ERIC Number: EJ753083
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0039-8322
EISSN: N/A
Speech Rhythm in World Englishes: The Case of Hong Kong
Setter, Jane
TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, v40 n4 p763-782 Dec 2006
This study investigated syllable duration as a measure of speech rhythm in the English spoken by Hong Kong Cantonese speakers. A computer dataset of Hong Kong English speech data amounting to 4,404 syllables was used. Measurements of syllable duration were taken, investigated statistically, and then compared with measurements of 1,847 syllables from an existing corpus of British English speakers. It was found that, although some similarities existed, the Hong Kong English speakers showed smaller differences in the relative syllable duration of tonic, stressed, unstressed, and weakened syllables than the British English speakers. This result is discussed with regard to potential intelligibility problems, features of possible language transfer from Cantonese to English with respect to speech rhythm, and implications for language teaching professionals. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Syllables, Language Teachers, Second Language Learning, Language Variation, English (Second Language), Computational Linguistics, Contrastive Linguistics, Pronunciation, Interference (Language), Second Language Instruction, Language Rhythm
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong; United Kingdom (Great Britain)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A