Intelligibility assessment of Japanese accents
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Masako Tsuzuki
Abstract
Jenkins (2000, 2002, 2006) attempts to establish the Lingua Franca Core features of English, or phonological features crucial to achieving mutual intelligibility in a lingua franca situation, but she does not focus upon Japanese-influenced variations of English. This paper aims to identify phonological “errors” found in Japanese science major student-researchers’ speech which might lead to miscommunication. Through the analysis of the transcription of Japanese-influenced speech, we argue that the following three types of mispronunciation would seriously impede intelligibility: (1) mispronunciation of consonants such as plosives and liquids; (2) vowel length alternation; (3) misplaced or absence of word stress. These findings may offer implications for English language teaching, especially the prioritization of phonological instructions.
Abstract
Jenkins (2000, 2002, 2006) attempts to establish the Lingua Franca Core features of English, or phonological features crucial to achieving mutual intelligibility in a lingua franca situation, but she does not focus upon Japanese-influenced variations of English. This paper aims to identify phonological “errors” found in Japanese science major student-researchers’ speech which might lead to miscommunication. Through the analysis of the transcription of Japanese-influenced speech, we argue that the following three types of mispronunciation would seriously impede intelligibility: (1) mispronunciation of consonants such as plosives and liquids; (2) vowel length alternation; (3) misplaced or absence of word stress. These findings may offer implications for English language teaching, especially the prioritization of phonological instructions.
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
