ein durch
hohe Auf- und Abstiegschancen gekennzeichnetes Land. Soziologische Untersuchungen
zeigen auch, daß die Zahl der sozialen Aufsteiger in Großbritannien die Zahl der
Absteiger überwiegt. (Saalfeld 1998, 32)
[Even if one takes into account the respective class structure of the respective country,
England remains in comparison with other western industrial societies a country
characterized by many opportunities for social upward and downward mobility.
Sociological studies have also shown that in Great Britain the number of those who are
upwardly mobile exceeds the number of those who are downwardly mobile. (authors'
translation)
Speakers of lower social classes were now heard in "situations from which they would
have been excluded only a few decades ago" (Trudgill 2001, 9) and with them their
non-RP variants. Not everybody was impressed with the upwardly mobile, often
embodied and ridiculed by the stereotypical "Essex man," but they also represented a
success story. The Tory and life peer Norman Tebbit, a refined example of an upwardly
mobile almost-Essex born speaker, called his autobiography exactly this, Upwardly
Mobile (1988). In this climate, language-ideological schemata began to change, too.
Non-RP accents became more acceptable while the undemocratic acrolect RP was
losing prestige (e.g. Altendorf 2003, 34-36; Trudgill 2001, 7-8). The then editor of The
Spectator and now Prime Minister Boris Johnson described how he, as a speaker of RP,
had been discriminated against in those years:
It's brilliant to be Brummie, super to be Scottish or anything else. But just try reading out
a script in the received pronunciation of Queen's English on Radio Four at 11 a. m. on
Saturday and pow – you're sacked by Jimmy Boyle. (Johnson 1999, 10)
In England, in the years preceding our data sample, Baker et al.'s (2011) "speaker with
extreme coarticulation" (351) must have been these upwardly mobile WC speakers,
including those in the public eye like Norman Tebbit, who had if not extreme but at
least great influence.
9. Outlook
We will continue the analysis of our data. Work is ongoing to normalize for sex-related
differences. Spectral peak is often examined in conjunction with spectral centres of
gravity, or CoG is often used as the preferred measure alone (e.g. Baker et al. 2011;
Jongman et al. 2000; Stuart-Smith et al. 2019). CoG is representative both of the
spectral shape as a whole and differing place of sibilant articulation (e.g. Chodroff and
Wilson 2019). Work to add this measure to the analysis is ongoing. However, initial
analysis of CoG in this sample suggests a similar pattern of results.
In addition, the measurement of /s/ in /sV/ and /ʃ/ contexts is under way. This will
allow examination of the degree of /str, stj/ retraction in relation to /s/ and /ʃ/ and will
also allow calculation of an individual's /s/-retraction ratio to correct for anatomical
gender differences (e.g. Baker et al. 2011; Stevens and Harrington 2016). For example,
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Baker et al. (2011) express and analyse the position of a speaker's median /s/-cluster
CoG in relation to the speaker's median /s/ CoG and their median /ʃ/ CoG where the
median /s/ CoG is 0 and the median /ʃ/ CoG is 1. An /s/-cluster ratio closer to 1 is
therefore more /ʃ/-like and more retracted.
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