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Introduction

This paper basically provides a brief analysis of a song sung by Tim Minchin

in terms of its segmental features and prosodic rules such as assimilation, insertion,

linking and other. According to Arif and Metin (2000) songs give new insights into

the target culture, teaching and developing student's four skills. They are the means

through which cultural themes are presented effectively. Since they provide authentic

texts, they are motivating. Prosodic features of the language such as stress, rhythm,

intonation are presented through songs. This paper touches on the background of the

singer and selected song sung by him, the lyrics of the song and its phonetic

transcription based on the singer pronunciation, the analysis of segmental and

prosodic rules of the song and lastly factors affecting the

singer's pronunciation compared to RP.

1. Background of the Singer and Song

The singer of the song is Tim Minchin. He was

born in 1975 in UK. He is an Australian

comedian, actor and musician. He is best known

for his musical comedy. He has performed many

international comedic shows. He is also well-known for his frequent appearance on

TV and radio in both Australia and Britain. He started learning piano at the age of

eight. He After growing up in Perth, Western Australia, he attended the University of

Western Australia, where he graduated from it in 1995 with a bachelor of Arts in

English and Theatre and in 1998 completed his advanced Diploma in Contemporary

Music at the Western Australian Academy of performing Arts, and WAAPA before

moving to Melbourne in 2002 where he began to develop his act. He has a

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background in theatre and has appeared in various stages. His best breakouts are Dark

Side and Rock N Roll Nerd. Regarding his personal life, he has two children, Violet

and Casper. He is currently living in London with his wife, Sarah and his two

children. Talking about his comedic work is also worth mentioning. Generally, his

songs just appear to be funny. His famous words are '' I'm a comedian for musician

and I'm a musician for a comedian but I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno''.

In his performance, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair, heavy eye makeup and a

grand piano. According to Tim, he likes not wearing shoes in his shows because it

makes him feel more comfortable. He also considers the eye makeup important

because while he is playing the piano, he is not able to use his arms and relies on his

face for expressions and gestures; the eye liner makes his features more

distinguishable for the audience. His shows consist largely of comedic songs and

poetry, which subjects ranging from social satire, to inflatable dolls and sex fetishes.

Several of his songs deal with religion and taboos. His favorite song to perform is

Peace Anthem for Palestine which reflects his feelings about religious conflict. As for

the song, the name of the song is entitled as ''some people have it worse than me''

provides an amusing outlook on his mundane life, while musing as to how it could be

a lot worse. It contains language that might be offensive, but be aware that the

intention is purely humorous. He concludes that his life actually isn’t that bad and that

he would much rather be himself than any of the poor unfortunates he mentions. (See

appendix for more photos)

Source: www.timmichin.com

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2. Lyrics of the Song

Well I wake up in the morning at 11:47 And I can't believe I have to face the horror of

another fucking day And the magnificent magnitude of my morning erection Merely

mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day Managing to manifest a

modicum of motivation I meander to the kitchen make a mission out of mixing

Nescafe But the milk is going off and coffee by itself is bitter And there are ants all

through the sugar And the supermarket's miles a-fucking-way My life is pretty sad

But I know that I should be glad I could be a starving Ethiope Or a policeman in

Baghdad Policeman in Baghdad Baghdad. At 11:53 I instigate the day's ablutions In

the hope my constitution can be altered by some action on the bowl But the total non-

existence of colonic animation Seems to me the perfect metaphor for the utter

constipation of my soul. By 11:59 I have decided that my life would be immediately

improved By a carefully written list of short-term goals But by 12:05 my list consists

of one-dot put some pants on Two-dot go to the shop, buy some prunes and Panadol.

My life is pretty shit But I know I shouldn't whinge about it I could be a Palestinian

Driving a bus on the Gaza strip Yeah how bad can it be? Some people have it worse

than me I could be an Ipswich prostitute Or Gary Glitter's family I have no right to cry

Some people have it worse than I could be a thalidomide kid With something in my

eye Something in my eye My eye. At 12:30 I realize I feel so dejected That I've

totally neglected the beginning of the Jerry Springer show So I settle on the sofa try to

focus an iota of my motor-neurons On the brilliant insights for which Jerry is known

And although on any other day a show entitled "Midgets, Midgets, Midgets "Would

excite me like a virgin at her year eleven ball Today those little jelly-wresting fellas

fail to free me of my misery Instead they simply serve to make me feel three foot tall

But how bad can it be? Some people have it worse than me I could be a junior life

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safer On a Banda Aceh beach Or a woman in Afghanistan Or a Jew in the Ku Klux

Klan Or the architect of the World Trade Centre Or a bobcat driver in Bam Iran I

could have my identity mistaken As a bomber in an underground station I could be a

peace-loving speech writer In George W's administration Yeah, I know that I don't

have the right To be unhappy with my life I could be Hitler's mother Or Shane

Warne's wife Yeah, I know that I shouldn't be bitchin' I could be in a worse position I

could be a 3-nippled naturopath In the days of the Spanish In the Spanish inquisition I

know I have no right, no right to cry Some people have it much, much worse than I

could have a serious nut allergy And be shipwrecked on an island with a crate of

Snickers bars, A jar of Nutella and a fresh baked pecan pie Some people have it worse

than I! Source: www.timmichin.com

3. Phonetic Transcription of the Song

weləwɑɪkp ɪn ðə ˈmɔːnɪŋ əd ɪˈlevən ˈfɔːdi ˈsevən ən aɪ kɑːm bɪˈliːv aɪ həv tu faɪs ðə ˈ

har'əf əˈnʌðə ˈfʌkɪn daɪ ən ðə mæɡˈnɪfɪsnt ˈmæɡnɪtʃjuːd əv maɪ ˈmɔːnɪŋ ɪˈrekʃən

ˈmɪəli mɒks miː laɪk ðə sʌn ɪn ɪds ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk ˈɡriːdɪn əv ðə daɪ ˈmænɪdʒɪŋ tə

ˈmænɪfest ə ˈmɒdɪkəm əv ˌməʊdɪˈvaɪʃən aɪ mɪˈændə tu ðə ˈkɪtʃɪn maɪk ə ˈmɪʃən aʊt əv

ˈmɪksɪn nescafaɪ bə ðə mɪlk ɪz ˈɡəʊɪn ɒfən ˈkɒfi baɪ ɪtˈself ɪz ˈbɪdər ən ðez ænts ɔːl

θruː ðə ˈʃʊɡə ən ðə ˈsuːpəˌmɑːkəts ˈfʌkɪn maɪlz əˈwaɪ maɪ laɪf ɪz ˈprɪdi sæd bər æ

nəʊ ðər ə ʃəd bi ɡlæd aɪ kəd bi ə ˈstɑːvɪŋ iːθɪˈəʊpəʊr ə pəˈliːsmən ɪn ˌbæɡˈdæd

pəˈliːsmən ɪn ˌbæɡˈdæd bæɡˈdæd əd ɪˈlevən ˈfɪfdi θriː aɪjɪnstɪɡeɪt ðə ˈdaɪz əˈbluːʃənz

ɪn ðə həʊp maɪ ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃən kəm bi ˈɔːltəd baɪ səm ˈækʃən ɒn ðə bəʊl bə ðə ˈtəʊdəl

nɒn ɪɡˈzɪstəns əv kəˈlɒnɪk ˌænɪˈmaɪʃən siːmz tu miː ðə pəˈfekt ˈmetəfɔː fɪ ði ˈʌtə

ˌkɒnstɪˈpaɪʃən əv maɪ səʊl baɪ ɪˈlevən ˈfɪfdi naɪn aɪ həv dɪˈsaɪdɪd ðə maɪ laɪf wʊd bi

ɪˈmiːdɪədli ɪmˈpruːv baɪ ə ˈkeəfəli ˈrɪtən lɪst əv ˈʃɔːt tɜːm ɡəʊlz bə baɪ twelv faɪv maɪ

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lɪst kənˈsɪsts əv wʌn dɒt pʊt səm pænts ɒn tuː dɒt ɡəʊr tu ðə ʃɒp baɪ səm pruːnz əm

pænədəʊl maɪ laɪf ɪz ˈprɪdi ʃɪt bə ə nəʊ aɪ ˈʃʊdnt wɪndʒ əˈbaʊr ɪd ə kəd bi ə

ˌpæləˈstɪnɪən ˈdraɪv ə ˈbʌs ɒn ðə ˈɡɑːzə strɪp jeə haʊ bæd kən ɪt bi sɪm ˈpiːpəl

ævwɜːs ðəmiː aɪ kəd bi ən ɪpswɪtʃ ˈprɒstɪtjuːt ɔː ˈɡæri ˈɡlɪtəs ˈfæməli aɪ həv nəʊ raɪt

tu kraɪ sim ˈpiːpəl həv wɜːs ðən aɪ aɪ kəd bi ə θəˈlɪdəmaɪd kɪd | wɪð ˈsʌmθɪn ɪn maɪ aɪ

sʌmθɪn ɪn maɪ aɪ maɪ aɪ ət twelv ˈθɜːrdi aɪ rɪəlaɪz aɪ ˈfiːl səʊ dɪˈdʒektɪd ðət aɪv

ˈdəʊdəli nɪˈɡlektɪd ðə bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ əv ðə ˈʒeri ˈsprɪŋə ʃəʊ səʊ aɪ ˈsedəl ɒn ðə ˈsəʊfə tʃ raɪ

tu ˈfəʊkəs ən aɪˈəʊtə əv maɪ ˈməʊtə ˈnjʊərɒnz ɒn ðə ˈbrɪlɪən ˈɪnsaɪts fə wɪtʃ ˈdʒeri ɪz

naʊn ən ɔːlˈðəʊ ɒn ˈeni ˈʌðə daɪ ə ʃəʊ ɪnˈdaɪdəld mɪdʒɪts ˈmɪdʒɪt mɪdʒɪts wʊd ɪkˈsaɪt

miː laɪk ə ˈvɜːdʒɪn ət əɜːr ɪˈlevən bɔːl təˈdaɪ ðɪz ˈlɪdəl ˈdʒeli ˈrestɪn ˈfeləs faɪl du friː

miː ə maɪ ˈmɪzəri ɪnˈsted ðeɪ ˈsɪmpli sɜːv tu maɪk miː fiːl θriː fʊt tɔːl bər haʊ bæd kən

ɪt bi sim ˈpiːpəl həv wɜːs ðəmiː aɪ kəd bi ə dʒuːnɪə laɪf safer ə ˈ bændər ræʃ aɪ biːtʃ ɔː

ə ˈwʊmən ɪn æfˌɡænɪˈstɑːn ɔː ə dʒuː ɪn ðə kʰu ˈklæks klæn ɔː ði ˈɑːkɪtekt əv ðə wɜːld

treɪd ˈsendə ɔː ə ˈbɒbkæt ˈdraɪvər ɪn ˈbæm ɪˈrɑːn aɪ kəd əv maɪ aɪˈdendɪdi mɪˈsteɪkən

æz ə ˈbɒmər ɪn ən ˈʌndəɡraʊnd ˈstaɪʃən aɪ kəd bi ə piːs ˈlʌvɪn spiːtʃ ˈraɪdə ɪn dʒɔːdʒ

ˈdʌbljuːz ədˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃən jeə aɪ nəʊr ðaɪ dʊhəv ðə raɪd tu bi ʌnˈhæpi wɪð maɪ laɪf aɪ

kəd bi ˈhɪtlərz ˈmʌðər ɔː ˈʃaɪn ˈwɔːndz waɪf jeə aɪ nəʊ ðər aɪ ˈʃʊdnt bi bɪtʃɪn aɪ kəd bi

ɪn ə wɜːs pəˈzɪʃən aɪ kəd bi ə θriː nɪplɪd neɪtʃrəʊpæθ ɪn ðə daɪz əv ðə ˈspænɪʃ ɪn ðə

ˈspænɪʃ ˌɪŋwɪˈzɪʃən aɪ nəʊwaɪ həv nəʊ raɪd nəʊ raɪdu kraɪ səm ˈpiːpəl həv ɪt mʌtʃ

mʌtʃ wɜːs ðən aɪ aɪ kəd həv ə ˈsɪərɪəs nʌt ˈæləʒi ənd bi ˈʃɪprekt ɒn ən ˈaɪlənd wɪð ə

kreɪt əv ˈsnɪkəz bɑːz ə dʒɑːr əv njuːtelə ən ə freʃ beɪkt pɪˈkæn paɪ sim ˈpiːpəl həv ɪt

wɜːs ðən aɪ.

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Before analyzing the song, it is also worth mentioning the difference between

the Australian pronunciation and Received Pronunciation (RP). According to Wells

(1982) Australian English is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-

born Australians. Phonologically, it is one of the most regionally homogeneous

language varieties in the world. As with most dialects of English, it is distinguished

primarily by its vowel phonology. Figure 1.1 illustrates the Australian vowels

whereas figure 1.2 illustrates the RP.

Figure 1.1 Australian Vowels Figure 1.2 RP Vowels

Table 1: RP Consonants

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Table 2: Australian Consonants

Consonants and Vowels

As for consonants, Australian consonants generally follow RP. The most

noticeable differences are with the pronunciation of [t] and [l]. The intervocalic [l]

may be pronounced as a tap or trill rather than a plosive. Moreover, is no sharp clear

[l] vs. dark [l] distinction as in RP. Slater, (2007). As to vowels, Mitchell & Delbridge

(1965) found a consistent variation in vowel quality. In short, the above figures and

tables summarize the vowels distinction between RP and Australian accents.

General Features

Formal style of Australian English comes closer to British English than

American. One can find more slang words and abbreviations in Australian English

than British. There are also common shortenings in words and regional variations in

pronunciation and accent but they are very small compared to British and American.

As for accents, there are three different types of accents in Australia, namely

Bilabial

Labio-

dental

Dental Alveolar

Post-

alveolar

Palatal Velar Glottal

Nasal m n ŋ

Plosive p b t d k ɡ

Affricate tʃ dʒ

Fricative f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h

Approximant ɹ j w

Lateral l

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•sɪmSinger

•sʌmRP

cultivated, general and broad accents. These ones reflect the social class and

educational background of the speaker. Wells (1982).

4. Analysis

The analysis of the song will be divided into two sections. The first is about the

segmental features, whereas the second is about the prosodic features found on the

song.

1) Segmental Features

Segmental features are categorized as consonants and vowels. Some of these features

have been detected from the speaker's pronunciation in the course of singing. The first

part will be on vowels and then on consonants.

A) Vowels

There are some examples with respect to vowels. These examples are explained

below:

1- Some: The RP phonetic pronunciation is / sʌm /. The singer pronounced this word

as / sɪm / compared to RP. As for /ʌ /, it should be pronounced by moving the tongue

to centralized low back position with rounded lips. In this case, the singer replaced the

central vowel / ʌ / with the close front vowel / ɪ / by moving his tongue to the

centralized high front position with a slight spread of his lips.

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•faɪssinger

•feɪs RP

2- Face: The RP phonetic sound is / feɪs /. The singer pronounced it as / faɪs /. In this

example, the singer replaced the diphthong / eɪ / with / aɪ /. The singer glided the low

front vowel [a] to [I] instead of gliding the mid front vowel [e]. There are also more

than 10 examples of such case. For instance,

SINGER RP

daɪ deɪ

əˈwaɪ əˈweɪ

təˈdaɪ təˈdeɪ

ænɪˈm aɪ ʃən ænɪˈmeɪʃən

məʊtɪˈvaɪʃən məʊtɪˈveɪʃən

maɪk meɪk

staɪʃən steɪʃən

3- Klux: The phonetic sound of this word is / kləks /. It should be pronounced by

stretching the tongue to the mid central position with open lips. The singer

pronounced it as / klæks / in which he moved his tongue to the low front position and

he spread his lips. In this example, the singer replaced the central sound shwa / ə /with

the front open ash sound / æ /.

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•klækssinger

•kləksRP

•naʊn singer

•nəʊnRP

•neskæfaɪsinger

•neskæfeɪRP

4- Known: The phonetic transcription of this word is / nəʊn /. The singer pronounced

it as / naʊn /. In this example, he replaced the diphthong / əʊ / with the diphthong /

aʊ/. Here, instead of gliding the mid central vowel [ə] to a centralized high back

position [ʊ], he glided the low front vowel [a] to [ʊ].

5-Nescafe: The phonetic transcription of this word is / neskæfeɪ /. The singer

pronounced it as / neskæfaɪ /. In this case, he replaced the diphthong / eɪ / with the

diphthong / aɪ /. The singer glided the low front vowel [a] to [I] instead of gliding the

mid front vowel [e].

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•mæɡnɪtʃjuːdSinger

•mæɡnɪtjuːdRP

•ɡriːtɪnSinger

•ɡriːtɪŋRP

B) Consonants

There are also some examples in relation to consonants. These examples are also

listed and explained below:

1- Magnitude: The phonetic transcription of this word is / mæɡnɪtjuːd /. However,

the singer pronounced it as / mæɡnɪtʃjuːd/. Clearly, the singer replaced the stop

alveolar / t / with the affricative post alveolar / tʃ /.

2- Greeting: The phonetic transcription is /ɡriːtɪŋ/. The singer pronounced it as /

ɡriːtɪn /. This means that the speaker replaced the nasal velar sound / ŋ / with a nasal

dental sound / n/.

3- Safer: The RP phonetic transcription of this word is / seɪfə /. The singer

pronounced it as / seɪvə/. In this case, the singer replaced the voiceless fricative labial

sound / f / with the voiced fricative labial / v /. Clearly, the difference is in voicing not

in manner of articulation nor in place of articulation.

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•seɪvəSinger

•seɪfəRP

•tʃraɪSinger

•traɪRP

•æləʒiSinger

•ælədʒiRP

4- Try: The RP phonetic transcription of this word is / traɪ /. The singer pronounced

it as / tʃraɪ/. This example, as the previous example, shows that the singer replaced

the stop alveolar / t / with the affricative post alveolar / tʃ /.

5- Allergy: The RP phonetic transcription of this word is / ælədʒi/. The singer

pronounced it as / æləʒi /. In this example the singer replaced the affricate post

alveolar sound / dʒ / with the fricative post alveolar / ʒ / sound.

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2) Prosodic Rules

In this part the discussion is turned to prosodic features. These features can be

classified into assimilation, insertion, linking deletion and others. Some examples of

the singer's prosodic features are discussed below:

1- I can't believe I have to face the horror of another fucking day

Assimilation is the process or the result of the process whereby a speech sound

influences a neighboring sound so that the two come to resemble each other more

closely. Underhill, (1994). Here the conditioning sound /b/ has affected the previous

plosive (which would have been [t] in isolation), and made it more like the /b/ by

making it bilabial, hence the assimilated sound /m/. The singer pronounced these

words as (kɑːm bɪˈliːv). This process indicates the regressive assimilation in which

the singer changed the plosive sound (t) due to the influence of the adjacent voiced

sound (b).

2- And the magnificent magnitude of my morning erection

This example illustrates the coalescent assimilation. The first sound and the second

sound in a sequence come together and mutually condition the creation of a third

sound with features from both the original sounds. This process occurs most

frequently in English when final alveolar consonants such as /s/, /z/, /t/, /d/ or final

alveolar consonant sequences such as /ts/, /dz/ are followed by initial palatal /y/. They

then become palatalized fricatives and affricates, respectively:

mæɡnɪtʃjuːd --------------------- /t/ + /y/ =/t ʃ/

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3- Some people have it worse than me

This example illustrates another example of regressive assimilation. Here the

conditioning sound /m/ has affected the previous nasal (which would have been [n] in

isolation), and made it more like the /m/ by making it bilabial, hence the assimilated

sound /m/. The singer pronounced these words as (ðəmiː). The singer pronounced

these words as (ðəmi). This process indicates the regressive assimilation in which

the singer changed the nasal sound (n) due to the influence of the adjacent voiced

sound (m). The singer has pronounced this example twice in the course of singing.

n + m > mm > m (assimilation to the place of m)

4- My constitution can be altered by some action on the bowl

This example illustrates another example of regressive assimilation. Here the

conditioning sound /b/ has affected the previous nasal (which would have been [n] in

isolation), and made it more like the /m/ by making it bilabial, hence the assimilated

sound /m/. The singer pronounced these words as (kəm bi). The singer pronounced

these words as (kəm bi). This process indicates the regressive assimilation in which

the singer changed the nasal sound (n) due to the influence of the adjacent voiced

sound (b).

n + b > mb (n assimilates to the nasal of b)

ː

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5- But the milk is going off and coffee by itself

Elision is the leaving out of sounds in speech (Richards, Platt & Platt, 1992). This

kind of reduction occurs mainly in words ending with /t/, /d/ and /h/ and particularly

when they are between two other consonants. This example illustrates this type of

connected speech in which the sound (t) is omitted. The singer pronounced these

words as (bə ðə) where deleted the (t) sound. Elision of the /t/ phoneme is by

assimilation to the following dental fricative.

6- But by 12:05 my list consists of one-dot put some pants

This example also refers to the elision process. The singer omitted the sound (t) and

pronounced it as (bə baɪ).

Stop 1 + stop 2 > stop 2

7- Well I wake up in the morning at 11:47 and I can't believe I have to face

This is another example of elision. The singer omitted the (d) sound and pronounced

the word as (ən aɪ).

8- I have to face the horror of another fucking day

The singer actually says (har'əf), so the "or" has been deleted (assimilated) with the

preposition of.

9- 11:59 I have decided that my life would be immediately improved

This is another example of elision. The singer omitted the (t) sound and pronounced

the word as (ðə maɪ).

10- My life would be immediately improved by a carefully written list

This is another example of elision. The singer omitted the final sound (d) and

pronounced the word as (ɪmˈpruːv).

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11- And there are ants all through the sugar

This is an example of progressive assimilation. Progressive assimilation is the

conditioning sounds precedes and affects the following sound. In this example the

ending [s] is assimilated to [s] by the influence of the preceding voiceless [t].

Rule: S/ [s] / [t]

12- In the days of the Spanish in the Spanish inquisition

This is another example of progressive assimilation. In this example the ending [s] is

assimilated to [z] by the influence of the preceding voiced vowel [ei].

Rule: S/ [z] / [ei]

13- By a carefully written list of short-term goals

This is another example of progressive assimilation. In this example the ending [s] is

assimilated to [z] by the influence of the preceding voiced consonant [l].

Rule: S/ [z] / [l]

14- On the brilliant insights for which Jerry is known

This is another example of progressive assimilation. In this example the ending [s] is

assimilated to [s] by the influence of the preceding voiceless [t].

Rule: S/ [s] / [t]

15- Would excite me like a virgin at her year eleven ball

The variable of H-dropping is another feature that differentiates Australian and RP.

Australian is well known for its tendency to delete [h] such as give her [gIvə]). Thus

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the words hand and ahead are pronounced [ænd] and [əed] in Australian but they

retain the /h/ in RP. Mompean (2001). This is another example of deletion. The sound

/h/ can be deleted after a consonant in unstressed syllables. The same sound can also

be deleted in non-initial function words such as her, he and his. David and Gloria

(1998, p. 130). The singer deleted the sound /h/ and pronounced the words as (əɜːr).

16- I meander to the kitchen make a mission out of mixing Nescafe.

G-dropping refers to the pronunciation of the -ing ending with an alveolar nasal (i.e.

/n/) and not with a velar nasal (i.e. /ŋ/). This phenomenon is found in Australian

accent but not in RP. In some dialects, g-dropping applies only to the inflectional

suffix -ing (as in present participles such as trying), and not in words such as wedding

or morning. Mompean (2001). The only difference in pronunciation is whether the

final nasal consonant is velar (made with the body of the tongue pressed against the

soft palate) or Alveolar (made with the blade of the tongue pressed against the ridge

behind the front teeth). Here, the singer pronounced the word mixing as (mɪksɪn).

This process illustrates the deletion process. Velar nasal to alveolar nasal is

acceptable in some dialects.

17- But the milk is going off and coffee by itself

This is another example of deletion aspect. The singer dropped the –g sound and

pronounced the word as (ɡəʊɪn).

18- I could be a peace-loving speech writer In George W's administration

This is another example of deletion aspect. The singer dropped the–g sound and

pronounced the word as (lʌvɪn).

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To avoid repeating and listing all examples under this category, I will list the same

examples detected in the singer's pronunciation in the following table along with the

number of occurrence in the course of singing.

No. Word Transcription No. of occurrence

1 loving lʌvɪn 1

2 fucking fʌkɪn 2

3 something sʌmθɪn 2

4 resting restɪn 1

5 mixing mɪksɪn 1

19- I could be a junior life safer On a Banda Aceh beach

Here, the singer says "dʒuːnɪə laɪf seɪfr ə" instead of saying " dʒuːnɪə laɪfseɪvə ɔː a".

Clearly, the /o/ of the preposition has completely been deleted there. This process

illustrates the r-insertion.

20- Iran I could have my identity mistaken as a bomber in an underground

Again later, he also does the same as illustrated in the example above. He says

"bɒmbərɪn'' instead of saying ''bɒmbə ɪn''. This example shows r-insertion which is

very common in connected speech.

21- I could be a starving Ethiope or a policeman in Baghdad

Here, the singer says "iːθɪˈəʊpəʊr" instead of saying "Ethiope or". Clearly, the /o/ of

the word (or) has completely been deleted there. This process illustrates the r-

insertion.

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22- I have to face the horror of another fucking day

Speakers of non-rhotic accents of English such as Australian and RP drop their rs'

except when vowels follow it, and also 'insert rs' after non-high vowels when no r is

seen in the spelling. The general rules of rs' in RP and Australian are as follows:

1- Linking r occurs between open-mid and open vowels and a following word-initial

vowel.

2- Intrusive r occurs between open-mid and open vowels and a following word-

initial vowel.

3- Elsewhere, r is deleted. Abe (2003)

Here, the singer dropped the r at the end of the word (another). He pronounced it as

(əˈnʌðə). This process illustrates the r-deletion process.

23- I meander to the kitchen make a mission out of mixing Nescafe

This is another example of r-deletion process. The singer pronounced this word as

(mɪˈændə) instead of pronouncing it as (mɪˈændr).

There are many other examples with respect to r-deletion process. These examples

are listed as follows:

No. Word Transcription No. of occurrence

1 sugar ʃʊɡə 1

2 utter ʌtə 1

3 Springer sprɪŋə 1

4 motor məʊtə 1

5 safer saɪfə 1

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24- I instigate the day's ablutions

The process of Linking occurred between I and instigate in which the speaker used the

linking /j/. The speaker introduced a /j/ to ease transition to the following vowel

sound.

25- I know I have no right

When a word ends in /u:/ or a diphthong which finishes with /ʊ/, speakers often

introduce a /w/ to ease the transition to a following vowel sound. Here, the singer

pronounced the word (know I) as (nəʊwaɪ) in which he linked the word know with

the pronoun I by inserting the sound (j).

26- Merely mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day

Flapping [t] and [d] is general in Canada, Australia and united sates. By this rule,

alveolar stops weaken to a flap in certain environments in many varieties of English,

with more notable exception of standard RP in England. Flapping is almost

categorical in normal fast pronunciation and leads to homonyms the environment is

intervocalic /t/ or /d/ before an unstressed syllable. Abe (2003). The singer

pronounced the word greeting as (ɡriːdɪn). The consonant /t/ in the word greeting is

pronounced as /d/. Here, the alveolar stop [t] is flapped to be [d].

27- But the milk is going off and coffee by itself is bitter

This is also another example of flapping [t]. Here, the singer pronounced the word

bitter as (bɪdər). He flapped the alveolar sound [t] into [d]. There are many other

examples. These are listed below.

21

No. Word Transcription No. of occurrence

1 pretty prɪdi 2

2 Glitter's ɡlɪdəz 1

3 Hitler's hɪdlərz 1

4 writer raɪdə 1

5 total təʊdəl 1

6 immediately ɪmiːdɪədli 1

7 totally dəʊdəli 1

8 little lɪdəl 1

28- Well I wake up in the morning at 11:47

The highlighted words (well I wake) illustrate the linking process. The singer linked

these words together as (weləwɑɪk).

29- Well I wake up in the morning at 11:4

This example illustrates the deletion process. The singer deleted the vowel sound (e)

from the word wake and he also deleted the (ʌ) sound from the word up. The result of

this deletion is (wɑɪkəp).

30- But I know that I should be glad

This process is called flapping-r. Here, the singer pronounced the words (But I

know) as (bər æ nəʊ). The singer flapped the sound [t] into [r] sound.

22

31- But how bad can it be

As the above example, this example also illustrates the flapping process in which the

singer flapped the sound [t] into [r]. The phonetic transcription of this phrase is (bər

aʊ).

32- But I know I shouldn't whinge about it

As the above example, this example also illustrates the flapping process in which the

singer flapped the sound [t] into [r]. The phonetic transcription of this phrase is

(əˈbaʊr ɪd).

Similarly, his singing is rich in flapping and to avoid listing them separately, it would

be better to include them in a table. The following table contains some other flapping

examples.

No. Word Transcription No. of occurrence

1 I know that I aɪ nəʊr ðər 1

2 Banda Aceh beach bændər ræʃ aɪ biːtʃ ɔː 1

3 that I ðər aɪ 1

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General Comments

This general comment is about the singer's pronunciation in terms of

segmental and prosodic features. The singer, irrespective of his speed in singing, has

unclear pronunciation, especially words that are intentionally mispronounced. Some

segmental and prosodic features have been detected during his singing. As for the

segmental features, the singer has pronounced some vowels and consonants

differently compared to RP. For instance, he pronounced the sound /eɪ / as / aɪ / and

the consonant /f/ as /v/. For the deletion of -ing phoneme. It is a factor which eases

the pronunciation. This singer always keeps dropping this sound to ease his fast

singing. This process requires articulatory movements. There are many other

examples in the analysis part. As for the prosodic features, there are also many

examples. The speaker tends to assimilate and delete some phonemes. For instance,

(kɑːm bɪˈliːv) and (daɪz). Similarly, many examples have been listed in the analysis

part. Regarding the suprasegmental features, the most frequently observed feature in

his singing is the rising statement tune. There are also a lot of unstressed syllables in

what he is saying, to match the stress pattern of the song, that's something worth

mentioning. His pronunciation has most features of a fairly strong Australian accent

but with the occasional word pronounced in a "posh" British way. Like a lot of non-

Americans singing in English he sings with American influences too, so it's hard to

hear. RP and American accents might have influence on the singer's pronunciation

due to the frequent shows he has performed in Britain and America. However, the

American influence has not considerably been shown to have much influence on the

pronunciation of the singer. In addition to that, although he has performed this song in

UK, he has used his Australian accent in his singing. This may be attributed to social

factor, namely prestige. According to Aitchinson (1991), in some cases,

24

standardization of a certain variety or dialect may motivate a collective association of

prestige and this standard variety may achieve a symbolic value and signal

independence or even national pride. The Australian identity has become as unique as

any other cultural identity and this is bound to have influence on the pattern of

prestige. As the British values are abandoned to a certain extent, the British RP is

associated with less prestige. Instead the General Australian variety carries more

prestige, which may signal a greater accept of being Australian.

Conclusion

In conclusion, many related topics have widely been discussed in this paper.

There is a brief background about the Australian singer as well as his song. The lyrics

of the song have also been included in the first part of the paper and they have nearly

been transcribed based on the singer's pronunciation. In the second part of the paper,

there is comprehensive description and comparison between the RP pronunciation and

Australian pronunciation. The light has then been given to the most important thing in

this paper, namely the segmental, suprasegmental and prosodic aspects found in the

song. Many examples have been listed in the analysis part to illustrate the possible

features of the song. The last point is a general comment regarding the findings found

in the analysis part and the possible factors affecting the pronunciation of the singer.

25

REFERENCES

Abe, H. (2004). R Droping anf R Insertion in Received Pronunciation: A New Look

At an Old Problem.

Arif Saricoban & Esen Metinarifs.(2002). The Internet TESL Vol 4 No 2. Songs,

Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar. Hacettepe University & Cankaya

University (Ankara, Turkey).

Aitchison, J. (1991). Language Change: Progress or Decay. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Mitchell, A.G., & Delbridge, A. (1965). The pronunciation of English in Australia.

Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

Mompean, Jose, A. (2001). A Comparison between English and Spanish Subjects

Typicality Ratings in Phoneme Categories: A First Report". International

Journal of English Studies, 1/1:115-156.

Richards, J.C., Platt, J. & Platt, H. (1992) Dictionary of Language Teaching and

Applied Linguistics. Singapore: Longman Singapore Publishers Pty Ltd.

Slater, I. (2007). Some Elements of Australian Speech: Vowel Sounds.

Underhill, A.(1994). Sound foundations: living phonology. Oxford: heinemann. .

210s. isbn 0 435 24091 9.

Wells, J.C. (1982) Accents of English Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles. New York:

Cambridge UP. pp. 592-605, 647 49.

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APPENDIX

PHOTOS OF TIM MICHIN

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