Types of English Pronunciation

New Zealand English Pronunciation  

This type of pronunciation has many features in common with RP. The most striking phonetic features of the New Zealand English pronunciation are the following:

a) the short vowel /I/ is prolonged in the final unstressed position: city /sIti:/, very /verI:/ etc.

b) in the unstressed position /I/ becomes /ə/. Phonologically the opposition /I-ə/ is neutralized in an unstressed position: did /dəd/, it is /ət əz/, charges /ʧa:ʤəz/.

c) Words like dance, chance, glass have two forms of pronunciation one, which coincides with RP, the other – with GA :/da:ns/ - /dæns/, /ʧa:ns/ - /ʧæns/, /gla:s/ - /gæls/ etc.;

d) The diphthong /au/ is substituted by /æu/: town /tæun/,cow /kæu/ etc.;

e) Besides the influences of GA, as in the usage of /æ/ and substitution of /ʃ/ by /ʒ/ in words like Asia /`eIʒ /, version /və:ʒn/ the influence of Eastern English and Cockney dialects may be noticed in the New Zealand pronunciation.

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