Consonants

Regarding the Black Country, Painter (1963: 31–2) maintains that:

(1) consonants are slightly labialized before stressed THOUGHT, NORTH, FORCE, LOT and GOAT;

(2) consonants are slightly palatalized before stressed FLEECE or GOOSE;

(3) voiced initial and final consonants are usually fully voiced;

(4) final voiceless stops are ejective;

(5) final voiced stops are fully exploded and fully voiced;

(6) in the case of the -ing suffix, BC phrase-final  contrasts with Bm ;

(7) intervocalic /r/ = ;

(8) “linking” /r/ is common;

(9)  is rare;

(10) BC often evidences the “T-to-R” rule (with /t/ realized as  especially in intervocalic environments).

Biddulph (1986: 2, 17–18) claims WM accents have so-called doubled or emphatic consonants (apparently geminate obstruents in medial position) – although so far no instances of such a phenomenon have been noted in the research literature or fieldwork data – as well as some aspiration on final plosives for Bm speakers. He claims the emphatic consonants are more prevalent in Birmingham than in the Black Country.