"w" and "wh", strange accent

[birdeen's call]

Here's the file: File:Grey Heron.ogg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The man's speaking involves a feature that is completely new to me. He pronounces "w" in words like "wading", "wing", "winter", "west" in a strange way that to me is something between [w] and [v], and that it's difficult for me to even imitate, let alone name. In the first word, "wading" it's more of a [w] to me and in the others, more of a [v].

Then, he pronounces "wh" in "white" as a clear [w]. I know there can be a difference between "wh" and "w" in some dialects but I thought the only possible distinction was that between /w/ and /ʍ/ (the voiceless labio-velar aproximant).

Are you familar with this? What could be the man's accent?

PS: Sorry about trying to answer my own question again, but I've just found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_wh#Wh-labiodentalization

Does it have anything to do with the problem? I don't really think it does because it's about pronouncing "wh" like [f] and "w" like /w/, and my case is the inverse of it.

 

[BobK]

Form lower down the Wikipedia page:

...
Description Grey Heron.ogg

This is a spoken word version of the article: Grey Heron

* Corresponding article version: Click here to see the article as it was read
* Accent: Neutral Singaporean
...

I haven't time to listen now, but this may answer your question. ;-)

b

 

[birdeen's call]

Thanks! I did some thinking and searching and I believe he must be using the bilabial approximant there. Would you agree?

 

[BobK]

Thanks! I did some thinking and searching and I believe he must be using the bilabial approximant there. Would you agree?

Sounds probable. There must be some L1 interference here. I know only one thing about Malay: that the word for coffee is spelt with a p. If there are unvoiced bilabial approximants, it's a fairly safe bet that there will be voiced ones.

b

 

[birdeen's call]

Sounds probable. There must be some L1 interference here. I know only one thing about Malay: that the word for coffee is spelt with a p. If there are unvoiced bilabial approximants, it's a fairly safe bet that there will be voiced ones.

b

Thanks again. But I don't understand what you're saying. What's L1? And do you mean that /p/ is a bilabial approximant?

 

[BobK]

Thanks again. But I don't understand what you're saying. What's L1? And do you mean that /p/ is a bilabial approximant?

L1 = first language. 'L1 interference' is carrying over features of one's native language into a 2nd language.

/p/ isn't; I thought that "p" might well be used to represent one in a Latin typeface that doesn't have the right IPA symbol. Come to think of it, the European importers of coffee, influenced by their own L1 interference, might even hear it as a 'sort of P-ish sound'.

b

 

[birdeen's call]

L1 = first language. 'L1 interference' is carrying over features of one's native language into a 2nd language.

/p/ isn't; I thought that "p" might well be used to represent one in a Latin typeface that doesn't have the right IPA symbol. Come to think of it, the European importers of coffee, influenced by their own L1 interference, might even hear it as a 'sort of P-ish sound'.

b

I see. I think it's not exactly an L1 interference. He sounds very much like a native speaker of English to me. I read English is the main language of Singapore, but there is also the so-called Singlish which is said to have the bilabial approximant. (Which, as far as I know, is strange to most European languages.) It could be a Singlish interference then maybe?

 

[BobK]

:up: - something like that. There are hundreds of native languages there. Some of them no doubt influenced Singlish.

b