Vowels GOOSE

The BCDP data indicate that as in South-East England, there is a definite tendency towards diphthongization, typically ; compare FLEECE. Also as in the South-East, there is some tendency towards fronting, particularly among younger people. In the subset NEW, it appears that Black Country speakers (at least) typically have older  rather than [ju:].

Wells (1982: 359, 363) notes that Northern accents usually have , but [u: ~ əu] is characteristic of Bm and some other urban dialects. Some speakers retain contrastive  in words of the NEW subset, like blue, suit, although this appears to be quite sharply recessive against the RP-type [u: ~ ju:] , so that there is a tendency to lose the historical distinction between threw and through. Traditional-dialect possibilities include  in parts of Staffordshire and Derbyshire, although Hughes and Trudgill (1996: 55) have WM [εu].

Mathisen (1999: 109) notes [u:] generally, but diphthongized variants for older Sandwell speakers, while Painter (1963: 30) has BC , realized as , alternating with , realized as , with sporadic  or (rare) .

There is written evidence for an -type realization in Bm <chaw> ‘chew’ (compare, for example, US dialects; OE ), for an [a:]-type realization in WM <mardy> (if this = moody; compare other dialects, e.g. Yorkshire <mardy> ), and for early shortening to  in Bm <goss> (OE ).

A typical feature of the WM dialect is that of markedly diphthongal realizations in (stressed) you-forms. Hughes and Trudgill (1996: 85) characterize a Walsall speaker as having [jau], while Chinn and Thorne (2001: 168) claim that, typically, Bm has <yo> (  ) and BC has <yow> (  ). For BC, you-forms – including e.g. you’d, you’ve, you’m (the latter being the contracted form of dialectal you am) – are often conventionally represented as <yow/yoe/yo>, <yer>, <ya> . Analysis of usage in Bm/BC dialect writing suggests that <yow/yoe/yo> represent stressed forms like  , while <yer>/<ya> represents unstressed forms like [jə]. Biddulph (1986: 12) suggests that written forms such as should be taken to represent [jæw] or [jæww].

Heath (1980: 87) has  for Cannock.