Category Archives: History

19th century sound change in Kent

Posted on 2016/11/15 by swphonetics

This page traces ten sound changes that completely changed the character of the regional accent spoken in 19th century Kent Rural locations and years of birth of the seven SED Kentish informants and H G Wells (each in bold italics), … Continue reading →

Posted in Accents, Articulation, Consonants, Dialects, English, History, Kent, Pronunciation, rhoticity, RP, Uncategorized, Vowels | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 19th century sound change in Kent

Sound Recording Technology

Posted on 2013/04/25 by swphonetics

150 years of sound recording technology   There is a more complete version here, with more detail, links and sound examples.   An illustration of the 1859 version of Scott’s Phonautograph, as published in Franz Josef Pisko, Die neueren Apparate … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, History, Methods, Technical stuff | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sound Recording Technology

The Bell vowel model: its acoustic weaknesses

Posted on 2013/01/22 by swphonetics

1. The single resonance and two resonance theories. Bell coupled his new vowel model to the then popular single resonance theory, claiming the vowel tone (resonance) depended on the dimensions of the buccal cavity. In Visible Speech (1867:71), he postulated … Continue reading →

Posted in Articulation, History, Vowels | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Bell vowel model: its acoustic weaknesses

Maikop 1992

Posted on 2012/12/01 by swphonetics

Adapted from Wikipedia The 6th Colloquium of the Societas Caucasologica Europaea was held at Maikop, the capital of the Republic of Adygeia, on 23-25 June, 1992. The colloquium was organized by Asker Gadagatl of the University of Maikop, the main … Continue reading →

Posted in Caucasus, History | Comments Off on Maikop 1992

Societas Caucasologica Europaea

Posted on 2012/07/26 by swphonetics

The Societas Caucasologica Europaea organized biennial meetings on Caucasian linguistics and literature for about 20 years. More details can be found here. The biennial meetings commenced in 1983 (Hull, England). Subsequent meetings were held in 1984 (Vienna, Austria), 1986 (Oslo, … Continue reading →

Posted in Caucasus, History, Language | Comments Off on Societas Caucasologica Europaea

The ancient throat-tongue-lip model

Posted on 2012/03/21 by swphonetics

Vowel articulation: The ancient throat-tongue-lip model This page continues from The Bell vowel model. References in a new page. The two classes of model Ancient India Throat vowels Palatal vowels Labial vowels Aperture Ancient Rome Renaissance Before Alexander Melville Bell … Continue reading →

Posted in Articulation, History, Vowels | Comments Off on The ancient throat-tongue-lip model

The Bell vowel model

Posted on 2012/03/01 by swphonetics

How it all started: The Bell vowel model This topic continues at: The ancient throat-tongue-lip model The Bell vowel model: its acoustic weaknesses   Alexander Melville Bell’s model for vowel articulation will see its 150th anniversary in 2017. The latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Articulation, History, Vowels | Comments Off on The Bell vowel model

Some 19th c phoneticians

Posted on 2012/02/14 by swphonetics

Some 19th century phoneticians   Alexander John Ellis 1814-1890 Mathematician and phonetician, remembered for his work on early English pronunciation, English dialects, spelling reform, musical scales. He translated Helmholtz’s Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Comments Off on Some 19th c phoneticians