The International Phonetic Alphabet

IPA Tutorial: Lesson 1

Just what is the International Phonetic Alphabet (or IPA)?  I will use the IPA on this blog and you will hear it used on a number of our accent training resources. You will see it used on countless other linguistics websites as well.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, take a look at this sample:

wʌt ɪz ði aɪ pi eɪ

You may have seen this kind of writing in the pronunciation section of a dictionary definition.  As you can see from the snippet above, the IPA looks like normal English writing, but with some bizarre letters thrown in.
So what is this weird “alphabet” and why is it so important when studying language?

The International Phonetic Alphabet in a Nutshell

The International Phonetic Alphabet is like any alphabet, except that, where most alphabets form the words of a language, the IPA represents the sounds of a language.  Any language, in fact:  the IPA can represent nearly any vowel or consonant made by humans.
This guide is not designed to explain every nuance of the IPA. Rather, I am going to give you the information you need to start using the IPA.  The IPA is like a language:  just as you don’t need to memorize every word in the dictionary to use English, you don’t need to know every single symbol in the IPA to starting using it.
But enough introduction. Let’s get started!

How Are Vowels Made?

For the first lesson of our tutorial of the International Phonetic Alphabet, we’re going to take a look at the vowel sounds.  Before we look at the vowel symbols of the IPA, it helps to know a bit about how vowels are made.

How Humans create Vowel Sounds

Let’s do a little experiment. Make a couple of vowel sounds, like the “ah” in the word “father,” and the “eee” in the word “feet.”  Make any combination of vowels.  It doesn’t matter what they are.
You may notice something when you make these sounds. Your tongue is moving into a lot of different parts of the mouth to create them. That is because vowels are mostly created by the tongue being in a particular position.
For instance, to make the long “eee” sound, I move the tip of my tongue to the topmost, front-most part of my mouth. To make the long “ah” sound I do the opposite: I keep my tongue at the bottom of my mouth.
This is a simple explanation of the process. Most people pronounce vowels using many parts of the vocal apparatus, such as the lips and the jaw. But for the time being, the tongue position is the important thing to understand. If you raise your tongue toward the roof of the mouth, you create one sound; if it’s pushed toward the front of the mouth it creates another sound, etc.
Got it? Okay.  Right now you’re probably asking, “weren’t we supposed to learn some crazy alphabet?”  Don’t worry.  Now we’re getting to the good stuff!

How the IPA Represents Vowels

Okay. We’ve now established that tongue position is important for creating vowel sounds.

So how does the International Phonetic Alphabet represent this tongue action? To answer this question, let’s take a look at the standard IPA chart for vowels:

Above you’ll see large number of symbols, some of them recognizable (like i) and others which look like gobblety-gook (like ɞ). Don’t worry about what these symbols mean for now.  And don’t worry about any of the text on the chart.
What’s important about this chart is the where each symbol is placed in relation to the other symbols. The rule of thumb for this chart is as follows:
The vowel symbols on the IPA vowel chart are in the position where the tongue is placed when creating a vowel.

Let’s break this down with some examples:
The IPA symbol [i] represents the vowel in American English “feet.” This vowel is pronounced with the tongue high and toward the front. The IPA symbol [ɑ], the vowel in “father,” has the tongue low and to the back. And the IPA symbol [u] (the vowel in American English “goose“) has the tongue high in the mouth and pulled toward the back. Each of these symbols appear on the chart above in about the position that you have to move your tongue to produce them.
But this doesn’t explain all of the symbols in the diagram, does it?

Rounded and Unrounded Vowels in the International Phonetic Alphabet

You will notice that most “positions” in the IPA chart above have two symbols next to each other. The symbol on the left is for an unrounded vowel, meaning that the lips aren’t rounded when you pronounce the sound. The symbol on the right of these positions is the rounded version, meaning the lips are rounded when you pronounce the sound.
So, from the IPA chart above, we can deduce the following:
/y/, /u/, /o/ and /ɒ/ are all examples of rounded vowels.
/i/, /ɛ/, /ɑ/, and /a/ are all examples of unrounded vowels.
To clarify, a rounded vowel is a vowel like the “oo” in “room,” while an unrounded vowel might be the “ee” in “fee.”  It’s pretty simple principle, really: you will notice that your lips round slightly as you make some vowel sounds, and stay unrounded while making others.

IPA’s “Stand Alone” Vowels

Scroll back up to the IPA chart and take a look at it.  I’ll wait down here.
You back? Good. You’ll notice on the IPA Chart that there are several vowels that do not appear in pairs. These vowels are:  /ʊ/, /ə/, /æ/ and /ɐ/.  /ʊ/ is a rounded vowel, while the rest of the “stand alone” vowels are unrounded.
The reason these vowels do not come in pairs is that no languages have been identified which have rounded vowel “phonemes” in these positions.  If what I’ve just said completely baffles you, don’t worry.  I’ll explain what “phonemes” are in a later lesson.  For now, what’s important about these vowels is that they operate in the same way the other symbols do on the IPA chart:  they represent where the tongue is place to make them.

The IPA Cheat Sheet

That, more or less, is how the International Phonetic Alphabet creates vowels. Still confused?  I’ve created a handy tool so you can “cheat” your way through reading IPA vowels.  It’s a list of all the symbols of the IPA, and where they occur in English or other languages.

IPA Vowel Symbols

Below is a list of all the vowel symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet, with an explanation of where you can hear these sounds in different words, dialects and languages.

When you first start reading the IPA, I would recommend consulting this chart as much as possible, as well as looking at the standard IPA chart. It won’t take that long for this weird alphabet to be like second nature.

Basic Vowel Symbols

I’ve going break these symbols up into two groups. The first group are “basic” vowel sounds–these are the sounds you most frequently hear in dialects of the English language.
The second group of vowels are “other” vowels. You will encounter these somewhat less commonly in English.

Symbol	English Equivalent
i	The “ee” in “Fleece” in most varieties of English.
ɪ	The “i” in “Kit” in American & most British dialects
e	The “e” in “Bet” in Australian English. Also, the first vowel in the dipthong “face” in American English.
ɛ	The “e” in “Dress” in most American and British dialects.
æ	The “a” in “Cat” in American English.
a	“a” in Scottish English “father” or “a” in Italian and Spanish. The first sound in the American English dipthong “kite”
ə	This is the lax, neutral sound in American and British “comma” or “afraid.” It is called the Schwa.
ɑ	The “a” in “father” in most American and British accents. The “o” in “not” in American English
ɒ	The “o” in “lot” in most British dialects. The “ough” in “thought” in Standard American English
ɔ	The “ough” in “Thought” in Standard British and some American accents.
ʌ	The “u” in “Strut” in American English.
o	The “oa” in “Goat” in many Irish Accents. The “ough” in “thought” in many modern British accents. Also, the first vowel in the dipthong “goat” in American English.
ʊ	The vowel in “Foot” or “could” in American English and Standard British English.
u	The vowel in “goose” in American English.

Advanced Vowel Symbols

Then there are the less common, or less commonly-used symbols, which are as follows.

Symbol	English Equivalent
y	Like the “ee” in American English “fleece” except with the lips rounded.   Can be heard in a few Scottish dialects in the word “goose.” This is also the “u” in French “tu.”
ʏ	Like the “i” in American English “kit”, except with the lips rounded. Some London and Scottish accents use this to pronounce “Goose.”
ø	Like the “eh” in “bet,” except with the lips rounded. Used in very few English dialects. The “ur” in “nurse” in strong New Zealand accents.
œ	Like the “eh” in “bet,” except with the lips rounded (like [2] above, only with the tongue a bit lower). Used in very few English dialects. Possibly the “ur” in “nurse” in very strong Cockney accents.
ɐ	The “u” in “Strut” in many modern British dialects. This sound is like /a/ described above, except with the tongue very slightly higher in the mouth.
ɜ	A bit like the “ur” in “nurse” in standard british English. The middle of the tongue is placed more or less in the middle of the mouth, and the lips are unrounded.
ɞ	Like /ɜ/ above, except the lips are rounded.
ɘ	Like /ə/ above, except with the tongue very slightly higher in the mouth.
ɵ	Like ɘ above, except with the lips rounded.
ʉ	This is a fairly common sound in English, but requires a bit of explanation. This is the “oo” sound in “goose” as it is pronounced in many London dialects, California English and many Scottish dialects. It is like the “oo” in Standard American “goose,” except with the tongue drawn further forward in the mouth.
ɨ	Like /ʉ/ above, except the lips are not rounded.
ɤ	Like /o/ above except the lips are NOT rounded. Extremely rare in English and most other languages for that matter. A bit like the “u” sound in Japanese.
ɯ	Like /u/ above, except the lips are NOT rounded. Like /ɤ/ above, this is very rare in English and other languages. Again, it’s a bit similar to the “u” in Japanese.

IPA takes a little while to get used to, but once you get it, it’s easy to understand!
All done? Good.  Now let’s move on to the consonants, and Lesson Two of our International Phonetic Alphabet tutorial.

IPA Tutorial: Lesson 2

In the previous lesson of our International Phonetic Alphabet Tutorial, we dealt with the symbols used to represent vowel sounds.  In this lesson, we will examine consonant symbols.

The IPA Consonant Chart

Let’s look at the chart of IPA consonant symbols:

More crazy-looking letters, huh?  If you’re overwhelmed, I don’t blame you. As with the vowels, the trick is to learn how this chart works, rather than memorizing every one of these symbols.
Let’s break down the IPA consonant chart so it’s a little more digestible.

Where Consonants Are Produced

You’ll notice that there is a row of phrases at the top of the chart above with brainy words like “bilabial,” “labiodental,” “dental,” etc. You’ll also notice there is a column on the left side of the chart with additional obscure terminology, such as “plosive,” “nasal,” “trill,” etc.  Let’s look at what these words mean.
The row of phrases on the top of the chart refers to the part of the vocal apparatus that is used to create the consonant. ( “Vocal apparatus,” by the way, is just another way of saying any part of the body that use to create speech. The vocal apparatus contains your tongue, your throat, your lungs, and many other body parts.)
So this row of fancy phrases on the chart is actually describing something really simple: the part of the body you use to create that sound.  “Bilabial,” for example, means you make the sound with your lips.
There’s a simple trick here, which you may have already stumbled upon. On the IPA consonant chart, sounds are written out left to right based on how front or back they are created in the mouth.
So for example, the left-most column of consonants is produced at the very front of the mouth (the lips), whereas the right-most column of consonants is produced at the very back of the throat (the glottis).
With this in mind, you can use the chart above to deduce where in the mouth certain symbols are produced.  For example:
/p/, /b/, /m/, /ʙ/, /ɸ/, and /β/ are produced at the front of the mouth (the lips).
/ʔ/, /h/ and /ɦ/ are produced at the very back of the throad (the glottis).
(As usual, don’t worry about what these symbols mean for now.)
But we’ve only talked about the phrases on the top of the consonant chart.  What about the words on the left hand side of the chart?  What I term the consonants “qualities?” What do I mean by “quality?”

Consonant “Quality”

In reality, what I refer to as “Consonant Qualities” is technically called the manner of articulation. But I think “quality” works as shorthand.
To give you an example of what I mean by the “quality” of consonants let’s look at two basic consonants: the “b” in “bed” and the “m” in “man.”  Pronounce both of these sounds, one after the other.  Go ahead.  I’ll wait.
You’ll notice that both of these sound are pronounced with your lips being pressed together. Because of this, they are both grouped together as “bilabial” consonants, which, as I mentioned, is just a fancy word for “sounds that are created with both lips.”
But “m” and “b” are not the same consonant.  That’s because they have different “qualities.” The “m” consonant is a “nasal” consonant, meaning it is pronounced while engaging the nasal cavity.  The “b” sound, however, is a “plosive.”  That means it is pronounced with the lips “popping” or “exploding” with air.  (Other plosives include the “t,” “d” and “k” sounds in English.  All of these “plosive” sounds involve a part of the mouth being closed shut, then released with a sharp burst of air.)
Scroll back up and take a look at the IPA Consonant Chart. To review, the phrases at the top of the chart are the parts of the vocal apparatus used to make these consonants. The phrases on the left-hand side of the chart are the particular quality (or manner of articulation) of these sounds.

Just get familiar with the terminology. And refer to this cheat sheet if there’s a symbol you don’t understand.
Still confused?  Don’t worry.  The truth is, consonant sounds in IPA are a bit more intuitive than the vowels.  In English, with a few exceptions, the consonants in IPA are fairly similar to the way we write them with the normal alphabet!
There are, however, a few consonant that we use for the English language that a little bizarre.  And these are the topic of Lesson Three.

IPA Tutorial: Lesson 3

In the last lesson in our International Alphabet Tutorial, I mentioned that IPA consonant symbols in English are pretty simple.  That’s because IPA symbols used to write consonants in most dialects of English are exactly the same as they are in “regular” writing.
The following symbols are completely self-explanatory:  /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/, /m/, /n/, /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /h/, /l/. Simple, right?
But there are a few IPA symbols used in English which aren’t quite so cut and dried.

Unusual Consonant Symbols in English

So what are the consonant symbols used in English which are harder to read? They are:
/ɹ/ — This represents the standard (American & British) English “r.” You may wonder why the “r” is upside down.  That’s because /r/ in IPA represents the “trilled r” you hear in Spanish, Italian and Russian.  In most English accents, “r” is pronounced as an “approximant.”  That means that the tongue is in about the same position as with the Spanish “r,” but doesn’t actually touch any part of the mouth.
/j/ — in IPA, /j/ represents the “y” in English “yes.”  Please note that this symbol in IPA is NOT the “j” in words like “juice” or “just.”
/ʃ/ — this represents the “sh” sound in “shoot.”
/ʒ/ — this is the “voiced” version of /ʃ/.  This can be heard in words like “leisure” and “measure.”
/ʧ/ — this is the sound heard in the word “chocolate.” You’ll notice that this is actually a combination of /t/ and /ʃ/.
/ʤ/ — the voiced version of /ʧ/.  You can heard this sound in the words “judge” and “Jack.”
/θ/ — this is the sound you hear in the word “thing.”
/ð/ — this is the voiced version of /θ/.  You can heard it in the words “this,” “the,” and “mother.”
The other IPA symbols for English are really easy.  In fact, if you’re primarily interested in the IPA to learn English dialects, I wouldn’t worry too much about consonants until you have a more advanced understanding of English phonology and phonetics.  Consonants vary a lot less in English than many other languages.
By the way, the reason I’m focusing so much on English sounds here is because I think the best way to learn IPA is to start with your own language.  Hopefully one day there will be a similar tutorial for Spanish or Czech speakers!

A Quick Review

At this point, it’s okay if you’re not grapsing the difference between a fricative and an approximant.  What’s most important is that you understand the following:
1.) The IPA is an alphabet used to write out sounds of human language.
2.) The IPA writes out vowels based on where the tongue is positioned making that vowel.
3.) These positions correspond to the position in the IPA vowel chart.
4.) The IPA’s consonants chart is based on the part of the vocal apparatus used to make consonants and the quality of the consonant (manner of articulation).
If you don’t grasp these points, feel free to go back and re-read any of these lessons. I’m sure you’ll get it!
Our next, and final lesson will deal with a few last minor points.  On to Lesson Four!

IPA Tutorial: Lesson 4

Thus far in this tutorial, we’ve gone over vowel and consonant symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet. These are the most important parts of learning the IPA. However, there are a few last details we have to go over.

Phonemes and Allophones

I am now going to cover two linguistics terms that are important to fully grasping the IPA.
The first term is “phoneme”.  A phoneme is a single sound in a language that means something different from another sound.  For example, “cat” and “cot” obviously are different words with different meanings.  We know this because the “a” and the “o” in these words are different phonemes.  We pronounce “a” differently from “o” because we don’t want different words to be confused.
But there is a slight problem here, which can be summed up in one word:  “allophones.”Allophones are different ways of pronouncing a single phoneme.
Confused?  Let’s look at an example.
Let’s say somebody from London were to pronounce the words “goose” and “pool.” Even though the “oo” sound is one single phoneme, a Londoner would pronounce the two words with different allophones.  “Goose” is pronounced by most Londoners with a centralized vowel: in the IPA this would probably be written gʉs.  But a Londoner would most likely pronounce “pool” with a back vowel: in IPA this would be written pul.  This is due to some phonological processes that I won’t get into here.  The point is that even though our Londoner pronounces these two words differently, the “oo” is still the same phoneme.
I’ll give you another example:  the word “cut.” Although we think of the “uh” sound in “cut” as a single sound, I’ve probably pronounced this single sound any number of ways: IPA [kʌt], [kɜt], [kət], or [kɐt] depending on how fast I’m speaking, who I’m talking to, and any other number of factors.  But although I may technically say this word in a number of different ways, the “uh” sound in “cut” is still the same phoneme.  The variations in pronunciation are allophones of this phoneme.

Broad vs. Narrow Transcription

So where does this talk of phonemes and allophones come into play when dealing with the International Phonetic Alphabet?
This discussion brings us to an important distinction in the IPA:  “broad transcription“vs. “narrow transcription.” Broad transcription is what we do to write the phonemes of a particular person’s dialect.  Narrow transcription is what we do to write the exact pronunciation of that dialect or a particular speaker of the dialect.
Let’s look at an example.  Suppose I say the sentence “I went to the store and bought a nice bottle of wine.”
If I were to broadly transcribe this sentence in my own dialect (General American), it would read:

/aɪ wɛnt tə ðə stɔɚ ənd bɔt ə naɪs bɑɾɫ əv waɪn/

Never mind if you don’t understand some of the symbols above.  The point is that the transcription above is broad transcription It’s rough estimate of how a General American speaker (like myself) would say this sentence. Now let’s compare this sentence to a narrow transcription of my pronunciation:

/a:ɪ wɛnt tə ðə stɔɚ ən bɑ?t ə næɪs bɑɾɫ ə wa:ɪn/

There are a lot more quirks and variations in the second transcription.  You’ll also notice an interesting marking — [:].  This is an example of “diacritic.” Basically we use little markings like this if we need to express something in IPA that can’t be described with the regular notation.
In the sentence above, for example, I use [:] after [a] to indicate that that vowel is “long,” or pronounced for a longer duration than we normally would.

There are many many diacritics, which are simply too numerous for me to mention here.  I’d recommend that when you see diacritics, you reference this article on Wikipedia — this gives a complete list of IPA diacritics, and you can link to other Wikipedia pages that explain more thoroughly what each diacritic means.  (Yes, Cranky McProfessor, I know that Wikipedia is full of garbage.  But some of their entries for phonetics and phonology topics aren’t bad starting places).

Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about diacritics too much for now.  They aren’t the fundamental building blocks of the IPA.  You’ll learn them bit by bit.

Conclusion

We’ve come to the end of our brief IPA tutorial.  I want to reiterate that this is a very incomplete description of the IPA.  What I’ve attempted to do here is give you the bare minimum information you need to know to understand what is written on this site and other sites that discuss English dialects and languages.
Now use it to have a practically perfect performance!

"if you reach for the stars
all you get are the stars
but we've found a whole new spin
if you reach for the heavens
you get the stars thrown in"

-Mary Poppins

Help with Your British Accents

British Accents

The United Kingdom is probably the most dialect-obsessed nation in the world. With countless accents shaped by thousands of years of history, there are few English-speaking nations with as many varieties of language in such a small space.

(NOTE: This page uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For information about this notation, please visit our other blog postings.)

Here is a list of the most important types of British English. While this is not a complete list by any means, it will give you an overview of the accents and dialects most often discussed on this site and elsewhere.

Received Pronunciation

Received Pronunciation is the closest to a “standard accent” that has ever existed in the UK. Although it originally derives from London English, it is non-regional.  You’ve probably heard this accent countless times in Jane Austen adaptations, Merchant Ivory films, and Oscar Wilde plays. It emerged from the 18th- and 19th-Century aristocracy, and has remained the “gold standard” ever since.
Features:

• Non-rhoticity, meaning the r at the ends of words isn’t prounounced (mother sounds like “muhthuh”).
• Trap-bath split, meaning that certain a words, like bath, can’t, and dance are pronounced with the broad-a in father. (This differs from most American accents, in which these words are pronounced with the short-a in cat.
• The vowels tend to be a bit more conservative than other accents in Southern England, which have undergone significant vowel shifting over the past century.

Speech Samples:

• Actress Dame Judi Dench
• Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher
• Author Christopher Hitchens

Cockney

Cockney is probably the second most famous British accent. It originated in the East End of London, but shares many features with and influences other dialects in that region.
Features:

• Raised vowel in words like trap and cat so these sounds like “trep” and “cet.”
• Non-rhoticity: see explanation above under Received Pronunciation, above.
• Trap-bath split: see explanation above under Received Pronunciation.
• London vowel shift: The vowel sounds are shifted around so that Cockney “day” sounds is pronounced IPA dæɪ (close to American “die”) and Cockney buy verges near IPA bɒɪ (close to American “boy”).
• Glottal Stopping: the letter t is pronounced with the back of the throat (glottis) in between vowels; hence better becomes IPA be?ə (sounds to outsiders like “be’uh”).
• L-vocalization: The l at the end of words often becomes a vowel sound Hence pal can seem to sound like “pow.” (I’ve seen this rendered in IPA as /w/, /o,/ and /ɰ/.)
• Th-Fronting: The th in words like think or this is pronounced with a more forward consonant depending on the word: thing becomes “fing,” this becomes “dis,” and mother becomes “muhvah.”

Speech Samples:

• Actor Ray Winstone
• Heavy metal rocker Steve Harri

Estuary English (Southeast British)

Estuary is an accent derived from London English which has achieved a status slightly similar to “General American”  in the US. Features of the accent can be heard around Southeast England, East Anglia, and perhaps further afield.  It is arguably creeping into the Midlands and North.
Features:

• Similar to Cockney, but in general Estuary speakers do not front th words or raise the vowel in trap. There are few hard-and-fast rules, however.
• Glottal stoppingof ‘t’ and l-vocalization (see above) are markers of this accent, but there is some debate about their frequency.

Speech Samples:

• Comedian Russell Brand
• Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay
• Comedian Ricky Gervais

West Country (Southwest British)

West Country refers to a large swath of accents heard in the South of England, starting about fifty miles West of London and extending to the Welsh border.
Features:

• Rhoticity, meaning that the letter r is pronounced after vowels. So, for example, whereas somebody from London would pronounce mother as “muthah,” somebody from Bristol would say “mutherrr“. (i.e. the way people pronounce the word in America or Ireland).
• Otherwise, this is a huge dialect area, so there’s tons of variation.

Speech Samples:

• Comedian Stephen Merchant
• Archaeologist Phil Harding (from Wiltshire)
• Comedian Justin Lee Collins (Another Bristol Accent) (also from Bristol)

Midlands English

Midlands English is one of the more stigmatized of Englishes. Technically, this can be divided into East Midlands and West Midlands, but I won’t get into the differences between the two just now.  The most famous of these dialects is Brummie (Birmingham English).
Features:

• The foot-strut merger, meaning that the syllable in foot and could is pronounced with the same syllable as strut and fudge. (IPA ʊ).
• A system of vowels otherwise vaguely reminiscent of Australian accents, with short i in kit sometimes verging toward IPA kit (“keet”) and extremely open “loose” dipthongs.
• A variety of unusual vocabulary: some East Midlands dialects still feature a variant of the word “thou!”

Speech samples:

• Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath

Northern England English

These are the accents and dialect spoken north of the midlands, in cities like Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool. Related accents also found in rural Yorkshire, although there are some unique dialect features there that I won’t get into now.
Features:

• The foot-stut merger: (see the Midlands description above).
• Non-rhoticity, except in some rural areas.
• The dipthong in words like kite and ride is lengthened so that kite can become something like IPA ka:ɪt (i.e. it sounds a bit like “kaaaait”)
• Unique vocab includes use of the word mam to mean mother, similar to Irish English.

Speech Samples:

• Bernard Sumner, of New Order
• Actor/comedian Craig Charles
• Singer Joe Cocker

Geordie

Geordie usually refers to both the people and dialect of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in Northeast England. The word may also refer to accents and dialects in Northeast England in general. I would classify this as a separate region from the rest of Northern England because it’s so radically different from the language spoken in nearby cities.
Features

• The foot-stut merger(see the Midlands description above).
• Non-rhoticity (in the cities at least)
• The /ai/ dipthong in kite is raised to IPA ɛɪ, so it sounds a bit more like American or Standard British “kate.”
• The /au/ dipthong in “about” is pronounced IPA u: (that is, “oo”) in strong dialects. Hence bout can sound like “boot.”

Speech Samples:

• Singer Cheryl Cole
• This video gives a good idea of the “classic” Geordie accent”

Welsh English

This refers to the accents and dialects spoken in the country of Wales. The speech of this region is heavily influenced by the Welsh language, which remained more widely spoken in modern times than the other Celtic languages.
Features:

• Usually non-rhotic.
• English is generally modelled after Received Pronunciation or related accents, but with many holdovers from the Welsh language.
• Syllables tend to be very evenly stressed, and the prosody of the accent is often very “musical”.
• The letter r is often trilled or tapped.
• Some dialect words imported from the Welsh language.

Speech Samples:

• Singer Tom Jones
• Actor Rhys Ifans
• Rocker Gruff Rhy (Cardiff Accent)

Scottish English

This is the broad definition used to describe English as it is spoken in the country of Scotland. Note that Scottish English is different than Scots, a language derived from Northumbrian Old English that is spoken in Scotland as well. That being said, Scots has a strong influence on how English in Scotland is spoken.
Features:

• Rhotic, with trilled or tapped r’s.
• Glottal stopping of the letter t when in between vowels (similar to Cockney and related accents).
• Monopthongal pronounciations of the /ei/ and /ou/ dipthongs, so that that face becomes IPA fe:s and goat becomes IPA go:t.

Speech Samples:

• Actor Peter Mullan (Glasgow)
• Actor Ewen Bremner (Edinburgh)

 

Acting with an Accent: Standard British

Below are the two links that will bring you to our recording of Dr. David Alan Stern's 1987 instructional lecture. Recordings made possible by Dialect Accent Specialists, Inc.

Video One: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjVwc6yjzHY

Video Two: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUXnMjoM6Q4

 

Conclusion

This list is woefully incomplete. I can’t count the smaller dialect areas that aren’t covered here (East Anglia, Urban Cardiff, Cornish English, Northumberland, etc.) However, I’ve attempted to list the accents and dialects you’ll see referenced the most on this blog and elsewhere.

Context, Terminology, Themes, and the Puzzles with Paradox

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Mary Poppins takes place in England in the early 1900s, a time very different from our own. This period of time was known as the Edwardian era. During the Edwardian era parenting was more of a formal experience as opposed to a relationship. Families that were moderately well off would most often hire a nanny and other staff that would assume responsibility for raising the children. This meant that the children would either be visited frequently, or seen almost never at all, depending on the parents.

TERMINOLOGY

Alexander the Great, William the Conquerer, and Vlad the Impaler: Historical figures with many important achievements in their lives; suffice it to say that theu were around a long time ago )as far back as 356 BCE), making Mrs. Corry as old as history.

Barley Water:  A sort of tea made by boiling barley; traditionally consumed by pregnant women and older ladies for its health benefits and as an alternative to alcoholic beverages. Michael's request seem to have less to do with barley water's unpleasant smell than his desire for a younger nanny (one, say, with Mary Poppins's youthful energy).

Blighters: People you look at with dislike, annoyance, or pity.

Bloody: A British curse word, considered vulgar.
 

Brimstone and Treacle: A medicine commonly used in Victorian times (a clue as to how old Miss Andrew is!), Brimstone is another name for sulphur; treacle is a crystallized syrup made during the refining of sugar. The molasses has a distinctively strong, slightly bitter flavors. Traditionally a medicinal mixture used as an antidote to poisons, including snakebites.

Castor Oil: Used to treat constipation; tastes similar to how any cooking oil would when drunk straight.

Cod-Liver Oil: A supplement high in Vitamins A and D, which comes from the lives of cod fish. Given to children because Vitamin D's usefulness in preventing rickets, a disease of the bones.

Creed: A system of belief.

Doff: To take off; as in an item of clothing.

Druids: An ancient Celtic people.

Forbearance: Patient self-control; restraint.

Gasworks: An industrial plant for the production of flammable gas; since lighting a match (to smoke a cigarette) near there would cause an explosion, Mrs. Brill seems to be saying she doesn't think much of Robertson Ay's usefulness in the kitchen.

Gruel: A type of cereal (oat, wheat, or rye flour; or rice) boiled in water or milk; a thinner version or porridge. There are many other things Michael would rather eat than this.

Halitotious: a play on the word "halitosis," a symptom in which a noticeably unpleasant odor is present on the exhaled breath.

Hallmark: defining aspect.

Heirloom: A family possession passed from generation to generation.

Lark: A source of amusement or adventure. Also, a type of bird, such as the caged one that Miss Andrew brings with her when she visits Cherry Tree Lane in Act 2.

Larval: Meaning "in the form of larva" with "larva" being the juvenile form of many creatures (including caterpillars and butterflies) take before they turn into adults.

Lead: A leash.

Lummy: An expression of surprise or interest.

Monoliths: Towering slabs of carved stone erected by druids for use in their rituals.

Needs must: An expression used when discussing something you must do, but would rather not.

Neleus: a character form Greek Mythology; the son of Poseidon (God of the sea) and Tyro (a Greek princess). Neleus and his twin brother, Pelias, were abandoned by their parents.

Plinth: The heavy base used to support a statue.

Pressing your advantage: Ising an available opportunity to get ahead.

Rack and ruin: Complete destruction.

Rococococious: a play on the word "Rococo," an eighteenth century artistic period characterized by its elegance and, as Mary Poppins suggests, its flourishes.

Roman Empire: The vast ancient empire built by Julius Caesar, which eventually grew too large to effectively manage or protect and collapsed, r "entered the abyss."

Screever: Someone who draws pictures on sidewalks for money.

Snuffed Aborning: If a flame is snuffed aborning, it is put out while it is just being produced, or born.

Spit-spot: An expression like "chip-chop;" basically hurry up.

"Swing for you and sing as they pull the lever": Mrs. Brill is threatening to kill Robertson Ay and says she'd be happy to suffer the consequences; "they pull the lever" refers to being hanged, which was the punishment for murder at the time. 

Tommy rot: nonsense; ridiculousness.

A Touch of the Cat and a Night on the Yardarm: Originally deriving from pirate lingo, "a touch of the cat" refers to a lashing from a whip with nine lashes used for flogging. It could refer to a full flogging, or just a single blow to "smarten up" a recalcitrant hand; The yardarm refers to the main arm across the mast of a ship which holds up the sail. It was one of the most vulnerable targets in combat, and is also a favorite place from which to hang prisoners or enemies.


Weather vane: An instrument for showing the direction of the wind that is typically placed on the highest point of a building.

A FEW OF THE MAJOR THEMES

The themes behind the mysterious and wonderful tales of Mary Poppins are the reason her story has endured for so long. Beneath the magic and adventures are lessons and love that warm hearts and help is to begin to truly believe that, "Anything Can Happen," as Mary sings at the end of the musical. These ext few themes are some of the most prominent to think about while working through our rehearsals.

Truth vs. Fiction

After many of their adventures with Mary, the Banks children will ask, "Did that really happen?" Mary frequently berates them for such silly talk, leaving the children stumped. While this may seem strange and even rude at first, Mary is simply trying to prepare the children for the future. As adults no one will tell Jane and Michael what is true and what is not; they will have to make those decisions for themselves. Will they be able to believe in magic when they are older? Perhaps this is Mary's way of trying to keep that belief alive in the face of the "real world."

Family

Mary does not descend into the lives of the Banks family in order be a replacement parent or to make their problems disappear. She says herself that she will stay, "until the wind changes/until the chain breaks." Instead, she comes to bring the Banks family closer together. Husband, wife, and children- all three parties are distant from one another for different reasons. Mary reminds them of what should be most important to each of them- their relationship to each other.

Looking Beyond Appearances

The Banks children say their parents wouldn't approve of Bert because he is "dirty" and Jane calls the Bird-woman a "bundle of rags." Mary asks, "When will you learn to look beyond what you see?" Mary constantly challenges the children not to judge situations or people based on hoe they appear, showing them that magic is often hiding where you least expect it.

Child Inside All of Us

Through several characters, we see amazing changes when they allow their heart to follow their dreams and desires and not getting too caught up in the rules life entangles up into. We learn (along with Mr. Banks, The Park Keeper, etc.) the child still lives within all of us, and one must give into the childish pleasures of enjoying the simple play of life. Flying a kite is a wonderful metaphor in that sense.
__________________________________________________________ 

Mary Poppins and the Puzzle of Paradox

Originally printed in the January-February 2004 issue of Quest magazine.
Citation: Vachet, Helene. “Marry Poppins and the Puzzles of Paradox.” Quest  92.1 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2004):28-33.

Mary Poppins is probably the most famous nanny in history. She arrives out of nowhere to apply for a position with the Banks family and is hired on the spot, without references. Mary Poppins is able to evoke in others a recognition of truth, especially in Mr. Banks, who says that she paid them a signal honor by coming to their house. The lesson Mary Poppins teaches is to use our intuition, to look within, to find the truth. This theme continues throughout the stories, particularly in adventures involving the two older Banks children, Michael and Jane. Mary Poppins almost always denies that anything unusual happened, in order to make them think. Likewise, each adventure has an encrypted, paradoxical message to make the reader look within.

The Mystery of Expectations

Going upstairs to see the nursery, Mary Poppins rides up the banister of the staircase, going against gravity. Only the children notice this phenomenon; Mrs. Banks does not. What is the meaning of riding up the banister? Obviously, this establishes Mary Poppins as a person with magical powers and is a preview of the greater magic to follow.

Once in the nursery, Mary Poppins begins to unpack. The children have looked in her suitcase and found it empty, but Mary Poppins takes out “seven flannel nightgowns, a pair of boots, a set of dominoes, two bathing-caps, a postcard album and, last of all, came a folding camp bedstead complete with blankets and an eiderdown, all to the wonder and amazement of the children.” This story illustrates the paradox of expectations: When you expect big things to happen, you get nothing; but when you expect nothing, you get everything. Mary Poppins herself, presents a paradox. Her looks are unremarkable. She is certainly no beauty; she is plain like a Dutch doll. Her role in life is also not powerful—she is a nanny. Caroline Myss, noted medical intuitive, calls paradox the language of the Divine. She says in Spiritual Power, Spiritual Practice that “small is big and big is small—Heaven speaks to us in paradox.”

Pamela L. Travers, the Discoverer of Mary Poppins

My encounter with Mary Poppins began with the Disney movie starring the truly magical Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke as Bert the chimney sweep, Glynis Johns as Mrs. Banks, and the great David Tomlinson as Mr. Banks. The movie was delightful, but gave no inkling of the real magic of the universe embedded in the stories. To find that mystery, one has to read the books by Pamela L. Travers. Yet somehow Mary Poppins was not part of my childhood reading. It was not until 2002, when I was asked to review A Lively Oracle: A Centennial Celebration of P. L. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins, thatI became intrigued with the character of Mary Poppins and with Travers, who said that she didn’t create Mary Poppins, but discovered her.

Travers was born of Irish descent in the outback of Australia in 1899. Early in life, she became aware of her gift of storytelling and would entertain her brother and sisters with tales that she created. After a brief career on the stage in Sydney, she went to Ireland, where she wrote for the Irish Statesman and befriended A. E. (George Russell), the famous Irish poet and Theosophist. She became an intimate part of a literary circle composed of W. B. Yeats, Padraic Colum, James Stephens, Lady Gregory, George Bernard Shaw, and others. Later she moved to England and wrote for the New English Weekly. There her circle of friends expanded to include A. R. Orage, P. D. Ouspensky and G. I. Gurdjieff. Meanwhile, W. B. Yeats translated the Upanishads, which was to have a profound influence on Travers, as did Hindu mythology and Buddhism, the lore of the Navajo Indians, and Jungian psychology. Travers wrote numerous poems and articles for well-known journals (later in life, she wrote mainly Jungian articles for Parabola magazine) as well as books, among which are seven Mary Poppins stories produced between 1934 and 1988.

The Meaning of Paradox

Mary Poppins, one could say, resembles a guardian angel, daimon, or cosmic being who comes from time to time to visit Earth. She never settles with the Banks family for very long, but while she is there, she teaches the family, primarily the children, about the deeper meaning of life. She does this through magical outings with the children during the day or at night when the children dream or wake up and seem to leave their room. Joseph Campbell wrote that we must follow our bliss and that to do this, we must put ourself at risk and doors will open. In the Mary Poppins stories, the children follow their bliss, always putting themselves seemingly at risk, and the universe opens for them and, vicariously, for us.

What intrigues me is the interpretation of these adventures. Their meaning is embedded in paradox,like a Zen koan or the wonderful stories of the Upanishads, part of the sacred mythology of India. Rohit Mehta, the Indian and Theosophical scholar, writes in The Call of the Upanishads that “A paradox is the placing of two opposites in juxtaposition. There is no solution to a paradox, a paradox can only be resolved or more truly dissolved” (p.12). Mehta explains that to reconcile a paradox, we must see the two opposites existing in the same place and at the same time. Since the human mind cannot conceive of this, he says, we finally reach a field of nothingness because the two opposites have canceled each other out, leaving nothing. “It is out of this nothingness, out of this negativity that a positive experience is born” and we are able to reconcile the opposites. Again and again in Mary Poppins, Travers asks the question: What will the resolution be when the opposites meet?

The Symbolism of the East Wind

The first chapter of the Mary Poppins series, “East Wind,” explains how she arrives at number seventeen Cherry Tree Lane. Mary Poppins first appears as a shape, “tossed and bent under the wind.” Twoof the Banks children, Jane and Michael, notice that the shape is carried by the air and flung at the gate,then lifted by the wind and carried to the front door. Later, Michael Banks says to Mary Poppins, “You’ll never leave us, will you?” Mary Poppins replies, “I’ll stay till the wind changes.” In other stories, she descends from the sky riding a kite or her parrot-headed umbrella.

What is the significance of the sky and wind bringing Mary Poppins to Cherry Tree Lane and determining the duration of her sojourn there? This reference is reminiscent of a passage from The Voice of the Silence by H. P. Blavatsky, a treatise derived from The Book of the Golden Precepts, studied by mystical students in the East. In fragment forty, the text says, “’Tis only then thou canst become a ‘Walker of the Sky’ who treads the winds above the waves, whose step touches not the waters”(p. 9). The glossary excerpt for this fragment refers to this siddhi, or spiritual power, as being a “sky-walker” wherein “the body of the yogi becomes as one formed of the wind; as a cloud from which limbs have sprouted out,” after which the yogi “beholds the things beyond the seas and stars; he hears the language of the devas and comprehends it and perceives what is passing in the mind of the ant” (p. 77). Known as the Great Exception, this aptly describes the powers of Mary Poppins, meaning in this context that she has gone beyond the evolution of humanity and her life now stands in contrast to those who have not yet reached this stage.

Discerning the Nature of Free Will

In the chapter entitled, “John and Barbara’s Story,” a starling, a wise bird, visits the nursery at Cherry Tree Lane and communes with Mary Poppins and the babies, John and Barbara. Through their conversation, we become aware that the babies, the starling, and Mary Poppins understand the language of the wind, the stars, and the sunlight. However, the starling laments that the children will soon forget everything about where they came from. The children, of course, vehemently protest. Soon, however, they do forget.

This theme is explored further in the chapter entitled, “The New One” in Mary Poppins Comes Back. When the baby Annabel is born, the starling makes another visit, and he turns somersaults on the windowsill, clapping his wings wildly together each time his head comes up. “What a treat!” he pants, when at last he stands up straight. (Now he had someone to whom he could speak again.) The starling asks Annabel to tell the fledgling that accompanies him to tell where she came from:

“I am earth and air and fire and water,” she said softly. “ I come from the Dark where all things have their beginnings. I come from the sea and its tides, I come from the sky and its stars, I come from the sun and its brightness—and I come from the forest of earth. Slowly, I moved at first always sleeping and dreaming. I remembered all I had been and I thought of all I shall be. And when I had dreamed my dream I awoke and came swiftly. I heard the stars singing as I came and I felt warm wings about me. I passed the beasts of the jungle and came through the dark, deep waters.” “It was a long journey! A long journey indeed!” said the starling softly, lifting his head from his breast. “And ah, so soon forgotten!”

This episode is reminiscent of the soul’s encounter with the river Lethe in Greek mythology. Thesouls of the dead bathe there before they are born, so they will not remember their previous history and choices made before birth (karma) until their life is over. If we knew what happened in past lives with the people we know in the present, we might avoid these people and many of life’s experiences. How can we operate with free will and choice if we know our sacred contracts, asks Caroline Myss, author of Sacred Contracts. In The Secrets of Dr. Traverner, Diane Fortune, the occult fiction writer of the early twentieth century, wrote about a character who refused to come completely into her body because she knew her fate and was afraid to face it. This presents the paradox that from ignorance we exercise free will; from knowledge we forfeit our right to choose.

Exploring Moon Magic at the Zoo

One day Michael mentions to Mary Poppins that he wonders what happens at the zoo at night. After the children are put in bed that night, a disembodied voice calls to Michael and Jane and tells them to get dressed and leads them to the zoo. There everything is the opposite of the usual: the animals run the zoo, the people are in cages, and all of the animals coexist in perfect accord. Although the lion that the children encounter says that he is the king, the real king is a hamadryad, a huge hooded snake that Mary Poppins calls “cousin.” This evening is an occasion for the meeting and the resolution of opposites, ostensibly because Mary Poppins’s birthday fell on the full moon. The climax of the activity was the grand chain when all of the animals circle around Mary Poppins in dance. The hamadryad escorts the children to the dance, and he gives Mary Poppins a snakeskin as her birthday present. The next day, she wears it as a belt, proving to the children that the adventure was real.

What lesson was Travers trying to convey with this story? The idea of rebirth may be demonstrated bythe imagery of both the moon and the serpent, the former having phases and the latter shedding its skin.The moon dies with each cycle and is resurrected anew. The snake sheds its skin and is renewed as life is renewed by the progeny of each generation.

Another aspect of the story is reflected in Mary Poppins calling the hamadryad “cousin.” Heinrich Zimmer, the great German scholar of Eastern religions and their iconography, explains that in South India, a nagini or naga (snake deity) in the family tree gives it greater importance. It is believed in Indian mythology that nagas are genii, guardian spirits, considered to be superior to humans, and they are renowned for their cleverness and charm. They traditionally wear a precious jewel in their heads, and they dwell in resplendent palaces studded with gems and pearls at the bottoms of rivers, lakes, and seas. They are the keepers of the life energy, he says, that is stored in the earthly waters of springs, wells, and ponds as well as being the guardians of the riches of the deep sea: corals, shells, and pearls.

The story of Nagarjuna is a favorite of both Heinrich Zimmer and the noted Theosophist Joy Mills. When the Buddha began teaching his doctrine of nirvana, he soon realized that humankind was not prepared to fully accept his doctrine of the void. They shrank from the implications of his vision. Therefore, he entrusted the deeper interpretation of his doctrines to the nagas, who were told to safeguard it until people were ready to understand. It wasn’t until seven centuries had passed that the great sage Nagarjuna, Arjuna of the Nagas, was born. He was initiated by the serpent kings into the “truth that all is void.” He brought to humanity the full-fledged Buddhist teachings of the Mahayana which illustrate the paradox of emptiness being full and fullness being empty.

Buddhist scholar Malcolm David Eckel says that the verses of Nagarjuna can be interpreted to mean that emptiness is a state of awareness, not just a state of being. However, a most intriguing resolution was demonstrated by Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect, at the Theosophical Society in the Ojai Valley. He filled a metal cup with miscellaneous objects from his pocket and then hit it with a gong. The resulting sound was faint and muffled. When he hit the empty cup with the gong, the sound that resulted was a beautiful and melodious chime.

Discovering the Magic of the Sun

In “The Evening Out,” Jane and Michael are able to walk in the sky, where they are invited to a heavenly circus, the polar opposite of the earthly circus at the zoo. Here the animals are the constellations and the circus master is the sun. Instead of dancing the grand chain, the animals dance the “Dance of the Wheeling Sky,” apparently all in honor of Mary Poppins’s evening out. Michael is given the moon to hold, presumably because he had asked for it earlier during the day. When it begins to wane and shrink in size, Michael says to the sun,

“It couldn’t have been a real moon, could it?” The sun replies, “What is real and what is not? Can you tell me or I you? Perhaps we shall never know more than this: that to think a thing is to make it true.” And so, if Michael thought he had the Moon in his arms—why, then, he had indeed. “Then,” said Jane wonderingly, “is it true that we are here tonight or do we only think we are?” The Sun smiled again, a little sadly. “Child,” he said, “seek no further! From the beginning of the world all men have asked that question. And I, who am Lord of the Sky—even I do not know the answer!”

Joseph Campbell in his elegant prose describes this situation of the sun being all light without darkness, containing only the shadows of those who do not open to the light:

What we all want surely, is to know the truth, even though its full knowledge may come only with the dissolution or stilling of the activity of the world. And so, whereas we have a deluding creation, maya [illusion] on the one hand, we have an illuminating destruction on the other, and between the two flows the enigma of the universe (p.264).

This story is also reminiscent of the paradoxical iconography of the Hindu deity Shiva. He is surrounded by circles of flame, rings of fire representing the sun. Shiva’s dance is the universe. A skull and a new moon--death and rebirth at the same moment, the moment of becoming-- adorn his hair. In one hand, Shiva holds a little drum that goes tick-tick-tick. That is the drum of time, the tick of time that shuts out the knowledge of eternity. We are enclosed in time. But in Shiva’s opposite hand is a flame that burns away the veil of time (the veil of maya), and opens our minds to eternity (truth).

Finding One’s Shadow on Hallowe’en

In Mary Poppins in the Park, the last chapter is called “Hallowe’en.” The events of the day foreshadow the events of the evening. Mrs. Corry, a friend of Mary Poppins, accuses Michael and Jane of stepping on her shadow. Jane tells Mrs. Corry that she didn’t think that shadows could feel. Mrs. Corryreplies that this is nonsense and that shadows feel twice as much as we do. She warns the children to take care of their shadows or their shadows won’t take care of them. Finally, she asks them how they would like to find out that their shadows had run away. “And what’s a man without a shadow? Practically nothing, you might say!”

Much later, Michael arouses Jane during the night because he woke up and saw their shadows outside the house. They leave their bedroom and follow their shadows. When they finally catch up, Jane asks, “Why did you run away?” The shadows reply that it is Halloween, the night when every shadow is free. Also, this is a very special occasion—there is a full moon and it has fallen on the Birthday Eve (Mary Poppins’ birthday, of course). The two shadows flit away with the children not far behind, on their way to the park for the party.

This episode brings to mind a passage in The Sorcerers’ Crossing: A Woman’s Journey by Taisha Abelar. She was a student of Carlos Castaneda and gives us a glimpse of the American Indian perspective of the shadow. Since Travers had been initiated into the Navajo mysteries and given a secret name, this knowledge was hers also:

“I have news for you,” Clara continued. “You’ve seen shadows move before as a child, but then you were not yet rational so it was all right to see them move. As you grew up, your energy was harnessed by social constraints, and so you forgot you had seen them moving, and only remember what you think is permissible to remember” (p.74).

At the party, the children have a conversation with the Bird Woman regarding the nature of shadows. Jane says that shadows aren’t real because they go through things and that they are made of nothing. The Bird Woman responds, “Nothin’s made of nothin’, lovey. And that’s what they’re for—to go through things. Through and out on the other side—it’s the way they get to be wise. You take my word for it, my loves, when you know what your shadder knows—then you know a lot. Your shadder’s the other part of you, the outside of your inside—if you understand what I mean.”

During the party, in further conversation with the Bird Woman, the children ask her why Mary Poppins’sshadow and that of Mrs. Corry were not free like the others. The Bird Woman replies that Mrs. Corry was old and that she had learned a lot. “Let ’er shadder escape—not she. And as for Mary Poppins’shadder—It wouldn’t leave’ er if you paid it—not for a thousand pound!”

Once we acknowledge our shadows and cease to lie to ourselves about who we are, we will have the greatest protection against evil. Then we will be able to utilize the creative energies of the shadow to assist us on our journey toward individuation. Carl Jung said that our first contact with the unconscious is always with the shadow. From the perspective of Jungian psychology, the shadow is the part of ourselves that is unknown, a paradox in itself. How can a part of ourselves be unknown to us? To become whole and fully conscious, we must integrate our unknown self, our shadow, with our conscious selves. To do this, we must search for clues in the secret recesses of our being—our deepest desires and our greatest fears. We must analyze the reasons for our mirth, our sadness, our illnesses, and our addictions and address those parts of us, however unpleasant or diminishing they may be to our persona, the face we present to the world. There is a positive aspect to this investigation, say Connie Zweig and Steve Wolf in Romancing the Shadow: “The shadow reveals its gold in creative works, which build bridges between the conscious and unconscious worlds” (p. 41).

To express the inexpressible in a form both enjoyable and meaningful was Travers’s task. We are both entertained and prodded to look within while following the adventures of her famous nanny, Mary Poppins, and the Banks children. If we are successful in decoding the messages, perhaps for a brief moment we can still the cacophony of voices in our mind to hear the truth.

---

References

Abelar, Taisha. The Sorcerers’ Crossing: A Woman’s Journey. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

Blavatsky, H.P. The Voice of the Silence. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1992.

Campbell, Joseph. Myths to Live By. New York: Penguin Compass, 1993.

Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday, 1988.

Campbell, Joseph. Baksheeh and Brahman. New York: Harper-Collins, 1955.

Draper Ellen Dooling, and Jenny Koralek., Eds. A Lively Oracle: A Centennial Celebration of P. L. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins. New York: Larson Publications, 1999.

Eckel, Malcolm David. To See the Buddha: A Philosopher’s Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.

Hillman, James. The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling. New York: Random House, 1969.

Mehta, Rohit. The Call of the Upanishads. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970.

Myss, Caroline. Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential. New York: Random House, 2001.

Myss, Caroline. Spiritual Power, Spiritual Practice. (Part of 6-CD Set Audio Collection.) Boulder, CO: SoundsTrue, 2001.

Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. New York: Pantheon Books, 1953.

Zweig, Connie and Steve Wolf. Romancing the Shadow: A Guide to Soul Work for a Vital, Authentic Life. New York: Ballantine 1997.

"If you reach for the stars
All you get are the stars
But we've found a whole new spin
If you reach for the heavens
You get the stars thrown in"
-Mary Poppins 

The Various Mediums of Mary Poppins

BOOKS

The Mary Poppins musical was adapted from the first three of the eight books in P.L. Travers's series

 

Mary Poppins, published 1934

The first book introduces the Banks family from Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Banks; their children Jane and Michael; and baby twins John and Barbara. When the children's nanny, Katie Nana, storms out in a huff, Mary Poppins arrives at their home, complete with her traveling carpetbag, blown in by a very strong wind. She accepts the job, and the children soon learn that their nanny, though she is stern, vain, and usually cross, has a magical touch that makes her wonderful. Among the things Jane and Michael experience are a tea party on a ceiling with Mr. Wigg, a trip around the world with a compass, the purchase of gingerbread stars from the extremely old Mrs. Corry, a meeting with the Bird Woman, a birthday party at the zoo among the animals, and a Christmas shopping trip with a star named Mafia from the Pleiades of the Taurus constellation. In the end, Mary Poppins is satisfied with the work she has done with the Banks family, and the West Wind carries her away. 

Original and revised versions of the "Bad Tuesday" chapter

Mary Poppins contained a version of the chapter "Bad Tuesday" in which Mary and the children use a compass to visit places all over the world in a remarkably short period of time. The original story in the 1934 edition contained a variety of cultural and ethnic types of Chinese, Eskimo, sub-Saharan Africans, and Native Americans; Travers responded to criticism that the picture given was too simple by revising the chapter in 1981 to include animal representatives instead of people. At the same time, original illustrator Mary Shepard altered the accompanying drawing of the compass to show a polar bear at the north, a macaw at the south, a panda at the east, and a dolphin at the west.

Mary Poppins Comes Back, published 1935

Nothing has been right since Mary Poppins left Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane. One day, when Mrs. Banks sends the children out to the park, Michael flies his kite up into the clouds. Everyone is surprised when it comes down bringing Mary Poppins as a passenger, who returns to the Banks home and takes charge of the children once again. This time, Jane and Michael meet the fearsome Miss Andrew, experience an upside-down tea party, and visit a circus in the sky. As in Mary Poppins, Mary leaves at the end, but this time with a "return ticket, just in case" she needs to return.

Mary Poppins Opens the Door, published 1943

When Mary last left the Banks children in Cherry Tree Lane, she took a "return ticket, just in case." In the third book, she returns to the park in front of Cherry Tree Lane the way she came, falling with fireworks. Once again she takes up nanny duties in the Banks household and leads Jane, Michael, John, and Barbara on various adventures. This time, they visit her cousin Fred Twigley, befriend a statue that has come to life, go riding on peppermint horses, and experience a garden party under the sea.

Mary Poppins in the Park, published 1952

This fourth book contains six adventures of the Banks children with Mary Poppins during their outings in the park along Cherry Tree Lane. Chronologically the events in this book occurred during the second or third book (Mary Poppins Comes Back and Mary Poppins Opens the Door respectively). Among the adventures they experience are a tea party with the people who live under the dandelions, a visit to cats on a different planet, and a Halloween dance party with their shadows.

Mary Poppins From A to Z, published 1962

Twenty-six vignettes (one for each letter of the alphabet) weave unexpected tales of Mary Poppins, the Banks children, and other characters from Travers's previous novels. Each vignette is filled with fun and unusual words that start with the featured letter.

Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, published 1975

Mary Poppins comes to the rescue when the Banks's family cook has to go on an unexpected leave, teaching the young Banks children the basics of cooking in the process. The book includes recipes.

Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, published 1982

Mary Poppins takes the Banks children on yet another memorable adventure, this time on the magical Midsummer's Eve. All kinds of strange things can happen, and even mythical figures can descend from the heavens. At the back of the book is a list of the herbs that are mentioned in the story, with their botanical, local and Latin names.

Mary Poppins and the House Next Door, published 1988

The residents of Cherry Tree Lane are distressed to learn that their beloved Number Eighteen, an empty house for which each neighbour has created an imaginary, wished-for tenant, is about to be occupied by Mr. Banks's childhood governess, Miss Andrew, otherwise known as the Holy Terror. Her dreaded arrival brings a pleasant surprise as well, for Luti, a boy from the South Seas, has accompanied her as both servant and student. Delighted by the prospect of a new friend, Jane and Michael are frustrated by the restrictions that the hypochondriacal Miss Andrew has placed on Luti, who grows more and more homesick for his family and tropical surroundings. When the call in his heart to return home becomes more than he can bear, it is Mary Poppins who makes the trip possible by means of a visit to the Man in the Moon.


Due to the series' popularity, there were several adaptations of the books to various media:


Studio One: The character was first brought to life in an early television play telecast live in 1949 by CBS television, as part of their anthology series Studio One. She was played by character actress Mary Wickes, in a performance that may have been noticeably closer to what P. L. Travers envisioned. E.G. Marshall portrayed Mr. Banks and future Lassie child star Tommy Rettig played Michael. David Opatoshu played Bert, who was a Match Man (a seller of matches) in this version. Apparently, no effort was made to disguise the fact that these actors were American.

1964 Film:
Mary Poppins was made into a film based on the first four books in the series by Walt Disney Productions in 1964. According to the 40th anniversary DVD release of the film in 2004, Walt Disney first attempted to purchase the film rights to Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers as early as 1938, but was rebuffed because Travers did not believe a film version of her books would do justice to her creation and did not want an animated cartoon based on it. Disney finally succeeded in 1961, although Travers demanded and got script approval rights.

The relationship between Travers and Disney is detailed in Mary Poppins She Wrote, a biography of Travers, by Valerie Lawson, published by Aurum Press in the United Kingdom. The relationship is also the subject of the 2013 Disney film Saving Mr. Banks.
The process of planning the film and composing the songs took about two years. Songs in the film are by the Sherman Brothers. Mary Poppins is played by British actress Julie Andrews. Disney cast Dick Van Dyke in the key supporting role of Bert. The Banks children were played by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. George and Winifred Banks were played by David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns. The film features a mix of adventures and episodes taken from each of the existing novels, and new events, created for it. In notable differences from the original novels, the film does not include the characters John, Barbara or Annabel Banks, and has Mary Poppins herself characterized as noticeably kinder.
The film received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture with Julie Andrews winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mary Poppins. The film won an additional four Oscars for Best Original Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee"), Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score.

1983 Film:

In 1983, the story was adapted by the Soviet Union's Mosfilm studios into the Russian-language TV musical film Мэри Поппинс, до свидания! (Mary Poppins, Goodbye), starring Natalya Andreychenko (acting) and Tatyana Voronina (singing) as Mary Poppins, Albert Filozov as George Banks and Oleg Tabakov as Miss Andrew.

Here is a link to part 1 of  Поппинс, до свидания!
(You're welcome)

And part 2 of  Поппинс, до свидания!
(You're welcome...again!)

2004 Musical:
Author P. L. Travers resisted selling the stage rights to the Mary Poppins stories for many years, as a result of her dislike of the 1964 film version, and her perception of being treated discourteously by Walt Disney at the film's premiere. Travers eventually agreed to sell the stage rights after being approached by London theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh. She acquiesced on the condition (expressed in her will) that only English-born writers – and no Americans, particularly anyone involved with the film production – were to be directly involved in the creative process of the stage musical.

The world premiere of the stage adaptation of Mary Poppins took place at the Bristol Hippodrome in the United Kingdom in September 2004. The production then moved to the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End on December 15, 2004, where it ran for three years before closing in January 2008. The show transferred to a UK national tour, and a number of international versions were staged, including a long Broadway run in New York City.

BBC Radio:
On 31 May 2010 BBC Radio 7 broadcast a one-hour dramatization combining several of the adventures into one drama, starring Juliet Stevenson as Mary Poppins. This production has been rebroadcast several times on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

2014 Tim Burton Hoaxes
In both March and October 2014, there were rumors circulating that director Tim Burton was set to helm a new version of the story, first with frequent collaborators Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, and later on with Cate Blanchett in the title role, alongside Sam Riley. There was even a poster made, with Blanchett in period dress against a Victorian city with umbrellas falling from the sky. However, both of these were subsequently debunked as total hoaxes by several news outlets.

Unnamed 2015 Mary Poppins Film
On September 14, 2015, Disney announced a new Mary Poppins film was to be made, with a new plot and new songs. The film is going to be directed by Rob Marshall and written by David Magee. New songs will be composed by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who have both already gotten support from Richard Sherman, who created some of the iconic songs in the original Mary Poppins. Though the film will not be a reboot or remake of the original 1964 film, Mary Poppins will revisit the Banks Children from the first film. It will be loosely based on the other 7 Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers and expand beyond those. The film will be set 20 years after the original film takes place. The name of the actress who will succeed Julie Andrews is currently unknown.

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Below is an article written by Michael Ribbeck, Chief Reporter at the Bristol Post, about why generation after generation has "fallen in love with nanny"