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This paper basically provides a brief analysis of a song sung by Tim Minchin
in terms of its segmental features and prosodic rules such as assimilation, insertion,
linking and other. According to Arif and Metin (2000) songs give new insights into
the target culture, teaching and developing student's four skills. They are the means
through which cultural themes are presented effectively. Since they provide authentic
texts, they are motivating. Prosodic features of the language such as stress, rhythm,
intonation are presented through songs. This paper touches on the background of the
singer and selected song sung by him, the lyrics of the song and its phonetic
TV and radio in both Australia and Britain. He started learning piano at the age of
English and Theatre and in 1998 completed his advanced Diploma in Contemporary
Music at the Western Australian Academy of performing Arts, and WAAPA before
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background in theatre and has appeared in various stages. His best breakouts are Dark
Side and Rock N Roll Nerd. Regarding his personal life, he has two children, Violet
and Casper. He is currently living in London with his wife, Sarah and his two
children. Talking about his comedic work is also worth mentioning. Generally, his
songs just appear to be funny. His famous words are '' I'm a comedian for musician
and I'm a musician for a comedian but I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno''.
In his performance, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair, heavy eye makeup and a
grand piano. According to Tim, he likes not wearing shoes in his shows because it
makes him feel more comfortable. He also considers the eye makeup important
because while he is playing the piano, he is not able to use his arms and relies on his
face for expressions and gestures; the eye liner makes his features more
distinguishable for the audience. His shows consist largely of comedic songs and
poetry, which subjects ranging from social satire, to inflatable dolls and sex fetishes.
Several of his songs deal with religion and taboos. His favorite song to perform is
Peace Anthem for Palestine which reflects his feelings about religious conflict. As for
the song, the name of the song is entitled as ''some people have it worse than me''
provides an amusing outlook on his mundane life, while musing as to how it could be
a lot worse. It contains language that might be offensive, but be aware that the
intention is purely humorous. He concludes that his life actually isn’t that bad and that
he would much rather be himself than any of the poor unfortunates he mentions. (See
Source: www.timmichin.com
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2. Lyrics of the Song
Well I wake up in the morning at 11:47 And I can't believe I have to face the horror of
another fucking day And the magnificent magnitude of my morning erection Merely
mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day Managing to manifest a
Nescafe But the milk is going off and coffee by itself is bitter And there are ants all
through the sugar And the supermarket's miles a-fucking-way My life is pretty sad
the hope my constitution can be altered by some action on the bowl But the total non-
existence of colonic animation Seems to me the perfect metaphor for the utter
improved By a carefully written list of short-term goals But by 12:05 my list consists
of one-dot put some pants on Two-dot go to the shop, buy some prunes and Panadol.
My life is pretty shit But I know I shouldn't whinge about it I could be a Palestinian
Driving a bus on the Gaza strip Yeah how bad can it be? Some people have it worse
than me I could be an Ipswich prostitute Or Gary Glitter's family I have no right to cry
Some people have it worse than I could be a thalidomide kid With something in my
eye Something in my eye My eye. At 12:30 I realize I feel so dejected That I've
totally neglected the beginning of the Jerry Springer show So I settle on the sofa try to
focus an iota of my motor-neurons On the brilliant insights for which Jerry is known
And although on any other day a show entitled "Midgets, Midgets, Midgets "Would
excite me like a virgin at her year eleven ball Today those little jelly-wresting fellas
fail to free me of my misery Instead they simply serve to make me feel three foot tall
But how bad can it be? Some people have it worse than me I could be a junior life
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safer On a Banda Aceh beach Or a woman in Afghanistan Or a Jew in the Ku Klux
Klan Or the architect of the World Trade Centre Or a bobcat driver in Bam Iran I
peace-loving speech writer In George W's administration Yeah, I know that I don't
have the right To be unhappy with my life I could be Hitler's mother Or Shane
Warne's wife Yeah, I know that I shouldn't be bitchin' I could be in a worse position I
could be a 3-nippled naturopath In the days of the Spanish In the Spanish inquisition I
know I have no right, no right to cry Some people have it much, much worse than I
could have a serious nut allergy And be shipwrecked on an island with a crate of
Snickers bars, A jar of Nutella and a fresh baked pecan pie Some people have it worse
ˈmɪəli mɒks miː laɪk ðə sʌn ɪn ɪds ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk ˈɡriːdɪn əv ðə daɪ ˈmænɪdʒɪŋ tə
ˈmɪksɪn nescafaɪ bə ðə mɪlk ɪz ˈɡəʊɪn ɒfən ˈkɒfi baɪ ɪtˈself ɪz ˈbɪdər ən ðez ænts ɔːl
θruː ðə ˈʃʊɡə ən ðə ˈsuːpəˌmɑːkəts ˈfʌkɪn maɪlz əˈwaɪ maɪ laɪf ɪz ˈprɪdi sæd bər æ
ɪn ðə həʊp maɪ ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃən kəm bi ˈɔːltəd baɪ səm ˈækʃən ɒn ðə bəʊl bə ðə ˈtəʊdəl
ˌkɒnstɪˈpaɪʃən əv maɪ səʊl baɪ ɪˈlevən ˈfɪfdi naɪn aɪ həv dɪˈsaɪdɪd ðə maɪ laɪf wʊd bi
ɪˈmiːdɪədli ɪmˈpruːv baɪ ə ˈkeəfəli ˈrɪtən lɪst əv ˈʃɔːt tɜːm ɡəʊlz bə baɪ twelv faɪv maɪ
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lɪst kənˈsɪsts əv wʌn dɒt pʊt səm pænts ɒn tuː dɒt ɡəʊr tu ðə ʃɒp baɪ səm pruːnz əm
pænədəʊl maɪ laɪf ɪz ˈprɪdi ʃɪt bə ə nəʊ aɪ ˈʃʊdnt wɪndʒ əˈbaʊr ɪd ə kəd bi ə
ˌpæləˈstɪnɪən ˈdraɪv ə ˈbʌs ɒn ðə ˈɡɑːzə strɪp jeə haʊ bæd kən ɪt bi sɪm ˈpiːpəl
ævwɜːs ðəmiː aɪ kəd bi ən ɪpswɪtʃ ˈprɒstɪtjuːt ɔː ˈɡæri ˈɡlɪtəs ˈfæməli aɪ həv nəʊ raɪt
tu kraɪ sim ˈpiːpəl həv wɜːs ðən aɪ aɪ kəd bi ə θəˈlɪdəmaɪd kɪd | wɪð ˈsʌmθɪn ɪn maɪ aɪ
sʌmθɪn ɪn maɪ aɪ maɪ aɪ ət twelv ˈθɜːrdi aɪ rɪəlaɪz aɪ ˈfiːl səʊ dɪˈdʒektɪd ðət aɪv
ˈdəʊdəli nɪˈɡlektɪd ðə bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ əv ðə ˈʒeri ˈsprɪŋə ʃəʊ səʊ aɪ ˈsedəl ɒn ðə ˈsəʊfə tʃ raɪ
naʊn ən ɔːlˈðəʊ ɒn ˈeni ˈʌðə daɪ ə ʃəʊ ɪnˈdaɪdəld mɪdʒɪts ˈmɪdʒɪt mɪdʒɪts wʊd ɪkˈsaɪt
miː laɪk ə ˈvɜːdʒɪn ət əɜːr ɪˈlevən bɔːl təˈdaɪ ðɪz ˈlɪdəl ˈdʒeli ˈrestɪn ˈfeləs faɪl du friː
miː ə maɪ ˈmɪzəri ɪnˈsted ðeɪ ˈsɪmpli sɜːv tu maɪk miː fiːl θriː fʊt tɔːl bər haʊ bæd kən
ɪt bi sim ˈpiːpəl həv wɜːs ðəmiː aɪ kəd bi ə dʒuːnɪə laɪf safer ə ˈ bændər ræʃ aɪ biːtʃ ɔː
treɪd ˈsendə ɔː ə ˈbɒbkæt ˈdraɪvər ɪn ˈbæm ɪˈrɑːn aɪ kəd əv maɪ aɪˈdendɪdi mɪˈsteɪkən
ˈdʌbljuːz ədˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃən jeə aɪ nəʊr ðaɪ dʊhəv ðə raɪd tu bi ʌnˈhæpi wɪð maɪ laɪf aɪ
kəd bi ˈhɪtlərz ˈmʌðər ɔː ˈʃaɪn ˈwɔːndz waɪf jeə aɪ nəʊ ðər aɪ ˈʃʊdnt bi bɪtʃɪn aɪ kəd bi
ˈspænɪʃ ˌɪŋwɪˈzɪʃən aɪ nəʊwaɪ həv nəʊ raɪd nəʊ raɪdu kraɪ səm ˈpiːpəl həv ɪt mʌtʃ
mʌtʃ wɜːs ðən aɪ aɪ kəd həv ə ˈsɪərɪəs nʌt ˈæləʒi ənd bi ˈʃɪprekt ɒn ən ˈaɪlənd wɪð ə
kreɪt əv ˈsnɪkəz bɑːz ə dʒɑːr əv njuːtelə ən ə freʃ beɪkt pɪˈkæn paɪ sim ˈpiːpəl həv ɪt
5
Before analyzing the song, it is also worth mentioning the difference between
primarily by its vowel phonology. Figure 1.1 illustrates the Australian vowels
Table 1: RP Consonants
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Labio- Post-
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
dental alveolar
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p b t d k ɡ
Affricate tʃ dʒ
Fricative f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h
Approximant ɹ j w
Lateral l
noticeable differences are with the pronunciation of [t] and [l]. The intervocalic [l]
may be pronounced as a tap or trill rather than a plosive. Moreover, is no sharp clear
[l] vs. dark [l] distinction as in RP. Slater, (2007). As to vowels, Mitchell & Delbridge
(1965) found a consistent variation in vowel quality. In short, the above figures and
General Features
American. One can find more slang words and abbreviations in Australian English
than British. There are also common shortenings in words and regional variations in
pronunciation and accent but they are very small compared to British and American.
As for accents, there are three different types of accents in Australia, namely
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cultivated, general and broad accents. These ones reflect the social class and
4. Analysis
The analysis of the song will be divided into two sections. The first is about the
segmental features, whereas the second is about the prosodic features found on the
song.
1) Segmental Features
Segmental features are categorized as consonants and vowels. Some of these features
have been detected from the speaker's pronunciation in the course of singing. The first
A) Vowels
There are some examples with respect to vowels. These examples are explained
below:
1- Some: The RP phonetic pronunciation is / sʌm /. The singer pronounced this word
to centralized low back position with rounded lips. In this case, the singer replaced the
central vowel / ʌ / with the close front vowel / ɪ / by moving his tongue to the
Singer sɪm •
RP sʌm •
8
2- Face: The RP phonetic sound is / feɪs /. The singer pronounced it as / faɪs /. In this
example, the singer replaced the diphthong / eɪ / with / aɪ /. The singer glided the low
front vowel [a] to [I] instead of gliding the mid front vowel [e]. There are also more
SINGER RP
daɪ deɪ
əˈwaɪ əˈweɪ
təˈdaɪ təˈdeɪ
məʊtɪˈvaɪʃən məʊtɪˈveɪʃən
maɪk meɪk
staɪʃən steɪʃən
singer faɪs •
RP feɪs •
stretching the tongue to the mid central position with open lips. The singer
pronounced it as / klæks / in which he moved his tongue to the low front position and
he spread his lips. In this example, the singer replaced the central sound shwa / ə /with
9
singer klæks •
RP kləks •
4- Known: The phonetic transcription of this word is / nəʊn /. The singer pronounced
aʊ/. Here, instead of gliding the mid central vowel [ə] to a centralized high back
singer naʊn •
RP nəʊn •
diphthong / aɪ /. The singer glided the low front vowel [a] to [I] instead of gliding the
singer neskæfaɪ •
RP neskæfeɪ •
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B) Consonants
There are also some examples in relation to consonants. These examples are also
the singer pronounced it as / mæɡnɪtʃjuːd/. Clearly, the singer replaced the stop
Singer mæɡnɪtʃjuːd •
RP mæɡnɪtjuːd •
ɡriːtɪn /. This means that the speaker replaced the nasal velar sound / ŋ / with a nasal
Singer ɡriːtɪn •
RP ɡriːtɪŋ •
pronounced it as / seɪvə/. In this case, the singer replaced the voiceless fricative labial
sound / f / with the voiced fricative labial / v /. Clearly, the difference is in voicing not
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Singer seɪvə •
RP seɪfə •
4- Try: The RP phonetic transcription of this word is / traɪ /. The singer pronounced
it as / tʃraɪ/. This example, as the previous example, shows that the singer replaced
Singer tʃraɪ •
RP traɪ •
pronounced it as / æləʒi /. In this example the singer replaced the affricate post
Singer æləʒi •
RP ælədʒi •
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2) Prosodic Rules
In this part the discussion is turned to prosodic features. These features can be
classified into assimilation, insertion, linking deletion and others. Some examples of
Assimilation is the process or the result of the process whereby a speech sound
influences a neighboring sound so that the two come to resemble each other more
closely. Underhill, (1994). Here the conditioning sound /b/ has affected the previous
plosive (which would have been [t] in isolation), and made it more like the /b/ by
making it bilabial, hence the assimilated sound /m/. The singer pronounced these
words as (kɑːm bɪˈliːv). This process indicates the regressive assimilation in which
the singer changed the plosive sound (t) due to the influence of the adjacent voiced
sound (b).
This example illustrates the coalescent assimilation. The first sound and the second
sound in a sequence come together and mutually condition the creation of a third
sound with features from both the original sounds. This process occurs most
frequently in English when final alveolar consonants such as /s/, /z/, /t/, /d/ or final
alveolar consonant sequences such as /ts/, /dz/ are followed by initial palatal /y/. They
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3- Some people have it worse than me
conditioning sound /m/ has affected the previous nasal (which would have been [n] in
isolation), and made it more like the /m/ by making it bilabial, hence the assimilated
sound /m/. The singer pronounced these words as (ðəmiː). The singer pronounced
these words as (ðəmi). This process indicates the regressive assimilation in which
the singer changed the nasal sound (n) due to the influence of the adjacent voiced
sound (m). The singer has pronounced this example twice in the course of singing.
conditioning sound /b/ has affected the previous nasal (which would have been [n] in
isolation), and made it more like the /m/ by making it bilabial, hence the assimilated
sound /m/. The singer pronounced these words as (kəm bi). The singer pronounced
these words as (kəm bi). This process indicates the regressive assimilation in which
the singer changed the nasal sound (n) due to the influence of the adjacent voiced
sound (b).
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5- But the milk is going off and coffee by itself
Elision is the leaving out of sounds in speech (Richards, Platt & Platt, 1992). This
kind of reduction occurs mainly in words ending with /t/, /d/ and /h/ and particularly
when they are between two other consonants. This example illustrates this type of
connected speech in which the sound (t) is omitted. The singer pronounced these
words as (bə ðə) where deleted the (t) sound. Elision of the /t/ phoneme is by
This example also refers to the elision process. The singer omitted the sound (t) and
7- Well I wake up in the morning at 11:47 and I can't believe I have to face
This is another example of elision. The singer omitted the (d) sound and pronounced
The singer actually says (har'əf), so the "or" has been deleted (assimilated) with the
preposition of.
This is another example of elision. The singer omitted the (t) sound and pronounced
This is another example of elision. The singer omitted the final sound (d) and
15
11- And there are ants all through the sugar
conditioning sounds precedes and affects the following sound. In this example the
ending [s] is assimilated to [s] by the influence of the preceding voiceless [t].
This is another example of progressive assimilation. In this example the ending [s] is
This is another example of progressive assimilation. In this example the ending [s] is
This is another example of progressive assimilation. In this example the ending [s] is
The variable of H-dropping is another feature that differentiates Australian and RP.
Australian is well known for its tendency to delete [h] such as give her [gIvə]). Thus
16
the words hand and ahead are pronounced [ænd] and [əed] in Australian but they
retain the /h/ in RP. Mompean (2001). This is another example of deletion. The sound
/h/ can be deleted after a consonant in unstressed syllables. The same sound can also
be deleted in non-initial function words such as her, he and his. David and Gloria
(1998, p. 130). The singer deleted the sound /h/ and pronounced the words as (əɜːr).
G-dropping refers to the pronunciation of the -ing ending with an alveolar nasal (i.e.
/n/) and not with a velar nasal (i.e. /ŋ/). This phenomenon is found in Australian
accent but not in RP. In some dialects, g-dropping applies only to the inflectional
suffix -ing (as in present participles such as trying), and not in words such as wedding
final nasal consonant is velar (made with the body of the tongue pressed against the
soft palate) or Alveolar (made with the blade of the tongue pressed against the ridge
behind the front teeth). Here, the singer pronounced the word mixing as (mɪksɪn).
This process illustrates the deletion process. Velar nasal to alveolar nasal is
This is another example of deletion aspect. The singer dropped the –g sound and
This is another example of deletion aspect. The singer dropped the–g sound and
17
To avoid repeating and listing all examples under this category, I will list the same
examples detected in the singer's pronunciation in the following table along with the
1 loving lʌvɪn 1
2 fucking fʌkɪn 2
3 something sʌmθɪn 2
4 resting restɪn 1
5 mixing mɪksɪn 1
Clearly, the /o/ of the preposition has completely been deleted there. This process
Again later, he also does the same as illustrated in the example above. He says
"bɒmbərɪn'' instead of saying ''bɒmbə ɪn''. This example shows r-insertion which is
Here, the singer says "iːθɪˈəʊpəʊr" instead of saying "Ethiope or". Clearly, the /o/ of
the word (or) has completely been deleted there. This process illustrates the r-
insertion.
18
22- I have to face the horror of another fucking day
Speakers of non-rhotic accents of English such as Australian and RP drop their rs'
except when vowels follow it, and also 'insert rs' after non-high vowels when no r is
seen in the spelling. The general rules of rs' in RP and Australian are as follows:
1- Linking r occurs between open-mid and open vowels and a following word-initial
vowel.
2- Intrusive r occurs between open-mid and open vowels and a following word-
initial vowel.
Here, the singer dropped the r at the end of the word (another). He pronounced it as
This is another example of r-deletion process. The singer pronounced this word as
There are many other examples with respect to r-deletion process. These examples
1 sugar ʃʊɡə 1
2 utter ʌtə 1
3 Springer sprɪŋə 1
4 motor məʊtə 1
5 safer saɪfə 1
19
24- I instigate the day's ablutions
The process of Linking occurred between I and instigate in which the speaker used the
linking /j/. The speaker introduced a /j/ to ease transition to the following vowel
sound.
When a word ends in /u:/ or a diphthong which finishes with /ʊ/, speakers often
introduce a /w/ to ease the transition to a following vowel sound. Here, the singer
pronounced the word (know I) as (nəʊwaɪ) in which he linked the word know with
26- Merely mocks me like the sun in its optimistic greeting of the day
Flapping [t] and [d] is general in Canada, Australia and united sates. By this rule,
intervocalic /t/ or /d/ before an unstressed syllable. Abe (2003). The singer
pronounced the word greeting as (ɡriːdɪn). The consonant /t/ in the word greeting is
27- But the milk is going off and coffee by itself is bitter
This is also another example of flapping [t]. Here, the singer pronounced the word
bitter as (bɪdər). He flapped the alveolar sound [t] into [d]. There are many other
21
No. Word Transcription No. of occurrence
1 pretty prɪdi 2
2 Glitter's ɡlɪdəz 1
3 Hitler's hɪdlərz 1
4 writer raɪdə 1
5 total təʊdəl 1
6 immediately ɪmiːdɪədli 1
7 totally dəʊdəli 1
8 little lɪdəl 1
The highlighted words (well I wake) illustrate the linking process. The singer linked
from the word wake and he also deleted the (ʌ) sound from the word up. The result of
This process is called flapping-r. Here, the singer pronounced the words (But I
know) as (bər æ nəʊ). The singer flapped the sound [t] into [r] sound.
21
31- But how bad can it be
As the above example, this example also illustrates the flapping process in which the
singer flapped the sound [t] into [r]. The phonetic transcription of this phrase is (bər
aʊ).
As the above example, this example also illustrates the flapping process in which the
singer flapped the sound [t] into [r]. The phonetic transcription of this phrase is
(əˈbaʊr ɪd).
Similarly, his singing is rich in flapping and to avoid listing them separately, it would
be better to include them in a table. The following table contains some other flapping
examples.
3 that I ðər aɪ 1
22
General Comments
segmental and prosodic features. The singer, irrespective of his speed in singing, has
segmental and prosodic features have been detected during his singing. As for the
segmental features, the singer has pronounced some vowels and consonants
differently compared to RP. For instance, he pronounced the sound /eɪ / as / aɪ / and
the consonant /f/ as /v/. For the deletion of -ing phoneme. It is a factor which eases
the pronunciation. This singer always keeps dropping this sound to ease his fast
singing. This process requires articulatory movements. There are many other
examples in the analysis part. As for the prosodic features, there are also many
examples. The speaker tends to assimilate and delete some phonemes. For instance,
(kɑːm bɪˈliːv) and (daɪz). Similarly, many examples have been listed in the analysis
part. Regarding the suprasegmental features, the most frequently observed feature in
his singing is the rising statement tune. There are also a lot of unstressed syllables in
what he is saying, to match the stress pattern of the song, that's something worth
mentioning. His pronunciation has most features of a fairly strong Australian accent
but with the occasional word pronounced in a "posh" British way. Like a lot of non-
Americans singing in English he sings with American influences too, so it's hard to
hear. RP and American accents might have influence on the singer's pronunciation
due to the frequent shows he has performed in Britain and America. However, the
American influence has not considerably been shown to have much influence on the
pronunciation of the singer. In addition to that, although he has performed this song in
UK, he has used his Australian accent in his singing. This may be attributed to social
23
standardization of a certain variety or dialect may motivate a collective association of
prestige and this standard variety may achieve a symbolic value and signal
independence or even national pride. The Australian identity has become as unique as
any other cultural identity and this is bound to have influence on the pattern of
prestige. As the British values are abandoned to a certain extent, the British RP is
associated with less prestige. Instead the General Australian variety carries more
Conclusion
In conclusion, many related topics have widely been discussed in this paper.
There is a brief background about the Australian singer as well as his song. The lyrics
of the song have also been included in the first part of the paper and they have nearly
been transcribed based on the singer's pronunciation. In the second part of the paper,
Australian pronunciation. The light has then been given to the most important thing in
this paper, namely the segmental, suprasegmental and prosodic aspects found in the
song. Many examples have been listed in the analysis part to illustrate the possible
features of the song. The last point is a general comment regarding the findings found
in the analysis part and the possible factors affecting the pronunciation of the singer.
24
REFERENCES
Arif Saricoban & Esen Metinarifs.(2002). The Internet TESL Vol 4 No 2. Songs,
Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar. Hacettepe University & Cankaya
University (Ankara, Turkey).
Richards, J.C., Platt, J. & Platt, H. (1992) Dictionary of Language Teaching and
Applied Linguistics. Singapore: Longman Singapore Publishers Pty Ltd.
Wells, J.C. (1982) Accents of English Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles. New York:
Cambridge UP. pp. 592-605, 647 49.
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APPENDIX
PHOTOS OF TIM MICHIN
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27