Glottal Stops and Tyneside Glottalization: Competing Patterns of Variation and Change in British English

Abstract

Glottalization and glottal replacement (particularly of/t/in British English) have traditionally been assumed to be variants characteristic of male, lower-class speakers. Both phenomena have been heavily stigmatized, but are spreading rapidly. Recent studies in various parts of the British Isles (including Tyneside) have suggested that glottal replacement of/t/is led by middle-class and/or female speakers. A fuller understanding of the nature of this linguistic change depends on treating glottalization of/p, t, k/(a more localized Tyneside feature) and glottal replacement as independent phenomena, rather than as points on a lenition scale corresponding to a social continuum (e.g., casual to careful style). The studies of Tyneside glottalization reported here show that, while females lead in the use of glottal replacement, males prefer glottalization. This pattern is interpreted in terms of a preference of males for localized variants, whereas females lead in adopting supra-local norms. © 1994, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.