Southwestern phonology: consonants F, TH, S, SH

Southwestern accents traditionally featured initial fricative voicing, a process by which the otherwise voiceless fricatives /f, θ, s, ʃ/ are voiced to  respectively. This feature, which Wakelin (1986: 29) dubs “the [Southwestern] feature par excellence”, has long been a stereotype of rural West Country accents; yet it is highly recessive today.