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Is there a name for the addition of an exaggerated "h" sound before a vowel, and...

  • 11-04-2018 6:13pm
    #1
    hatrickpatrick
    Registered Users Posts: 17,797 ✭✭✭✭


    ...why is it generally (in my excperience) used as a stereotype of a thick posh accent - across various English-speaking countries?

    Example: "Pig", pronounced as "P-hhhhig". "Ted", pronounced as "T-hhhhhhhed". "Cup", pronounced as "C-hhhhhup". Etc.

    Often, this accompanies the transformation of "ih" sounds (again, as in "pig") to "eh" sounds (so "pig" becomes "peg", but also with the added "h", so "p-hhheg".

    This appears in various contexts, but the three I can think of off the top of my head are characters playing exaggerated / poserish posh types, people trying to put on a "sexy" voice, and specifically men playing an exaggerated "camp" character. It may also be a feature of the "valley girl" stereotype in the US, but I'm less clear on this one and I can't think of any recent examples. I suppose the breathiness of it makes sense if one is trying to sound like "pillow talk", but outside that context it's always something I've been interested by. Unfortunately, it's difficult off the top of my head to think of specific examples of clips I could link to featuring this accent, but if any occur to me I'll post them in.

    I'm interested because I've done a bit of Googling and this doesn't seem to be a formally labelled or recognised feature of speech, and yet it's definitely a very distinct thing which only seems to appear in the contexts I've listed above. Is there a name for this, or is it just one of those speech quirks which no one has ever bothered remarking upon or writing about?


Comments

  • #2
    Sam Russell
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 19,359 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sam Russell


    Reminds me of the old jokes.

    What do they do in Ballymena about sex?

    They listen to the sex-o-clock news.

    What do those in Brighton use sex for?

    They carry their coal in them.

    In London, cockneys eat Kike, but in upmarket Westminster, they eat Keek.

    Gearge Bernard Shaw had a lot of views on pronunciation - watch My Fair Lady.


  • #3
    deirdremf
    Registered Users Posts: 1,871 ✭✭✭deirdremf


    hatrickpatrick wrote: »
    ...why is it generally (in my excperience) used as a stereotype of a thick posh accent - across various English-speaking countries?

    Example: "Pig", pronounced as "P-hhhhig". "Ted", pronounced as "T-hhhhhhhed". "Cup", pronounced as "C-hhhhhup". Etc.

    Often, this accompanies the transformation of "ih" sounds (again, as in "pig") to "eh" sounds (so "pig" becomes "peg", but also with the added "h", so "p-hhheg".

    This appears in various contexts, but the three I can think of off the top of my head are characters playing exaggerated / poserish posh types, people trying to put on a "sexy" voice, and specifically men playing an exaggerated "camp" character. It may also be a feature of the "valley girl" stereotype in the US, but I'm less clear on this one and I can't think of any recent examples. I suppose the breathiness of it makes sense if one is trying to sound like "pillow talk", but outside that context it's always something I've been interested by. Unfortunately, it's difficult off the top of my head to think of specific examples of clips I could link to featuring this accent, but if any occur to me I'll post them in.

    I'm interested because I've done a bit of Googling and this doesn't seem to be a formally labelled or recognised feature of speech, and yet it's definitely a very distinct thing which only seems to appear in the contexts I've listed above. Is there a name for this, or is it just one of those speech quirks which no one has ever bothered remarking upon or writing about?
    I think it's a form of "aspiration", but not to be confused with "aspiration" or séimhiú in Irish (the "h" added to a consonant to show that it has changed pronunciation and has become a different, but related, consonant.)


  • #4
    odetooi
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 26 ✭odetooi


    Google


  • #5
    accensi0n
    Registered Users Posts: 2,738 ✭✭✭accensi0n


    odetooi wrote: »
    Google

    Ghooglhe?


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