John Benjamins Publishing Company
International intelligibility revisited
Abstract
The Lingua Franca Core (LFC) proposes that NURSE is the only vowel quality important for international intelligibility, yet research findings regarding this issue are mixed. Moreover, it is unclear whether phonetic (rather than phonemic) substitutions of NURSE also affect international intelligibility more negatively than other phonemic vowel substitutions, though this seems unlikely on the basis of considerations of functional load (FL). This study compares the international intelligibility of two vowel substitutions typical of Austrian learners of English: the phonetic replacement of NURSE with a rounded and diphthongized vowel, and the phonemic replacement of TRAP with a vowel close to cardinal [ɛ]. The findings suggest that, contrary to the LFC but in line with FL considerations, the phonetic substitution of NURSE is more intelligible to an international audience than the substitution of TRAP with [ɛ]. However, differences in intelligibility between the two substitutions were largely ‘neutralized’ once contextual support was available.
Abstract
The Lingua Franca Core (LFC) proposes that NURSE is the only vowel quality important for international intelligibility, yet research findings regarding this issue are mixed. Moreover, it is unclear whether phonetic (rather than phonemic) substitutions of NURSE also affect international intelligibility more negatively than other phonemic vowel substitutions, though this seems unlikely on the basis of considerations of functional load (FL). This study compares the international intelligibility of two vowel substitutions typical of Austrian learners of English: the phonetic replacement of NURSE with a rounded and diphthongized vowel, and the phonemic replacement of TRAP with a vowel close to cardinal [ɛ]. The findings suggest that, contrary to the LFC but in line with FL considerations, the phonetic substitution of NURSE is more intelligible to an international audience than the substitution of TRAP with [ɛ]. However, differences in intelligibility between the two substitutions were largely ‘neutralized’ once contextual support was available.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword. Evolution of L2 pronunciation research and teaching 1
- Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility, redux 7
- Revisiting the Intelligibility and Nativeness Principles 33
- Expanding the scope of L2 intelligibility research 51
- Comprehensibility and everyday English use 75
- Long-term effects of intensive instruction on fluency, comprehensibility and accentedness 103
- Reactions to second language speech 125
- Second language comprehensibility as a dynamic construct 153
- International intelligibility revisited 181
- Investigating the relationship between comprehensibility and social evaluation 207
- Subject index 229
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword. Evolution of L2 pronunciation research and teaching 1
- Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility, redux 7
- Revisiting the Intelligibility and Nativeness Principles 33
- Expanding the scope of L2 intelligibility research 51
- Comprehensibility and everyday English use 75
- Long-term effects of intensive instruction on fluency, comprehensibility and accentedness 103
- Reactions to second language speech 125
- Second language comprehensibility as a dynamic construct 153
- International intelligibility revisited 181
- Investigating the relationship between comprehensibility and social evaluation 207
- Subject index 229
