Estuary Accent

There is an accent in the Southeast of England that is becoming increasingly popular called the ‘Estuary accent’—as it is spoken mostly around the Thames Estuary. It is not strictly MSBE, but its ever-increasing popularity means that it needs to be acknowledged. It is in many ways a cross between RP and the ‘Cockney’ accent, which originated in East London. It features all the sounds covered in this course to varying degrees.

/l/-Dropping

An additional and typical feature in the Estuary accent is something that is referred to as /l/7dropping. The Estuary accent uses /w/, /o/, and /u/ sounds instead of the dark /l/ (see section, The Dark /l/).

Words with /l/ immediately followed by a consonant, or words ending in /l/, have the /l/ sound replaced with the /w/ sound (think of the first sound in the word “with”) OR the /ou/ sound. Both sounds can be used interchangeably in place of the
dropped ‘l’.

Example :

                                  milk                      (miwk/miouk/mIɔuk )

Words ending in a combination of a vowel + /l/ or /l/ + vowel (such as /–le/, /–el/, /–al/, etc.) have the final /l/ sound replaced with the /ou/ sound.

Example :

                              dimple                  (dimpou/dImpɔu )

Words ending in an /–ul/ sound have the final /l/ replaced with a /u/ sound.

Example:

                        fool                         (foo/fu: )

Other examples (the following examples are only transcribed using the /w/ sound, although the /ou/ sound could also be used) :

                    [w]              silk                      (siwk)
                    [w]              the Alps             (the Awps)
                    [w]              help                    (hewp)
                    [w]              bulb                   (buwb)
                  [ou]             label                  (labou)
                  [ou]            maple                (mapou)
                  [ou]            crinkle                (crinkou)
                   [u]              school                 (schoo)
                    [u]              rule                     (roo)
                    [u]              cool                    (coo)

Glottalisation or /t/ ­Dropping

Another phenomenon originating in the East London ‘Cockney’ accent and found in the Estuary accent, is called glottalisation or /t/­ dropping. (Note to actors: This is not a characteristic of RP). The /t/ is dropped when in absolute final position. In place of the /t/ also‐called glottal stop is inserted. This sound is produced by closing the vocal cords (voca folds), also known as glottis.

Please refer to the Audio Recording for examples of this sound.

Examples :             what               wha              (wo’/wɒʔ)
                                but                  bu
                               foot                 foo

It is also dropped be for e vowels (often when the /t/ is in mid‐position of the word).

                              better              be‐er               (be’a/beʔʌ)
                            butter               bu‐er
                            hotter              ho‐er

Bonus Exercises

EstuaryAccent

This section covers the most important features of the Estuary accent: the /l/­ dropping and /t/­ dropping.

/l/­ dropping

The final /l/ in many words is often dropped (omitted) by native speakers in England. This can be observed in any word ending in /l/ :

                    stable                 cable              lapel               feeble               diesel                 weasel
                    arrival                 logical            arsenal           magical

The final /l/ can also be dropped when it is followed by a plural /s/ :

               stables             cables                 lapels                rivals

/t/­ dropping

The /t/ is often dropped by native speakers in England, especially when it is in final position of a word or within the word (mostly before a vowel). The /t/ is not dropped if it is followed by a plural /s/ (eg, cuts=both /t/ and /s/ are fully pronounced).

                      fat                 cat             hat               blot              spot            what
                     matter         cutter        better          splatter

Example sentence (/l/­ dropping and /t/ ­dropping)

A lot of people think it’s cool to throw litter in the street but I feel it’s logical, very simple, and much better to chuck it in the bin.