Standard English in the secondary school in Trinidad
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Dagmar Deuber
Abstract
Based on recordings of classroom speech and conversational interviews with teachers, this paper analyses language use and attitudes in Trinidadian secondary schools. Whereas students often speak Trinidadian Creole in class, teachers generally differentiate, with English being used for formal explanations and Creole for comments or personal remarks to students; they consider Creole as complementary and ancillary to English. Their English, however, is characterized not only by a local accent but also by a few grammatical properties that can be ascribed to Creole influence. The prospect seems to be that a local Standard English will continue to be the predominant medium of instruction in secondary schools. More emphasis on the teaching of spoken English is necessary, some teachers suggest.
Abstract
Based on recordings of classroom speech and conversational interviews with teachers, this paper analyses language use and attitudes in Trinidadian secondary schools. Whereas students often speak Trinidadian Creole in class, teachers generally differentiate, with English being used for formal explanations and Creole for comments or personal remarks to students; they consider Creole as complementary and ancillary to English. Their English, however, is characterized not only by a local accent but also by a few grammatical properties that can be ascribed to Creole influence. The prospect seems to be that a local Standard English will continue to be the predominant medium of instruction in secondary schools. More emphasis on the teaching of spoken English is necessary, some teachers suggest.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Series editor’s preface ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction xv
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1. Focus on
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1.1 Africa
- Deracialising the GOOSE vowel in South African English 3
- Codifying Ghanaian English 19
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1.2 The Caribbean
- Corpus linguistics meets sociolinguistics 39
- Rhoticity in educated Jamaican English 61
- Standard English in the secondary school in Trinidad 83
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1.3 Australia and New Zealand
- Australian English as a regional epicenter 107
- Finding one’s own vowel space 125
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1.4 Asia
- Language in Hong Kong 143
- The roles of English in Southeast Asian legal systems 155
- Not just an “Outer Circle”, “Asian” English 179
- “Where’s the party yaar !” 207
- Innovation in second language phonology 227
- Intelligibility assessment of Japanese accents 239
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2. The global perspective
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2.1 Comparative studies
- World Englishes between simplification and complexification 265
- Global feature — local norms? 287
- The shared core of the perfect across Englishes 309
- Word-formation in New Englishes 331
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2.2 New approaches
- The indigenization of English in North America 353
- Perspectives on English as a lingua franca 369
- A discourse-historical approach to the English native speaker 385
- World Englishes and Peace Sociolinguistics 407
- New voices in the canon 415
- Index 433
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Series editor’s preface ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction xv
-
1. Focus on
-
1.1 Africa
- Deracialising the GOOSE vowel in South African English 3
- Codifying Ghanaian English 19
-
1.2 The Caribbean
- Corpus linguistics meets sociolinguistics 39
- Rhoticity in educated Jamaican English 61
- Standard English in the secondary school in Trinidad 83
-
1.3 Australia and New Zealand
- Australian English as a regional epicenter 107
- Finding one’s own vowel space 125
-
1.4 Asia
- Language in Hong Kong 143
- The roles of English in Southeast Asian legal systems 155
- Not just an “Outer Circle”, “Asian” English 179
- “Where’s the party yaar !” 207
- Innovation in second language phonology 227
- Intelligibility assessment of Japanese accents 239
-
2. The global perspective
-
2.1 Comparative studies
- World Englishes between simplification and complexification 265
- Global feature — local norms? 287
- The shared core of the perfect across Englishes 309
- Word-formation in New Englishes 331
-
2.2 New approaches
- The indigenization of English in North America 353
- Perspectives on English as a lingua franca 369
- A discourse-historical approach to the English native speaker 385
- World Englishes and Peace Sociolinguistics 407
- New voices in the canon 415
- Index 433
