Stress and intonation and the intelligibility of South African Black English
TL;DR: In this paper, stress and intonation and the intelligibility of South African Black English are discussed in the context of African Studies: Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 217-230.
Abstract: (1984). Stress and intonation and the intelligibility of South African Black English. African Studies: Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 217-230.
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01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: The future of global English References Index List of tables as mentioned in this paper is a collection of tables about the future of English references in the English language and its historical context, cultural foundation, and cultural legacy.
Abstract: Preface 1. Why a global language? 2. Why English? The historical context 3. Why English? The cultural foundation 4. Why English? The cultural legacy 5. The future of global English References Index List of tables.
3,513 citations
01 Jul 2003
TL;DR: English is the global language as discussed by the authors, and it is the first global lingua franca and the most widely used language in the world, according to the authors of this paper.
Abstract: ‘English is the global language.’ A headline of this kind must have appeared in a thousand news-papers and magazines in recent years. ‘English Rules’ is an actual example, presenting to the world an uncomplicated scenario suggesting the universality of the language's spread and the likelihood of its continuation. A statement prominently displayed in the body of the associated article, memorable chiefly for its alliterative ingenuity, reinforces the initial impression: ‘The British Empire may be in full retreat with the handover of Hong Kong. But from Bengal to Belize and Las Vegas to Lahore, the language of the sceptred isle is rapidly becoming the first global lingua franca.’ Millennial retrospectives and prognostications continued in the same vein, with several major newspapers and magazines finding in the subject of the English language an apt symbol for the themes of globalization, diversification, progress and identity addressed in their special editions. Television programmes and series, too, addressed the issue, and achieved world-wide audiences. Certainly, by the turn of the century, the topic must have made contact with millions of popular intuitions at a level which had simply not existed a decade before. These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Of course English is a global language, they would say. You hear it on television spoken by politicians from all over the world. Wherever you travel, you see English signs and advertisements.
975 citations
01 Oct 2002
TL;DR: This article defined black South African English (BSAE) as the variety of English commonly used by mother-tongue speakers of South Africa's indigenous African languages, i.e., BSAE fits the category of new English in that it has developed through the education system as an L2 in an area where English is not the language of the majority, and has become localised for use in intra-regional communication.
Abstract: DEFINING BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH English is a world language, likely to continue to play a leading role internationally as an important language of education and as the language of choice for business, science and popular culture (Platt et al. 1984: 28). A consequence of its dominant position and growth as the language of power and as an important medium for the dissemination of knowledge is the striking increase in the number of those learning and using English as ‘other’ language. In this process English has acquired various identities and multiple ownerships (Kachru 1986: 31), one of them being black South African English (BSAE). BSAE is the variety of English commonly used by mother-tongue speakers of South Africa's indigenous African languages. In terms of Platt et al's criteria (1984: 2–3), BSAE fits the category ‘new English’ in that it has developed through the education system as an L2 in an area where English is not the language of the majority, and has become localised for use in intra-regional communication, as is typical of colonial contexts in which English has been imported to compete with indigenous languages. However, defining BSAE precisely is problematic: strictly speaking, whose English is BSAE? Is it the English of those learners who have encountered only a smattering of English in informal contexts and use it occasionally for business or work purposes?
77 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the disposition to stress of Nigerian users of English and the nature of spoken Nigerian English rhythm using a modified version of the metrical theory, the Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Ranks Test and the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
Abstract: This paper undertakes the investigation of the disposition to stress of Nigerian users of English and the nature of spoken Nigerian English rhythm The subjects of the study were sixty Nigerians of varied socio-economic, educational and ethno-linguistic backgrounds and a native (British) English speaker, whose productions from reading a passage and speaking freely for three minutes on a common topic were analysed metrically and statistically, using a modified version of the Metrical Theory, the Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Ranks Test and the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) In spite of earlier classifications, the study assumes the existence of three varieties of spoken Nigerian English characterized by their disposition to stress and speech rhythm: the “Non-Standard”, the “Standard” and the “Sophisticated” varieties, which are individually different but collectively similar yet different from Standard British English, represented by the control’s performance The existence of the three varieties is confirmed by the data The common performance features include a tendency to stress more syllables in words than the native speaker This feature, which is traceable to the influence of the syllable-timing rhythm of the subjects’ mother tongues, tends to characterize the Nigerian accent of English; but whereas the Non-Standard Variety conforms to the syllable-timing description the Standard and Sophisticated Varieties require further investigation
50 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1968
TL;DR: Since this classic work in phonology was published in 1968, there has been no other book that gives as broad a view of the subject, combining generally applicable theoretical contributions with analysis of the details of a single language.
Abstract: Since this classic work in phonology was published in 1968, there has been no other book that gives as broad a view of the subject, combining generally applicable theoretical contributions with analysis of the details of a single language. The theoretical issues raised in The Sound Pattern of English continue to be critical to current phonology, and in many instances the solutions proposed by Chomsky and Halle have yet to be improved upon.Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle are Institute Professors of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT.
6,350 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: This chapter discusses language teaching materials, usage and use, and the need for integration in the discourse to discourse scheme in the context of an integrated approach.
Abstract: Introduction 1. Usage and Use 1.1 Correctness and appropriacy 1.2 Usage and use as aspects of performance 1.3 Usage and use in classroom presentation 1.4 Aspects of meaning: signification and value 1.5 Usage and use in the design of language teaching materials 1.6 Selecting areas of use for teaching language 1.7 Summary and conclusion Notes and references 2. Discourse 2.1 Sentence, proposition and illocutionary act 2.2 Cohesion and propositional development 2.3 Coherence and illocutionary development 2.4 The relationship between propositional and illocutionary development 2.5 Procedures of interpretation 2.6 Deriving discourse from sentences: an example 2.6.1 Propositional development: achieving cohesion 2.6.2 Illocutionary development: achieving coherence 2.7 Conventions of coherence 2.8 Deriving discourse by arrangement: another example 2.9 Summary and conclusion Notes and references 3. Linguistic skills and communicative abilities 3.1 The four skills 3.2 Activities associated with spoken language 3.3 Activities associated with written language 3.4 Reciprocal and non-reciprocal activities 3.5 Linguistic skills and communicative abilities 3.6 Retrospective and prospective interpretation 3.7 Assimilation and discrimination 3.8 Non-verbal communication 3.9 Summary and conclusion Notes and references 4. Comprehending and reading 4.1 Preview 4.2 The reading passage as dependent exemplification 4.3 The reading passage as independent 'comprehension piece' 4.3.1 Extracts: the problem of authenticity 4.3.2 Extracts: the comprehending problem 4.3.2.1 Priming glossaries 4.3.2.2 Prompting glossaries 4.3.3 Simplified versions 4.3.4 Simple accounts 4.4 Gradual approximation 4.5 Comprehension questions: forms and functions 4.5.1 Types of question by reference to form 4.5.2 Types of question by reference to function 4.5.2.1 Usage reference 4.5.2.2 Use inference 4.6 Other reading exercises Notes and references 5. Composing and writing 5.1 Preview 5.2 Types of grammar exercise 5.3 Exercises in usage and use 5.3.1 Composing sentences in passages 5.3.2 Using the contexts of the reading passage 5.4 Preparation exercises 5.5 Exploitation exercises 5.5.1 Gradual approximation: sentence to discourse units 5.5.2 Gradual approximation: act to discourse units 5.5.2.1 Focus on single illocutionary acts 5.5.2.2 Relationships between pairs of acts 5.5.2.3 Extension to larger discourse units 5.5.3 Rhetorical transformation of discourse units 5.5.4 Information transfer 5.6 Summary and conclusion Notes and references 6. Towards an integrated approach 6.1 Preview: the need for integration 6.2 The discourse to discourse scheme 6.3 Types of procedure 6.3.1 Demonstration: rhetorical transformation by gradual approximation 6.3.2 Demonstration: rhetorical transformation by illocutionary change 6.3.3 Demonstration: information transfer 6.4 Principles of approach 6.4.1 Rational appeal: the use of translation 6.4.2 Integration and control 6.5 Summary and conclusion Notes and references Index
1,391 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1977
783 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a contrastive analysis contrastive essaie de predire et d'expliquer le comportement de l'eleve a la base d'une confrontation des deux langues en cause and constatation des ressemblances and des differences.
Abstract: Sous sä forme actuelle, l'analyse contrastive essaie de predire et d'expliquer le comportement de l'eleve a la base d'une confrontation des deux langues en cause et d'une constatation des ressemblances et des differences. Elle pretend pouvoir ainsi arriver a une Strategie adequate a l'enseignement des langues. Dans l'article suivant on exige en plus une analyse systematique du Systeme que l'eleve a construit de la langue qu'il apprend (= un Systeme approximatif par rapport a celui de la langue cible). Un tel Systeme differe d'un niveau a l'autre de l'apprentissage et offre, contrairement aux systemes de la langue maternelle et de la langue cible, un caractere de passage. C'est justement pour cette raison que l'analyse en est d'une importance capitale pour les situations concretes d'apprentissage et d'enseignement.
494 citations