Dialect Diversity in Eve and Its Impact on the Lexical Sets: Nurse, Dress and Letter

Abstract

This paper investigates how dialectal variation in Eʋe—specifically the Eʋeme and Aŋlɔ varieties—shapes the pronunciation of three English lexical sets: NURSE, DRESS, and lettER. Using a variationist framework, the study analyses vowel quality, duration, and pitch from controlled word-list readings (fifteen items per lexical set) produced by Eʋe-speaking English users in Ghana. Acoustic measurements of the recorded samples were complemented by statistical testing to quantify patterns of variation. Results reveal substantial variability across all three sets, with the lettER set showing the greatest degree of alternation. Tokens in lettER were realised variously as [ɪ], [ʌ], [o], and [ə]; these alternations showed little systematic dialectal conditioning except for the occurrence of [o]. The DRESS set displayed moderate, dialect-linked variation, with three primary realisations—[ɪ], [e̠], and [ɜː]. While Aŋlɔ speakers produced all three variants, Eʋeme speakers favoured [e̠] and [ɜː]. The NURSE exhibited the least variation, chiefly alternating between [e̠ː] and [ɜː], with Eʋeme speakers predominantly using [e̠ː] and Aŋlɔ speakers using both [e̠ː] and [ɜː]. These patterns are interpreted as evidence of emerging local and non-local varieties within Eʋe English: a local accent diverging from Received Pronunciation (RP) and a non-local form approximating RP quality. Instances such as the fronting of NURSE toward /e/ in some speakers versus RP-like [ɜː] in others, and the mixture of RP-like and alternative realisations in DRESS, support this two-variety account. The alternation between full vowels ([ɪ], [o], [ʌ]) and reduced [ə] in lettER further illustrates this split. Phonological characteristics of Eʋe—comparable mid vowels, preference for open syllables, limited vowel reduction, and deletion of post-vocalic /r/—help explain the observed substitutions and near-target realisations with slight raising or centralization. While dialect geography is a significant predictor of vowel realisation, phonological conditioning and individual speaker idiosyncrasy also contribute. The study underscores the systematic nature of cross-linguistic transfer and the necessity of accounting for dialect background in pronunciation teaching, intelligibility assessment, and research on vowel systems and sound change among Eʋe-speaking learners of English.