Pirate Linguistics: What is Rhoticity in Language?
In this one-time course, we will examine the stereotypical pirate accent from film, regions of England, migration patterns between the 1500s and 1800s, and rhoticity in general across the English-speaking world.
Serena W, PhD
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(18)
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hoursHomework
NAAssessment
Students will receive informal feedback during the session as they work through the materialClass Experience
This linguistics course will focus on rhoticity-- the pronunciation of /r/ in various dialects of English. We will begin by looking at the stereotypical pronunciation of R by Hollywood pirates, and where pirates between 1500-1800 came from, and compare the British accents of the same time period. We will also categorize varieties of English (Scottish, Irish, New Zealander, Australian, American, etc.) as rhotic or non-rhotic. If there is time, we will also try to discover the rule for why speakers from England sometimes pronounce the /r/ sound at the ends of words.
Learning Goals
Students will be able to define or describe rhoticity
Students will be able to articulate the origin of the stereotypical pirate accent from popular culture
Students will be able to describe general patterns in migration during the 1500s-1800s as they concern English speakers and pirates
Students will be able to classify varieties of English as rhotic or nonrhotic
Students will be able to recognize some characters of the International Phonetic Alphabet in order to understand phonetic transcription
Students will systematically discover the pattern for "linking R" in the speech of many Brits
Other Details
Supply List
Students are encouraged to bring pencil/paper for solving a pattern-recognition problem.
1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
We will look at dialect maps, historic maps, the consonant and vowel chart from the International Phonetic Association, and use an online keyboard for typing phonetic transcription (https://ipa.typeit.org/full/).
Joined March, 2020
5.0
18reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
PhD in Linguistics and bachelor's degree in Secondary Education
Experience working with high school students in linguistics on Outschool since 2020Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$25
per classMeets once
55 min
Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
1-12 learners per class
