View source for Trap–bath split

{{Short description|Vowel split in English}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Trap''–''bath'' split}}
{{Refimprove|date=May 2018}}
{{listen
|filename=Trap-bath_split.ogg
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|title=''Trap''–''bath'' split
|description=An example of the ''trap''–''bath'' split
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The '''{{sc2|TRAP}}–{{sc2|BATH}} split''' is a [[Phonological change#Phonemic splits|vowel split]] that occurs mainly in [[English language in Southern England|Southern England English]] (including [[Received Pronunciation]]), [[Australian English]], [[New Zealand English]], [[Indian English]], [[South African English]] and to a lesser extent in some [[Welsh English]] as well as older [[Eastern New England English|Northeastern New England English]] by which the [[Early Modern English]] phoneme {{IPA|/æ/}} was [[vowel length|lengthened]] in certain environments and ultimately merged with the long {{IPA|/ɑː/}} of [[lexical set|{{sc|PALM}}]].<ref name="Wells">{{Accents of English|100–1, 134, 232–33|mode=cs2}}</ref> In that context, the lengthened vowel in words such as ''bath'', ''laugh'', ''grass'' and ''chance'' in accents affected by the split is referred to as a ''broad A'' (also called in Britain ''long A''). Phonetically, the vowel is {{IPAblink|ɑː|audio=y}} in [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP), [[Cockney]] and [[Estuary English]]; in some other accents, including [[Australian English|Australian]] and [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]] accents, it is a more fronted vowel ({{IPAblink|ɐː|audio=y}} or {{IPAblink|aː|audio=y}}) and tends to be a rounded and shortened {{IPA|[ɒ~ɔ]}} in Broad [[South African English]]. A ''trap''–''bath'' split also occurs in the accents of the Middle Atlantic United States ([[New York accent|New York City]], [[Baltimore accent|Baltimore]], and [[Philadelphia accent]]s), but it results in very different vowel qualities to the aforementioned British-type split. To avoid confusion, the Middle Atlantic American split is usually referred to in [[American linguistics]] as a '[[/æ/ raising#Phonemic /æ/ raising systems|short-''a'' split]]'.

In accents unaffected by the split, words like ''bath'' and ''laugh'' usually have the same vowel as words like ''cat'', ''trap'' and ''man'': the ''short A'' or ''flat A''. Similar changes took place in words with {{angbr|o}} in the [[lot–cloth split|''lot–cloth'' split]].

The sound change originally occurred in [[Southern England]] and ultimately changed the sound of {{IPAslink|æ|audio=y}} to {{IPAslink|ɑː|audio=y}} in some words in which the former sound appeared before {{IPA|/f, s, θ, ns, nt, ntʃ, mpəl/}}. That led to RP {{IPA|/pɑːθ/}} for ''path'', {{IPA|/tʃɑːnt/}} for ''chant'' etc. The sound change did not occur before other consonants and so accents affected by the split preserve {{IPA|/æ/}} in words like ''cat''. (See the [[#In Received Pronunciation|section below]] for more details on the words affected.) The lengthening of the ''bath'' vowel began in the 17th century but was "stigmatised as a [[Cockney]]ism until well into the 19th century".<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Kortmann|editor1-first=Bernd|editor2-last=Schneider|editor2-first=Edgar W|editor3-last=Burridge|editor3-first=Kate|title=A handbook of varieties of English a multimedia reference tool.|date=2004|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter|location=Berlin|isbn=978-3-11-019718-1}}</ref>{{rp|122}} However, since the late 19th century, it has been embraced as a feature of upper-class [[Received Pronunciation]].

==British accents==
The presence or absence of this split is one of the most noticeable differences between different accents of [[English language in England|England]]. An [[isogloss]] runs across the [[English Midlands|Midlands]] from the [[The Wash|Wash]] to the [[Wales|Welsh]] border, passing to the south of the cities of [[Birmingham]] and [[Leicester]]. North of the isogloss, the vowel in most of the affected words is usually the same short-''a'' as in ''cat''; south of the isogloss, the vowel in the affected words is generally long.<ref name="Gupta 2005">{{cite journal |last=Gupta |first=Anthea Fraser |title=Baths and becks |journal=English Today |date=2005 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=21–27 |issn=1474-0567 |doi=10.1017/S0266078405001069 |citeseerx=10.1.1.607.9671 |s2cid=54620954 }}</ref>

There is some variation close to the isogloss; for example in the dialect of Birmingham (the so-called '[[Brummie dialect|Brummie]]') most of the affected words have a short-''a'', but ''aunt'' and ''laugh'' usually have long vowels. Additionally, some words which have {{IPA|/æ/}} in most forms of [[American English]], including ''half'', ''calf'', ''rather'', ''can't'' and ''shan't'', are usually found with long vowels in the Midlands and Northern England. The split is also variable in [[Welsh English]], often correlated with social status. In some varieties, such as [[Cardiff English]], words like ''ask'', ''bath'', ''laugh'', ''master'' and ''rather'' are usually pronounced with {{IPA|/ɑː/}} while words like ''answer'', ''castle'', ''dance'' and ''nasty'' are normally pronounced with {{IPA|/æ/}}. On the other hand, the split may be completely absent in other varieties like [[Abercraf English]].{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=387}}

In northern English dialects, the short A is phonetically {{IPA|[a~a̠]}}, while the broad A varies from {{IPA|[ɑː]}} to {{IPA|[aː]}}; for some speakers, the two vowels may be identical in quality, differing only in length ({{IPA|[a]}} vs {{IPA|[aː]}}).{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=356, 360}} [[John C. Wells|John Wells]] has claimed that Northerners who have high social status may have a ''trap''–''bath'' split{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=134}} and has posted on his blog that he grew up with the split in [[Upholland]], [[Lancashire]].<ref>[http://www.phonetic-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/english-places.html English Places], John Wells's phonetic blog, post of Friday, 16 March 2012</ref> AF Gupta's study of students at the University of Leeds found that (on splitting the country in two halves) 93% of northerners used {{IPA|[a]}} in the word ''bath'' and 96% of southerners used {{IPA|[ɑː]}}.{{sfnp|Gupta|2005|p=23}} However, there are areas of the Midlands where the two variants co-exist and, once these are excluded, there were very few individuals in the north who had a ''trap''–''bath'' split (or in the south who did not have the split). Gupta writes, 'There is no justification for the claims by Wells and Mugglestone that this is a sociolinguistic variable in the north, though it is a sociolinguistic variable on the areas on the border [the isogloss between north and south]'.{{sfnp|Gupta|2005|p=25}}

In some [[West Country English|West Country accents]] of [[English language in England|English English]] in which the vowel in ''trap'' is realised as {{IPA|[a]}} rather than {{IPA|[æ]}}, the vowel in the ''bath'' words was lengthened to {{IPA|[aː]}} and did not merge with the {{IPA|/ɑː/}} of ''father''. In those accents, ''trap'', ''bath'', and ''father'' all have distinct vowels {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/aː/}}, and {{IPA|/ɑː/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=346–47}}

In Cornwall, Bristol and its nearby towns, and many forms of [[Scottish English]], there is no distinction corresponding to the RP distinction between {{IPA|/æ/}} and {{IPA|/ɑː/}}.

In [[Multicultural London English]], {{IPA|/θ/}} sometimes merges with {{IPA|/t/}} but the preceding vowel remains unchanged. That leads to the homophony between ''bath'' and ''path'' on the one hand and ''[[Bart (disambiguation)|Bart]]'' and ''part'' on the other. Both pairs are thus pronounced {{IPA|[ˈbɑːt]}} and {{IPA|[ˈpɑːt]}}, respectively, which is not common in other non-rhotic accents of English that differentiate {{IPA|/ɑː/}} from {{IPA|/æ/}}. That is not categorical, and [[th-fronting]] may occur instead and so ''bath'' and ''path'' can be {{IPA|[ˈbɑːf]}} and {{IPA|[ˈpɑːf]}} instead, as in [[Cockney]].

===In Received Pronunciation===
In [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP), the ''trap''–''bath'' split did not happen in all eligible words. It is hard to find a clear rule for the ones that changed. Roughly, the more common a word, the more likely that its vowel changed from flat {{IPA|/æ/}} to broad {{IPA|/ɑː/}}. It also looks as if monosyllables were more likely to change than polysyllables. The change very rarely took place in [[open syllable]]s except if they were closely derived from another word with {{IPA|/ɑː/}}. Thus, for example, ''passing'' is closely derived from ''pass'' and so has broad A {{IPA|/ˈpɑːsɪŋ/}}, while ''passage'' is not so closely derived and so has flat A {{IPA|/ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/}}. Here is the set of words that underwent transition and counterexamples with the same environment:

{| class="collapsible"
|-
! {{background|white|&nbsp;}}&nbsp; {{background|white|&nbsp;}}&nbsp; RP sets for the ''trap''–''bath'' split&nbsp;
|-
|<div>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Set 
! Flat {{IPA|/æ/}}
! Broad {{IPA|/ɑː/}}
|-
| {{IPA|/-ðər/}} || blather, gather, slather || father, lather, rather
|-
| {{IPA|/-f/}} || Aphrodite, caff, carafe, chaff, chiffchaff, Daphne, gaff(e), graphic, mafia, scaffold(ing), staph || calf, giraffe, half, laugh, staff, strafe
|-
| {{IPA|/-ft/}} || kaftan, Taft || abaft, aft, after, craft, daft, draft/draught, graft, haft, kraft, laughter, raft, rafter, shaft
|-
| Word-final <br/>{{IPA|/-θ/}} || aftermath, cath, hath, math(s), polymath, psychopath, sociopath, strath || bath, lath, path
|-
| Word-final <br/>{{IPA|/-s/}} || alas, ass, bagasse, bass (fish), crass, crevasse, cuirass, demitasse, en masse, frass, gas, harass,{{efn|when not pronounced {{IPAc-en|"|h|{|r|@|s}}}} kvass, lass, mass, morass, paillasse, sass, strass, trass, wrasse || brass, class, glass, grass, impasse, pass
|-
| {{IPA|/-sk/}} || Alaska, ascot, Asquith, casque, gasket, mascot, masculine, Nebraska || ask, bask, basket, cask, casket, flask, mask, masque, rascal, task
|-
| Word-final <br/>{{IPA|/-sp/}} || asp || clasp, gasp, grasp, hasp, rasp
|-
| Word-final <br/>{{IPA|/-st/}} || bast, bombast, clast, enthusiast, gymnast, hast, iconoclast, p(a)ederast, scholiast || aghast, avast, Belfast, blast, cast, caste, contrast, fast, flabbergast, last, mast, past, repast, vast
|-
| Miscellaneous <br/>{{IPA|/-st/}} || Aston, astronaut, castigate, chastity, drastic, elastic, fantastic, pastel, pasta, pasty (type of pastry), plastic, raster || caster, castor, disaster, ghastly, master, nasty, pastime, pastor, pastoral, pasture, plaster
|-
| Word-final <br/>{{IPA|/-l/}} || ''all other words in this set'' || banal, chorale, corral, Internationale, locale, morale, musicale, pastorale, rale, rationale, royale
|-
| {{IPA|/-mpəl/}} || ample, trample || example, sample
|-
| {{IPA|/-nd/}} || ''all other words in this set'' || Alexander/Alexandra/Sanders/Sandra, chandler, command, countermand, demand, Flanders, remand, reprimand, slander
|-
| {{IPA|/-nt/}} || ant, antler, banter, cant, fantasy, mantle, pant(s), pedantic, phantom, rant, scant || advantage, aunt, can't, chant, Grant, grant, plant, shan't, slant, vantage
|-
| {{IPA|/-ntʃ/}} || franchise, revanchist || avalanche, blanch, Blanche, branch, planchet, ranch, rancho, stanch, stanchion
|-
| {{IPA|/-ns/}} || Anson, cancel, cancer, expanse, fancy, finance, handsome, rancid, ransom, romance || advance, answer, chance, chancel, chancellor, dance, enhance, France, glance, lance, lancet, prance, trance
|-
| Miscellaneous <br/>{{IPA|/-s/}} || ambassador, asinine, assassin, asset, basalt, classic(al), classify, hassle, lasso, massacre, massage, massive, passage, passive, tassel || castle, fasten
|-
| {{IPA|/-ʃ/}} || ''all other words in this set'' || m(o)ustache
|-
| Word-final <br/>{{IPA|/-v/}} || chav, have, lav, satnav || calve, halve, salve,{{efn|when not pronounced {{IPAc-en|"|s|{|l|v}}}} Slav
|-
| {{IPA|/-z/}} || ''all other words in this set'' || Glasgow, raspberry
|}
</div>
|}

The split created a handful of minimal pairs, such as ant–aunt, caff–calf, cant–can't, have–halve, and staph-staff. There also are some near-minimal pairs, such as ample–sample. In accents with [[th-fronting]] (such as [[cockney]]), there are additional minimal pairs such as baff–bath and hath–half, and, in accents with [[th-stopping]] (which occurs variably in [[Multicultural London English]]), there are other minimal pairs such as bat–bath, lat–lath (with ''lat'' meaning ''latitude'') and pat–path. In addition, the [[h-dropping]] in cockney creates more minimal pairs such as aff–half (with ''aff'' meaning ''affirmative'') and asp–hasp.

There are some words in which both pronunciations are heard among southern speakers:
*the words ''Basque'', ''bastard'', ''chaff'', ''dastard'', ''Glasgow'', ''graph'', ''lather'', ''masquerade'', ''pasteurise'', ''plaque'', ''(circum)stance''
*Greek elements as in ''telegraph, blastocyst, chloroplast''
*words with the prefix ''trans-''

While ''graph, telegraph, photograph'' can have either form (in Received Pronunciation, they now have broad A), ''graphic'' and permutations always have a flat A.

Broad A fluctuates in dialects that include it; before ''s'' it is a more common alternative when in its common voiceless variant ({{IPA|/s/}} rather than {{IPA|/z/}}) (in ''transfer'' {{IPA|[tɹɑːnsˈfɜː]}}, ''transport'' {{IPA|[tɹɑːnˈspɔːt]}} and variants) than when it is voiced (thus ''translate'' {{IPA|[tɹænzˈleɪt]}}, ''trans-Atlantic'' {{IPA|[tɹænzətlæntɪk]}}).

===Social attitudes===
Some research has concluded that many people in Northern England dislike the {{IPA|/ɑː/}} vowel in ''bath'' words. AF Gupta writes, 'Many of the northerners were noticeably hostile to {{IPA|/ɡrɑːs/}}, describing it as "comical", "snobbish", "pompous" or even "for morons"'.{{sfnp|Gupta|2005|p=25}} Writing on a Labovian study of speech in [[West Yorkshire]], [[K. M. Petyt]] stated in 1985 that several respondents 'positively said that they did not prefer the long-vowel form or that they really detested it or even that it was incorrect'.<ref name="Petyt">{{cite book |last=Petyt |first=K. M. |title=Dialect and Accent in Industrial West Yorkshire |date=1985 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |location=Amsterdam |isbn=90-272-4864-8 |page=286 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ceIMKZVzwcC&pg=OA286}}</ref> However, Joan Beal said in a 1989 review of Petyt's work that those who disliked the pronunciation still associated it with the BBC and with the sort of professional positions to which they would aspire.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Beal |first=Joan C. |title=K. M. Petyt, Dialect and accent in industrial West Yorkshire. (Varieties of English around the World. General Series, 6.) Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1985. Pp. 401. |journal=Language in Society |date=1989 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=443–448 |doi=10.1017/S0047404500013798 |jstor=4168067}}</ref>

==Southern Hemisphere accents==
Evidence for the date of the shift comes from the [[Southern Hemisphere]] accents in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

In [[Australian English]], there is generally agreement with Southern England in words like ''path, laugh, class''. However, with the exception of [[South Australian English]] and in the specific words ''aunt, can't, shan't'' in any Australian English, other words with the vowel appearing before {{IPA|/n/}} or {{IPA|/m/}}, such as ''dance, plant, example'', can use the flat A. In Australia, there is variation in words like ''castle'' and ''graph''; for more information, see the table at [[Variation in Australian English#Phonology|Variation in Australian English]]. In South Australian English, the broad A is usually used. Phonetically, the Australian broad A is {{IPA|[äː]}}.

[[South African English]] and [[New Zealand English]] have a sound distribution similar to that of Received Pronunciation.

==North American accents==
Most accents of [[American English]] and [[Canadian English]] are unaffected by the split. The main exceptions are in extinct or older accents of eastern [[New England]] (including the early-20th-century [[Boston accent]]){{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=522–3}} and possibly the Plantation South, particularly [[Tidewater Virginia]], where the broad sound was used in some of the same words, though usually a smaller number, as in Southern England, such as ''aunt, ask, bath''. (''Aunt'' alone still commonly uses the {{sc|palm}} vowel in New England and Virginia.) By the early 1980s, the broad {{IPA|/a/}} was in decline in New England.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=522–3}}

Related but distinct phenomena include the following:
*The phonemic tensing of {{IPA|/æ/}} in the accents of [[New York English]] and particularly [[Philadelphia accent|Philadelphia]] that occurs specifically before {{IPA|[f, s, θ, n, m]}} (in New York, tensing occurs in more environments; see [[/æ/ tensing]]).
*The drawled pronunciation {{IPA|/æ/ → [æə]}} in [[Southern American English|Southern accents]]; many [[Southern American English|South Midland]], [[Appalachian English]], and inland Southern speakers also raise the {{IPA|/æ/}} in ''aunt, dance, plant'' to {{IPA|[ɛ]}} or {{IPA|[e]}}.

In North American English, the non-front realization of continental {{angbr|a}} in loanwords such as ''pasta'' {{IPA|/ˈpɑstə/}} (U.S. only; cf. British and Canadian {{IPA|/ˈpæstə/}}) is not an example of the trap-bath split because the vast majority of North American English accents do not feature the split in native words. Furthermore, the {{IPA|/ɑ/}} realization occurs regardless of the phonetic environment, even in those environments where the lengthening did not take place in the south of England, such as before a bare final {{IPA|/n/}} in the German surname ''Mann'' {{IPA|/ˈmɑn/}} (cf. British {{IPA|/ˈmæn/}}, homophonous with the native word ''man'').

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trap-bath split}}
[[Category:Splits and mergers in English phonology]]