There are a huge range of English accents. It can take a while to adjust to another accent, but our brains do it relatively quickly. If we all wrote in IPA though, things would be a lot harder. We would have to sound it out and that might still not help us understand it.
Our orthography unites us. Everyone who speaks English can read what I am writing now, and understand it, no matter what accent they have. But I was intrigued to see what it would look like if each of our accents had a different orthography. Would that make it harder to understand each other’s writing?
I have been learning Swedish for a while and I quickly learned how similar it is to Norwegian and Danish. But each language has its own orthography, so it makes the languages look more different than they are. English speakers united orthography definitely helps us understand each other.
So what would English look like if each accent had its own regular orthography? I present to you, what English would look like if that were the case.
General American
IPA: /aɪ ləv leɪŋwɨdʒɨz. aɪ laɪk̚ tʰʉ ɹaɪt̚ ɨbaʊt̚ wɹ̩dz. soʊʃɫ̩ midiə ɪz ə gɹeɪt̚ pʰleɪs tʰʉ tʰɑɫk̚ tʰʉ pʰipɫ̩ hʉ ʃeɪɹ jɔɹ pʰæʃn̩./
Aë lîv leëngwiijiiz. Aë laëk tu raët iibaut wrdz. Souśl midiî ëz î greët pleës tò tølk tò pipl hò śeër ĭor pêśn.
Australian
IPA: /aɪ lʌv læŋgwɪdʒəz. aɪ laɪk tə raɪɾ əbaʊʔ wɜdz. soʊʃəL midiə ɪz ə greɪʔ pleɪs tə tɔk tə pipəl hu ʃɛə jə pæʃən/
Æ laf” leñk”wùđès”. Æ læk tè ræd èp”å’ wìt”ş. Sōcèl mēt”ēè ùs” è k”rā’ plās tè tōk tè pēpèl hū cìè yè pecèn
RP
IPA: /aɪ lʌv ˈlæŋgwəʤɪz. aɪ laɪk tuː raɪt əbaʊw wɜːdz. səʊʃəl mɛdɪjə ɪz ə greɪt pleɪs tə tɔːk tə piːpl huːw ʃeə jɔː pæʃən/
Aĭ làf¯ laingvüj¯ĭs¯. Aĭ laĭk tuu raĭt üp¯aùu wœt¯s¯. Süùçül mœt¯ĭjü ĭs¯ ü k¯reĭt pleĭs tü tok tü pīpl huu çeü jo paiçün
Northeast London
IPA: /ɑe lɐv ʹlæ:ŋgwɪʤɪz | ɑ lɑɪʔ tˢə ʋɑɪʔ bæʊʔ wɛ:dz | ʹsəʉʃɤ ʹmi:dɪə ɪz ə græɪʔ plæɪs tˢə tˢo:ʔ tˢə ʹpʰi:pəl ʊ ʃɛə jə ʹpæʃən/
A lav längwïjïz. A lai^ te vhai^ bäu^ wëdz. Seushü mèdïe ïz e gräi^ pläis te to^ te pipel u shëe je päshen.
All of them together
Aë lîv leëngwiijiiz. Aë laëk tu raët iibaut wrdz. Souśl midiî ëz î greët pleës tò tølk tò pipl hò śeër ĭor pêśn.
Æ laf” leñk”wùđès”. Æ læk tè ræd èp”å’ wìt”ş. Sōcèl mēt”ēè ùs” è k”rā’ plās tè tōk tè pēpèl hū cìè yè pecèn
Aĭ làf¯ laingvüj¯ĭs¯. Aĭ laĭk tuu raĭt üp¯aùu wœt¯s¯. Süùçül mœt¯ĭjü ĭs¯ ü k¯reĭt pleĭs tü tok tü pīpl huu çeü jo paiçün
A lav längwïjïz. A lai^ te vhai^ bäu^ wëdz. Seushü mèdïe ïz e gräi^ pläis te to^ te pipel u shëe je päshen.
