Cardiff English

The Cardiff accent, also known as Cardiff English, is the special way people in and around the city of Cardiff speak English. It is a type of Welsh English and sounds a little different from other accents in Wales. People say its voice sounds lower than a very careful way of speaking called Received Pronunciation, and its way of changing tones is more like how people speak in England than in Wales.

About 500,000 people speak Cardiff English. This accent is mostly found inside the northern part of Cardiff. It does not stretch into the nearby South Wales Valleys, where people speak with a different style. But the accent spreads to places east and west of Cardiff, covering areas like the old counties of South Glamorgan (including Barry) and south-west Gwent, including Newport and coastal Monmouthshire.

The way people speak in Cardiff changed a lot during the nineteenth century as the city grew. Many people moved there from different parts of Britain and other places. The Cardiff accent and words were especially shaped by people who came from the English Midlands, the West Country, other parts of Wales, and Ireland. Although a big study of English dialects called the Survey of English Dialects did not look at Cardiff, it did study nearby Newport and six small villages in Monmouthshire.

Influence

The way people speak in Cardiff has been shaped by many places. It shares similarities with how people speak in Liverpool and the West Country because these areas were important ports and many people moved there for work. As new people from different backgrounds moved to Cardiff, especially during the industrial revolution, the accent began to change. Today, influences from Arabic and Hindustani languages can be heard in how younger people in Cardiff speak.

Social variation

Research shows that people in Cardiff speak differently based on their backgrounds. Those from wealthier areas usually have a softer accent, closer to standard English. People from less wealthy parts of the city, especially in the east and west, tend to have a stronger and broader accent.

Phonetics and phonology

Cardiff English shares many sounds with the English spoken in the Severnside area of England but is special because it does not pronounce the "r" sound at the end of words. One special feature of this accent is that people do not round their lips when saying certain sounds, unlike in Received Pronunciation.

The way people shape their tongues is also different. In Cardiff English, the front of the tongue stays firm while the back relaxes, making a larger space in the mouth. This gives the accent a slightly nasal sound. The accent usually does not use a creaky voice sound and has tighter vocal folds, making it sound husky or breathy.

Place names in Cardiff, such as Crwys and Llanedeyrn, might be pronounced in ways that follow neither Welsh nor English rules.

Consonants

Consonants in Cardiff English are similar to Received Pronunciation but have some unique features:

• Strong aspiration or affrication of voiceless stops /p, t, k/ occurs in stressed syllables.
• Flapping of /t/ happens between voiced sounds.
• Fricative versions of voiced stops appear in the middle of words.
• The fricatives /s, z/ can sound sharper before front vowels.
• G-dropping is common but can carry some prestige.
• H-dropping often occurs, especially in weak forms.
• The broadest accents might change /r/ to a tapped sound.
• Some words’ final consonants may be devoiced.
• The pronunciation of /l/ follows the same clear/dark patterns as in Received Pronunciation.
• Two loan consonants from Welsh, /ɬ/ and /x/, appear in Welsh names.

Vowels

Cardiff English is non-rhotic, meaning the /r/ is only pronounced before a vowel. Linking and intrusive R is present, similar to Received Pronunciation.

The vowels in Cardiff English differ significantly from Received Pronunciation. Many vowels are more centralized, and the starting points of diphthongs are different. Labialisation is either absent or done with tight lips.

Monophthongs

• The FLEECE vowel is closer and more front.
• KIT is more open.
• The weak vowel merger is variable.
• GOOSE is closer and advanced.
• The SQUARE vowel is a steady monophthong.
• DRESS is more open and retracted.
• NURSE uses a closer and fronter vowel with strong rounding.
• STRUT and COMMA belong to one phoneme /ə/.
• The FOOT vowel is phonetically central.
• Broad forms use a centralised, unrounded THOUGHT vowel.
• PALM is an open front vowel, notably longer than in Received Pronunciation.
• TRAP is typically open, varying from front to central.
• The LOT vowel is unrounded and fronter.

Diphthongs

The diphthongs in Cardiff English are /ei, əu, əi, ʌu, ʌi/, corresponding to FACE, GOAT, PRICE, MOUTH, and CHOICE. Centring diphthongs like NEAR and CURE do not exist and often correspond to disyllabic sequences.

• FACE has a closer, centralised in-glide.
• GOAT is commonly a central–back glide.
• PRICE has a closer in-glide.
• MOUTH starts somewhat closer.
• CHOICE’s in-glide is unrounded and centralised.

The sequence /juː/ is /ɪu/ in words like nude or you. Cardiff English lacks smoothing found in Received Pronunciation.

Intonation

The intonation of Cardiff English is closer to English accents than Welsh but has a wider pitch range than Received Pronunciation. The average pitch is lower than other South Wales accents and Received Pronunciation. High rising terminal characterizes the dialect, along with consistent intonation expressing annoyance, excitement, and emphasis.

Assimilation and elision

Cardiff English, like Received Pronunciation, often assimilates and elides sounds. This happens even when speaking slowly, distinguishing it from other English accents. Patterns from other South Wales dialects are not found in Cardiff.

• /ð/ is commonly elided at the beginning of words.
• Contractions like doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t are realised with /z/ as a stop.
• Final /d, t/ before another consonant is often elided.
• Intervocalically /r/ is occasionally elided.
• Unstressed /ə, ɪ/ are mainly elided for vowels.

Grammar

Cardiff English has some special ways of speaking that come from dialects in England, especially around Reading. One common feature is using the same verb ending for everyone, like saying "I lives" or "they squeaks". Sometimes, verbs change in unusual ways, such as "she've gone" instead of "she has gone".

People in Cardiff also use double negatives, like "I haven't had nothin'", and they might say "them cats" instead of "those cats". They often leave out extra words when speaking, like saying "out" instead of "out of". There are also special ways to show where things are, like saying "by here" instead of "here". The phrase "isn't it?" is used a lot to check if someone agrees, similar to saying "right?" or "yes?".

Vocabulary

Cardiff shares many words with south-west Wales, but some old farming words are not often used in the city. However, some special words are still used in Cardiff:

• to clam (for) — to really want something
• dap — a type of shoe
  • to dap — to bounce or hit
  • dap(per) — describes someone's height, usually small (like "small boy") but can also mean tall when talking without words
  • dapping — bouncing once and catching it
• half — used to show strong feelings, like "he's really great"
• hopper — a container for grain, not a seed basket
• lush, cracking — words meaning great, fabulous, or attractive
• off — unfriendly or hostile
• pine-end — used by a few people to mean the end of a gable
• pluddle — to walk through water
• tidy — a word of approval, meaning nice-looking, decent, or a job well done

Notable speakers

You might hear the Cardiff accent in the voices of famous people like Frank Hennessy, Charlotte Church, Colin Jackson, Craig Bellamy, and Stan Stennett. This accent gives the city a special sound that many recognize.

Opinions

Many people think the Cardiff accent sounds a lot like what they believe a "proper Welsh accent" should be, which is often linked to the accents found in the South Wales Valleys. Because it is quite different from standard English, researchers from the University of Birmingham have studied it to help improve speech recognition technology.

A former leader of the Assembly, Rhodri Morgan, noted that having a strong Cardiff accent was once seen as a class issue. He remembered teachers in a Cardiff school preparing students for professional careers by practicing phrases like, "Hark, hark the lark In Cardiff Arms Park!"

A survey by the BBC found that Welsh accents are among the least popular in the UK, but the Cardiff accent was viewed more favorably than the accent from nearby Swansea.