Showing papers in "English World-wide in 2005"
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of the language contact between the structurally diverse prosodic systems of English and the three major Nigerian languages were investigated acoustically in terms of speech rhythm, syllable structure and tonal structure.
Abstract: Nigerian English (NigE) prosody has often been described as strikingly different from Standard English varieties such as British English (BrE) and American English. One possible source for this is the influence of the indigenous tone languages of Nigeria on NigE. This paper investigates the effects of the language contact between the structurally diverse prosodic systems of English and the three major Nigerian languages. Reading passage style and semi-spontaneous speech by speakers of NigE, BrE, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba were analysed acoustically in terms of speech rhythm, syllable structure and tonal structure. Results show that NigE prosody combines elements of intonation / stress languages and tone languages. In terms of speech rhythm, syllable structure and syllable length, NigE groups between the Nigerian languages and BrE. NigE tonal properties are different from those of an intonation language such as BrE insofar as tones are associated with syllables and have a grammatical function. Accentuation in NigE is different from BrE in terms of both accent placement and realisation; accents in NigE are associated with high tone. A proposal for a first sketch of NigE intonational phonology is made and parallels are drawn with other New Englishes.
64 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that there is a pronunciation difference between Anglo and non-Anglo speakers in Sydney, and that this difference is most pronounced in Greek and, to a lesser extent, Lebanese speakers.
Abstract: One of the most cited features of the supposed migrant “ethnolect” in Australian English is the pronunciation of word-final -er. This article presents data from sociolinguistic interviews that support the view that there is a pronunciation difference between Anglo and non-Anglo speakers in Sydney, and that this difference is most pronounced in Greek and, to a lesser extent, Lebanese speakers. The variant the Greek and Lebanese speakers tend to use more than the Anglo speakers is backed and lengthened, and commonly used in words with final High Rising Tone (HRT). There is some evidence that Greeks are leading a change to a more backed variant. I show that length, backing, and HRT make up a style of speaking that I call “new (er)”. This style is indexical of being Greek for some, but more basically creates a stance of authoritative connection. These findings are significant for understanding the spread of new linguistic features, and how the meanings of some linguistic variables contribute to linguistic change.
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the vowels in Singapore English (SgE) were investigated from the data of 38 speakers and it was shown that a new standard of SgE pronunciation is emerging for the great majority of speakers.
Abstract: In the past, the vowels of Singapore English (SgE) have often been described with reference to British English (BrE). However, certain idiosyncratic patterns are now emerging, and these often cannot be predicted by referring to any other varieties of English. The vowels in words such as egg, beg, poor, pure, won, one and the first syllable of absorb and abroad are investigated from the data of 38 speakers, and it is shown that a new standard of SgE pronunciation is emerging for the great majority of speakers.
52 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the phonetic and phonological characteristics of the English produced by speakers of three Indian L1s from the Tibeto-Burman language family (Angami, Ao, and Mizo).
Abstract: English as spoken as a second language in India (IE) has developed different sound patterns from other varieties of English. While most descriptions of IE have focused on the English of speakers whose first languages belong to the Indo-Aryan or Dravidian families, in this study, I examine the phonetic and phonological characteristics of the English produced by speakers of three Indian L1s from the Tibeto-Burman language family (Angami, Ao, and Mizo). In addition to describing aspects of Tibeto-Burman Indian English, a previously unreported Indian English variety, I also examine how and why this variety of English differs from General Indian English. The English of Tibeto-Burman L1 speakers seems to form a variety distinct from Indian English, most noticeably in terms of the lack of retroflexion of coronal consonants, the devoicing of word-final obstruents, the simplification of consonant clusters, the presence of post-vocalic [p], and the reduced set of vowel contrasts. Most of these can be traced to transfer from the L1 phonology, with the coda devoicing and cluster reductions reflecting simplification in terms of markedness, following developmental sequences found in second language acquisition.
42 citations
TL;DR: This article examined regional and stylistic variation in the uses of the modals must, should, need and the quasi-modals need to, have to, need, have got to, ought to, had better and may/might as well in parallel corpora of Australian, British, American and New Zealand English.
Abstract: This paper examines regional and stylistic variation in the uses of the modals must, should, need and the quasi-modals need to, have to, have got to, ought to, had better and may/might as well in parallel corpora of Australian, British, American and New Zealand English. Consideration is given to the possible influence, in determining the relative (un)popularity of modal uses, of factors such as "democratization" (e.g. in predisposing speakers to prefer root have to and should over must) and "colloquialization" (e.g. in explaining the differing fortunes of must and have got to).
42 citations
TL;DR: This article found that speakers in the North Yorkshire/Lancashire border region show DAR most frequently when they refer to something that is in their immediate environment (situational reference), that was just mentioned in the conversation (anaphoric reference), or that is known to the hearer (shared knowledge).
Abstract: We inquire into Definite Article Reduction (DAR), a phenomenon known to characterize northern English dialects. For this research we collected data from speakers at the North Yorkshire/Lancashire border. While previous studies have largely addressed DAR from a phonological perspective, we examine whether DAR is conditioned by other linguistic factors. The pattern we identify is that speakers show DAR most frequently when they refer to something (i) that is in their immediate environment (situational reference), (ii) that was just mentioned in the conversation (anaphoric reference), or (iii) that is known to the hearer (shared knowledge). We note that these uses correspond to the pragmatic category of “givenness/familiarity”, and may also be associated with the notions “near/close”. We speculate on the emergence of DAR in the North of England, drawing on evidence from the historical record regarding the development of the definite article from the demonstrative paradigm and the contact situation with Scandinavian.
20 citations
TL;DR: The authors reported on patterns of adverbial usage in a 550,000-word corpus of informal spoken English collected from mother tongue (MT) Xhosa speakers for whom English is a second language.
Abstract: This article reports on patterns of adverbial usage in a 550 000-word corpus of informal spoken English collected from mother tongue (MT) Xhosa speakers for whom English is a second language. The focus is on the subset of intensifiers which accompany gradable adverbs and adjectives that allow comparison and modification (e.g. rather hard) and the benchmark used for comparison with so-called natural MT English usage is the spoken component of the International Corpus of New Zealand English (Holmes 1995; 1996). Results reveal that patterns of usage vary enormously between Xhosa English (XhE) and New Zealand English (NZE). Not only do they vary in overall frequency of use in all categories, with XhE speakers using fewer intensifiers, but the XhE speakers also draw from a smaller lexical range, which suggests a process of lexical focusing. Other characteristic patterns of intensifier usage include differences in adverbial placement as well as formulaic phrasing.
17 citations
TL;DR: This article provided a qualitative real-time study of ancestral language transfer in the English spoken on the Quinault Indian Nation reservation in WA, USA, in the late 1960s and nowadays.
Abstract: The paper provides a qualitative real-time study of ancestral language transfer in the English spoken on the Quinault Indian Nation reservation in WA, USA, in the late 1960s and nowadays. The 1960s data come from archival recordings of mainly one bilingual elder, while the recent samples were recorded in 2004. Only the former exhibit some evident phonological and morpho-syntactic transfer. The present-day speech conforms to informal General American patterns, except for one new variable, the glottal replacement of voiceless stops. The latter is not attested in the archival material and is argued to involve an innovation. A similar phenomenon has been reported in several other American Indian English (AIE) varieties. This may imply that a shared AIE substratum is developing, based on non-standard English features rather than on specific ancestral language transfer features. Leap’s (1993) assertion that no general AIE variety is on the rise may be worth re-examination.
11 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the status of two vowel mergers in a rural area of the United States and found that the front-lax merger has traditionally been a southern US merger and the low-back merger was a northern or western US merger.
Abstract: This paper examines the status of two vowel mergers in a rural area of the United States. The front-lax merger has traditionally been a southern US merger, and the low-back merger has traditionally been a northern or western US merger. In areas of West Virginia, the same speakers demonstrate both. This geographic overlap of both mergers reinforces the idea that West Virginia is a transitional dialect region. In addition, the traditionally distinct dialect regions of West Virginia are finding increased unity in this overlap of mergers.
9 citations
TL;DR: The authors showed that phonetic and orthographic forms often do not coincide and that even where they coincide, other phonological factors than the use of spelling are usually at play, such as phonological features rather than orthographic features.
Abstract: A common assumption in studies of English world-wide is that speakers of an L2 frequently rely on the orthographic form of words in settling upon their pronunciation. I call this the “spelling form hypothesis”. This paper critically examines the assumptions behind this hypothesis and shows them to be implausible, and in fact fallacious for advanced interlanguages and fluent sub-varieties of a second language. Using data from Black South African English involving the equivalents of schwa in “standard” varieties (e.g. RP, General American and “cultivated” South African English), I argue that phonetic and orthographic forms often do not coincide. Furthermore, even where they coincide, other phonological factors than the use of spelling are usually at play.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the processes shaping the development of Bay Islands English are considered, and an account is offered based on inter-ethnic contact, arguing that restructuring has been constrained by processes of convergence and differentiation affecting two distinct ethnic varieties with some black speech showing a high degree of creole influence.
Abstract: Bay Islands English has been described in the literature as a variety which shows little evidence of creole features. However, existing accounts are based on restricted data samples taken from communities where restructuring is much less in evidence than among black speakers in the largest island, Roatan. The field-data utilized in the present study are analyzed to give a more detailed picture of the patterns of community-wide language variation. The processes shaping the development of Bay Islands English are considered, and an account is offered based on inter-ethnic contact. It is argued that restructuring has been constrained by processes of convergence and differentiation affecting two distinct ethnic varieties, with some black speech showing a high degree of creole influence.