Poccasin English: Difference between revisions

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{{English language}}

Poccasin English is typically considered the most [[w:Creole continuum|prestigious]] or [[Bemé#Tak vs kriyal|acrolectal]] language in the Poccasins, as it is commonly associated with the upper classes within the Federation. Thus, similarly to the status of Bemé, there are very few monolingual speakers of Poccasin English; most speakers of Poccasin English are usually bilingual with [[Bemé]] and incorporate a [[w:Creole continuum|creole continuum]] in their speech that goes beyond the traditional [[Bemé#Tak vs kriyal|''tak'' and ''kriyal'']] distinction in Bemé.<ref>cf. the distinction between [[w:Jamaican English|Jamaican Standard English]] and [[w:Jamaican Patois|Jamaican Patois]].</ref>

Poccasin English generally follows [[w:American and British English spelling differences|British spelling conventions]], though more recent loanwords from [[w:American English|American English]] may retain their American spelling, so "[[wikt:color#English|colour/color]]" is spelt as in British English, ''colour'', but "[[wikt:of color|person of color/person of colour]]" is spelt as in American English, ''person of color'', because the term is chiefly used in the [[w:United States of America|US]]. However, various degrees of [[w:Eye dialect|eye dialect]] spellings are also common.

==Phonology==

===Consonants===

** A Poccasin English speaker who strongly aspirates their initial plosives in order to deliberately sound high class or distinguish themselves from working class speakers is called a ''puffer''.

* [[w:Betacism|Betacism]]: /v/ is realized as /b/ in all positions, so ''bat'' and ''vat'' become homophones.

* Variability of /f/: /f/ is fairly unstable in even standard Poccasin English; the most common realizations vary from the [[w:Bilabial fricative|bilabial]] /ɸ/ to true [[w:Labiodental fricative|labiodental]] /f/, but it has also been recorded to range as far back as a [[w:Voiceless glottal fricative|glottal]] /h/ or may be omitted entirely, especially in casual, colloquial speech.

Another notable phonological feature of Poccasin English is, similarly to [[Bemé]], the lack of phonemic [[w:Voiced fricative|voiced fricatives]] such as the /z/ or /ʒ/ in ''zoo'' and ''vision''.

| /ɜːr/ || [ɹ̩ː] || [ɛː] || b'''ur'''n, f'''ir'''st, h'''er'''d

|-

|-

| /ɪər/ || [iɹ] || [ijə~ija] || f'''ear''', p'''eer''', t'''ier'''

* ''Creole'': [[Bemé]]

* ''pulpee'': a reference to {{pulp}} (1994), a phenomenon that is widespread in Poccasin popular culture due to the popularity of the film.

* ''Binsencha'' or ''Vincentcha'': Vincent Vega's (played by [[w:John Travolta|John Travolta]]) haircut. By extension, a [[w:Jheri curl|Jheri curl]] such as the one worn by Jules Winnfield ([[w:Samuel L. Jackson|Samuel L. Jackson]]) is called a ''Julesie'' or ''Joolsie''.

Various words and meanings have also been borrowed from Bemé:

* The English word {{l|en|skull}} is also used in a much more broader sense, referring to both the head or even the general top of something (as in {{l|beme|skal}}). In Bemé this is usually a productive compound, such as in {{l|beme|leg skal}} meaning "knee" (<small>lit.</small> "leg skull"), but in Poccasin English ''skull'' is generally often used in the compound ''skull man'' or ''skullman'' (Bemé cognate: {{l|beme|skalmang}}), which can informally refer to one's boss but also refers to the leader of a gang or a high-ranking member of an organised crime family.

==References==