The Phonetic and Phonological Influence of Welsh on the English Dialects of Wales

The English language has a long history in Wales, and it is widely agreed that the Welsh language has influenced the varieties of English that evolved there. However, the effects of these influences have not been extensively described and are scattered across numerous publications, which often devote just a few sentences to them. This paper serves as a review of such studies regarding the phonetic and phonological influences of Welsh on Welsh Englishes, as well as a comparison of the sound systems of these two languages and other varieties of English as an attempt to identify additional influences that possibly have shaped this dialect.

The differences in the pronunciation of segments and suprasegmentals of English dialects in Wales can usually be explained by direct influences of the native tongue of Wales, for instance, uvular realisations of /r/ in the Aberhosan area, or as originating from neighbouring English dialects; however, often this is a matter of either shared influence or, as in the case of monophthongization of FACE and GOAT vowels, Welsh origin reinforced by local English dialects.

Identifying the precise origin of a linguistic feature is often challenging; however, in such instances, the research presented in this paper highlights the gaps in knowledge regarding the phonetics and phonology of Welsh Englishes and identifies topics where future research would be especially desirable.