Bad-Lad in a South West English dialect

Some English dialects distinguish between a short /æ/ and a long /æː/. This bad–lad split, as it's known, is overlooked by almost all dictionaries, which write /æ/ for all of them. It seems that speakers have the split between different sets of words, and my own Southwestern dialect — a blend of Estuary English and West Country — doesn't even split between bad and lad. While studying my dialect, I've analysed combinations of onset and coda with the vowel /æ(ː)/. From this it is clear that it is a true phonemic split, perhaps still ongoing.

Hover the mouse over a vowel to see the word for that onset–coda pair.

Key æ Short vowel (phonemic). æˑ Half-long vowel (allophone of /æ/). æː Long vowel (phonemic). æˑ Minimal pair.

p sp b t d k g tʃ dʒ f v θ ð s z ʃ w sw m l kl gl fl n r gr j h æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ ɒ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ p æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ ɒ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ b æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ ɒ ɒ æ æ æ æ æ t æˑ æˑ æː æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æː ɒ æː æː æˑ æː æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ d bad, glad, lad, mad, sad are long. æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ k æː æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æː æˑ æˑ æˑ g bag, flag (1) are long; flag (2) is short. æ æ æ æ ɒ ɒ æ æ æ tʃ æˑ æˑ dʒ æ æ æ æ æ ɑː f æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ v ɑː ɑː æ æ æ θ æ ɑː æ æ æ æ æ ɑː ɑː ɑː s æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ ɒ æˑ z æ æ æ æ æ æ ɒ ɒ æ æ æ æ æ æ æ ʃ æˑ æː æː æː æː æː æˑ æː æː æː æː æˑ æː æː æˑ æː æː æː æː m swam, and abbr.s cam, glam, are short. for am see modals below. æˑ æˑ oː oː oː æˑ oː æˑ æˑ oː æˑ æˑ l æˑ æː æˑ æː æː æː æˑ æː æˑ æː æː æˑ æː ɒ æː æː æː æː æˑ æˑ æˑ æː n an, ran, span (3), than, and abbr.s gran, Jan, nan, are short; span (1,2) is long. for can (1) see modals below; can (2) is long. æˑ æː æː ɒ æː æː æː æː æː nd and is usually short, but long when stressed. æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ æˑ ŋ

Modals – The modals am and can (1) are usually short, but long when stressed not in VSO position, e.g. in a question. For example, short in "I am a cat", "Am I a cat?", "Am I a cat?", but long in "I am a cat."