Listener Proficiency and Shared Background Effects on the Accentedness, Comprehensibility and Intelligibility of Four Varieties of English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jmbs.v1i2.11867Keywords:
Proficiency; intelligibility; accentedness; comprehensibility; varieties of EnglishAbstract
This study examines the impact of Hong Kong listeners’ English language proficiency on the intelligibility and perceived accentedness and comprehensibility of speakers of English from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and the United States. The study had two main aims: (1) to examine how proficiency impacts listeners’ perceptions of how accented and comprehensible different varieties of English are and how this differs from speech intelligibility; (2) to examine whether listeners benefited from a shared background effect differently by proficiency level. The research findings have pedagogical implications as they can improve understanding of which proficiency levels may benefit most from instruction and how a shared background may mitigate proficiency effects. They also help researchers understand the extent to which listeners’ own English proficiency impacts their evaluations of the speech characteristics of other speakers of English, an area of research that is still relatively unexplored.
References
Author(s) (2018a) Published manuscript.
Author(s) (2018b) Published manuscript.
Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B. and Walker, S. (2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67: 1-48. doi:10.18637/jss.v067.i01
Bent, T. and Bradlow, A. R. (2003) The interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 114.3: 1600-1610. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.1603234
Derwing, T. M. and Munro, M. J. (1997) Accent, intelligibility and comprehensibility: Evidence from four L1s. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 19.1: 1-16. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44488664
Derwing, T. M. and Munro, M. J. (2013) The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A 7-year study. Language Learning 63.2: 163-185. doi: 10.1111/iang.12000
Derwing, T. M. and Munro, M. J. (2015) Pronunciation Fundamentals: Evidence-based Perspectives for L2 Teaching and Research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Deterding, D. (2010) Norms for pronunciation in Southeast Asia. World Englishes 29.3: 364-377. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-971X.2010.01660.x
Gu, M. (2011) Language choice and identity construction in peer interactions: Insights from a multilingual university in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 32.1: 17-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2010.532876
Gu, M. (2014) From opposition to transcendence: The language practices and ideologies of students in a multilingual university. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 17.3: 310-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.766148
Hayes-Harb, R., Smith, B. L., Bent, T. and Bradlow, A. R. (2008) The interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit for native speakers of Mandarin: Production and perception of English word-final voicing contrasts. Journal of Phonetics 36.4: 664-679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2008.04.002
Hung, T. T. N. (2000) Towards a phonology of Hong Kong English. World Englishes 19.3: 337-356. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-971X.0018
IELTS. (2015, April 17). Retrieved March 7, 2019, from http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/recognition/benchmarking/hkdse/ielts/
Kachru, B. B. (1985) Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk and H. Widdowson (eds.) English in the world: Teaching and learning of language and literature 11-30. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kang, O., Moran, M. and Thomson, R. (2019) The effects of international accents and shared first language on listening comprehension tests. TESOL Quarterly 53.1: 56-81. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.463
Kirkpatrick, A., Deterding, D. and Wong, J. (2008) The international intelligibility of Hong Kong English. World Englishes 27: 359-377. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-971X.2008.00573.x
Kirkpatrick, A. and Saunders, N. (2005) The intelligibility of Singapore English: A case study in an Australian university. In D. Deterding, A. Brown, and E. L. Low (eds.), English in Singapore: Phonetic Research on a Corpus 153-162. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia).
Krautt, R. and Wulff, S. (2013) Foreign-accented speech perception ratings: A multifactorial case study. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 34.3: 249-263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.767340
Li, D. (2009). Researching NNSs’ views toward intelligibility and identity: Bridging the gap between high moral grounds and down-to-earth concerns. In F. Sharifan (ed.) English as an international language: Perspectives and pedagogical issues 81-118. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Lindemann, S. and Subtirelu, N. (2013) Reliably biased: The role of listener expectation in the perception of second language speech. Language Learning 63.3: 567-594. DOI: 10.1111/lang.12014
Matsuura, H. (2007) Intelligibility and individual learner differences in the EIL context. System 35: 293-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.03.003
Matsuura, H., Chiba, R. and Fujieda, M. (1999) Intelligibility and comprehensibility of American and Irish Englishes in Japan. World Englishes 18.1: 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-971X.00121
Munro, M. J. (2008) Foreign accent and speech intelligibility. In J. G. Hansen Edwards and M. L. Zampini (eds.) Phonology and second language acquisition 183-218. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Munro, M. J. and Derwing, T. M. (1995) Foreign accent, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second language learners. Language Learning 45.1: 73-97. DOI: 10.1111/0023-8333.49.s1.8
Munro, M. J. and Derwing, T. M. (2001) Modeling perceptions of the accentedness and comprehensibility of L2 speech: The role of speaking rate. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23: 451-468.
Munro, M. J., Derwing, T. M. and Morton, S. L. (2006) The mutual intelligibility of L2 speech. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 28: 111-131. DOI: 10+10170S0272263106060049
O’Brien, M. G. (2014) L2 learners’ assessments of accentedness, fluency, and comprehensibility of native and nonnative German speech. Language Learning 64.4: 715-748. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12082
Sewell, A. (2013) Language testing and international intelligibility: A Hong Kong case study. Language Assessment Quarterly 10.4: 423-443. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2013.824974
Snow, D. (2008) Cantonese as written standard? Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 18.2: 190-208. https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.18.2.05sno
Tan, Y. Y. and Castelli, C. (2013) Intelligibility and attitudes: How American English and Singapore English are perceived around the world. English World-Wide 34.2: 177-201. DOI: 10.1075/eww.34.2.03tan
Tauroza, S. and Luk, C. M. (1997) Accent and second language listening comprehension. RELC Journal 28.1: 54-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368829702800104
Tsui, A. B. M. and Bunton, D. (2000) The discourse and attitudes of English language teachers in Hong Kong. World Englishes 19.3: 287-303. DOI: 10.1111/1467-971X.00180
van Wijngaarden, S. J. (2001) Intelligibility of native and non-native Dutch speech. Speech Communication 35: 103-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6393(00)00098-4
Wang, H. and van Heuven, V. J. (2015) The interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit as bias toward native-language phonology. i-Perception 6.6: 1-13. doi: 10.1177/2041669515613661
