32.795, Books: Accents in Context: Nejjari

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-32-795. Wed Mar 03 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.795, Books: Accents in Context: Nejjari

Moderator: Malgorzata E. Cavar (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Student Moderator: Jeremy Coburn
Managing Editor: Becca Morris
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Everett Green, Sarah Robinson, Lauren Perkins, Nils Hjortnaes, Yiwen Zhang, Joshua Sims
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
           https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

Editor for this issue: Billy Dickson <billyd at linguistlist.org>
================================================================


Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2021 21:46:32
From: Jancay van Duijn Genet [lot at uva.nl]
Subject: Accents in Context: Nejjari

 


Title: Accents in Context 
Subtitle: Non-native and native listeners’ perceptions and understanding of
Dutch-accented English 
Series Title: LOT Dissertation Series  

Publication Year: 2020 
Publisher: Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT)
	   http://www.lotpublications.nl/
	

Book URL: https://www.lotpublications.nl/accents-in-context-non-native-and-native-listeners-perceptions-and-understanding-of-dutch-accented-english 


Author: Warda Nejjari

Paperback: ISBN:  9789460933370 Pages: 173 Price: Europe EURO 30


Abstract:

The worldwide increase in use of English by various non-native English
speakers is a new linguistic reality which might affect how both native and
non-native English speakers perceive and understand non-native Englishes.
Traditionally, second language acquisition research has been focused on the
language production by learners of languages, how non-native language
production differs from native language production, and how non-nativeness can
hinder effective communication. Some linguists argue that the position of
English as a global lingua franca challenges this perspective. They believe
that a lingua franca English speech community has emerged consisting of
non-native English speakers who are able to understand different varieties of
non-native Englishes and do not view non-nativeness as a barrier to successful
interactions. In order to contribute to this discussion, this thesis aims to
understand whether Dutch-accented English, compared to native English accents,
impacts listeners’ speech understanding and their perceptions of speakers.

Three studies were conducted in which the effect of Dutch-accented English was
compared to the effect of native English accents, namely a standard British
accent (studies 1, 3, 4) and a standard American English accent (studies 3 and
4). The second study was conducted to develop a reliable research method that
allowed for the creation of representative matched guises for studies 3 and 4.
In studies 3 and 4, the listeners responded to the tested accents in three
different communication contexts: a lecture, an audio tour, and a job pitch.

The results suggest that contrary to native speakers, non-native speakers are
not hindered in terms of speech understanding by non-native English accents,
even if they are not familiar with that particular non-native accent. In
addition, if the intent is to evoke positive perceptions in non-native
listeners, being a non-native English speaker with a non-native English accent
may actually be more beneficial compared to having a standard, native English
accent. These findings offer new perspectives on the need for non-native
speakers of English to acquire a native-like accent and the potential
existence of an international lingua franca English speech community.
Furthermore, communication context significantly impacted speech understanding
and speaker evaluations, which suggests that breakdowns in communication
between speakers of English with various language backgrounds should not
solely be evaluated in terms of speakers’ language skills, but should also be
analyzed in relation to communication context.

This thesis may be of interest to professionals and researchers working on
second language acquisition and education, sociolinguistics, accentedness,
English as global language and lingua franca, and English in the Netherlands.
 



Linguistic Field(s): Language Acquisition
                     Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): English (eng)


Written In: English  (eng)

See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=151853




------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***************************    LINGUIST List Support    ***************************
 The 2020 Fund Drive is under way! Please visit https://funddrive.linguistlist.org
  to find out how to donate and check how your university, country or discipline
     ranks in the fund drive challenges. Or go directly to the donation site:
                   https://crowdfunding.iu.edu/the-linguist-list

                        Let's make this a short fund drive!
                Please feel free to share the link to our campaign:
                    https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/
 


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-32-795	
----------------------------------------------------------