Homogeneity and heterogeneity in the pronunciation of English among Ugandans

English Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Monica Adokorach ◽  
Bebwa Isingoma
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Ethnic Background ◽  
Official Language ◽  
East African ◽  
Seminal Paper ◽  
Ethnic Boundaries ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Short Section ◽  
Substrate Influence

English is an official language in Uganda and is said to be in its nativization phase when placed within Schneider's (2007) model of the trajectorial development of Englishes (Isingoma & Meierkord, 2019). In the present study, we delineate the general features of the Ugandan accent of English (i.e. those that cut across regional or ethnic boundaries) as well as features that evince variability among Ugandans due to regional or ethnic background. The first description of the phonological features of the variety of English spoken in Uganda is included in Fisher's (2000) seminal paper on this L2 (second language) variety of English. Another description of these features is found in Nassenstein (2016). Both Fisher (2000) and Nassenstein (2016) provide a short section, outlining the features which are similar to the general features of L2 Englishes, notably the restructuring of the phonemic system, e.g. /a/ replacing /ɜ:, ɑ:, ʌ, ə/ and the free variation of [l] and [r], although the latter occurs regionally (see similar findings on L2 varieties of English in Bailey & Görlach [eds.] 1984; Platt, Weber & Ho, 1984; Schmied, 1991; Simo-Bobda, 2000; Atechi, 2004; Schneider et al. [eds.], 2004; Tsilimos, 2018; among others). Additionally, Simo-Bobda (2001) and Schmied (2004) describe more or less the same features but in a more detailed way under the label ‘East African English’ (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania). Schmied (2004) posits three reasons that underlie the features in question: substrate influence, simplification and spelling pronunciation. To these studies, we add a more focused study on one particular aspect of the Ugandan accent(s) of English, namely by Meierkord (2016), who looks at diphthongs and how they are realized by speakers of different L1s. Her findings demonstrate variability but also convergence in the idiomorphic pronunciation of diphthongs by Ugandans.

Prepositions vanishing in Kenya

English Today ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERAH MWANGI
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Target Language ◽  
East African ◽  
Language Variety

ACCORDING to Schmied (1991a:52), ‘there is some evidence that language learners in general use simplification strategies at an early stage and try to reproduce memorized phrases from the target language later, irrespective of the linguistic and pragmatic context.’ The English prepositional system is well known for its complexity and language learners might well be inclined to simplify in order to reduce such complexities. Indeed, there is evidence from the East African component of the International Corpus of English (ICE-EA) of such a process of simplification in the use of prepositions in the English of Kenya. As a result, some prepositions might well disappear from use in this second-language variety of English.

scholarly journals Over de tweestrijd tussen taalnorm en taalrealiteit : Hoe NT2-leerkrachten uit een Gentse school worstelen met niet-standaardtalige variatie in het NT2-onderwijs

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-224
Author(s):  
Chloé Lybaert ◽  
Ella van Hest ◽  
Sara Van Cleemputte
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Regional Dialects ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
Daily Interactions

Abstract Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, shows a strong presence of non-standard language varieties, such as tussentaal (lit. ‘in-between language’) or regional dialects. However, Dutch as a second language (L2) education in Flanders mainly focuses on (Belgian) Standard Dutch, the official language variety in Flanders. Newcomers settling in Flanders seem to experience a large gap between the standard language advocated in policy and education and the multitude of non-standard language varieties they encounter in daily interactions. L2 teachers in Flanders are thus dealing with students who often struggle to communicate with L1 speakers of Dutch. In this empirical study, we address this issue by probing the opinions of L2 teachers: do they believe tussentaal and dialects form a communication threshold for their students? To what extent do they focus on non-standard language during their lessons, and what reservations or doubts do they possibly have about teaching non-standard language in the classroom? To answer these questions, we draw on fieldwork conducted in the East Flemish city of Ghent.

Transfer Constraints and Substrate Influence in Melanesian Pidgin

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Perceptual Salience ◽  
Central Eastern ◽  
Influence Of Substrate ◽  
Substrate Influence

This study examines research on transfer in second language acquisition (SLA) in order to identify situational and linguistic factors which may constrain the influence of substrate languages on the developing grammar of a pidgin or creole. A distinction is made between the earlier transfer of L1 features by individuals attempting to use the superstrate language as an L2 for wider communication, and the later retention of a subset of these features by the community during a process of leveling which occurs during stabilization. The study outlines various transfer constraints and reinforcement principles proposed in both the second language acquisition and pidgin/creole studies literature. These are evaluated using Melanesian Pidgin and its Central-Eastern Oceanic (CEO) substrate languages as a test case. Of the potential constraints on transfer proposed in the SLA literature, the need for partial or specious congruence between superstrate and substrate structures appears to account best for the particular CEO features that were transferred. Perceptual salience accounts for the kinds of forms from English that were reanalyzed to fit CEO patterns. With regard to the retention of particular transferred features, the most significant reinforcement principle appears to be frequency in the contact environment.

scholarly journals Social injustice in learning of the second language among immigrant children in Finland: conventional narratives and perceptions

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-100
Author(s):  
Frank Ojwang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary School ◽  
International Schools ◽  
National Language ◽  
School Level ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Host Countries

This is a comparative ethnographic research, comparing the primary school level migrant learners’ performance in the learning of the national language of the host countries in Finland and Tanzania. A response from nine teachers, drawn from Tanzanian International Schools, attended by expats’ children, was collected through structured interviews. Additionally, two In-Depth Interviews, targeting Tanzanian Swahili teachers at the international schools, was conducted using the narration approach. The study uses MAXQDA to comparatively analyze the findings of fourteen research articles on immigrant pupils’ learning challenges of the Finnish language as a second language in Finland, and gathered information from this study’s survey is used to analyze the use of Kiswahili as a second language in Tanzania. The research focuses on a comparative analysis of the learning and use of official languages of the host countries as second languages, used in facilitating learning among primary school learners. In Finland, the official language analyzed is Finnish, whereas in Tanzania, the official language analyzed is Kiswahili. The International schools in Tanzania offer Kiswahili lessons to all learners in primary school as guided by national education policy, whereas all public and international schools in Finland offer Finnish lessons for all learners under the education policy. The responses in both Finland and Tanzania are deconstructed qualitatively to illuminate the similarities and differences between European migrant learners and African migrant learners using a second language for learning, and to further deconstruct the nuanced epistemological injustice against minorities. The theories in this research are derived using the grounded theory approach.

Vowel learning in diglossic settings: Evidence from Arabic-Greek learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 136700692094539
Author(s):  
Georgios P Georgiou ◽  
Charalambos Themistocleous
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Variety Versus ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Egyptian Arabic ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
The Impact

Aim and questions: Second language learners are often acquiring a second language (L2) in multilingual and bidialectal sociolinguistic environments. The competing pronunciations can be challenging to language learners. This study aims to determine the effects of language variety—standard variety versus local variety—on L2 vowel learning. Methodology: Vowel productions from 55 speakers were analyzed in the study; 10 speakers of Egyptian Arabic were recorded in a reading task producing Greek vowels and their vowel productions were compared to L1 vowel productions produced by 20 Standard Modern Greek and 25 Cypriot Greek speakers from a study by Themistocleous. Data and analysis: We conducted linear mixed effects models and tested the effects of language variety, vowel, and stress on the first and second formant frequency and on vowel duration. Findings: Egyptian Arabic speakers merge the middle Greek vowels /e/ and /o/ and the high /i/ and /u/ vowels. Also, they did not differentiate phonetically between L2 stressed and unstressed vowels. These findings are arguably an effect of the L1 vowel structure on L2 vowels. The two varieties exercised competing effects on learners’ vowel productions, which suggests that both varieties are influencing vowel learning. Originality: There has been substantial research on L2 vowel learning in monolingual environments but not in diglossic environments; this study fills this gap by offering evidence about vowel learning in diglossic environments. Implications: In modern societies, communication takes place in multilingual environments. The findings highlight the impact of diglossia on L2 vowel learning and, ultimately, they demonstrate the importance of sociolinguistic factors on L2 learning.

Symposium – Perspectives on Motivation for Second Language Learning on the 50th Anniversary of Gardner & Lambert (1959)

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter MacIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Seminal Paper ◽  
Canadian Association

Held at the Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée/Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics Conference, Ottawa, Canada; 28 May 2009.With the 50th anniversary of Robert C. Gardner and Wallace Lambert's seminal paper ‘Motivational variables in second language acquisition’ (Gardner & Lambert 1959), we paused to reflect on the contributions the work has inspired and the state of the art in the study of motivation research.

scholarly journals Exploring the Reasons for the Fossilization of Phonological Errors: A case study of the substitution of/o/for/ɔ/by English as Second Language Learners in Sri Lanka

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Kaushika Premarathne
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Correct Pronunciation ◽  
Back Vowel ◽  
Phonological Errors

Over the past decades, various teaching methods adopted from time to time have placed pronunciation teaching in the forefront or in the backend. This has resulted in second language facilitators to completely disregard or relentlessly correct pronunciation depending on their intuition due to the lack of research on pronunciation teaching or proper guidance. In Sri Lanka, since there has been no general agreement on pronunciation teaching, it is being considered merely a supplementary task which is often overlooked. As a result of this, certain phonological features have got fossilized in the code repertoire of English as second language learners in Sri Lanka. Past studies on phonology in Sri Lanka bear evidence that phonological deviations can lead to a class distinction in Sri Lankan society which can even have an adverse outcome at a job interview or any social gathering (Parakrama, 1995; Gunesekera, 2005). The aim of this study is to record literature on pronunciation teaching in Sri Lanka and to investigate reasons for fossilization of phonological features. A questionnaire was administered among 25 high proficiency learners who have been pursuing higher studies in English medium to find out reasons for English as Second Language learners in Sri Lanka to substitute the mid back vowel/o/for the low back vowel/ɔ/. According to literature, L1 dominance on L2 attributes for learners to deviate from the codified norms of the Standard Sri Lankan English (SSLE). In line with the Noticing Hypothesis, the Output Hypothesis, and the Interactional model, the findings showcase that the lack of sufficient guidance and the lack of awareness on the part of facilitators and learners respectively are the most salient factors that prevent the formation of new phonological categories which do not exist in the L1. It is recommended for facilitators to make learners aware of their phonological errors to avoid fossilization of erroneous forms.

scholarly journals LE FLE ET LE SYSTÈME SCOLAIRE: QUEL(S) STATUT(S) EN DIDACTIQUE DES LANGUES AU MAROC?

FRANCISOLA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 154
Author(s):  
Moulay Mohamed TARNAOUI
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Educational System ◽  
School System ◽  
French Language ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Mots Clés ◽  
French Protectorate ◽  
Langue Seconde

RÉSUMÉ. La langue française au Maroc appelle aujourd'hui plusieurs interrogations qui portent sur le statut, la priorité et les problèmes dans le système scolaire marocain. Le Français est officiellement présent au Maroc depuis le début du protectorat français en 1912, son statut a évolué au fil du temps : de langue officielle sous le protectorat, elle est devenue la première langue étrangère obligatoire dans le système scolaire. . Il est indéniable que les appellations relatives aux fonctions de cette langue divergent et témoignent de la complexité de la situation linguistique dans un pays où la veine plurilingue est un atout et non pas un handicap. Pourtant, il existe une assez grande imprécision au niveau des discours sur cette langue fréquemment saisie comme « langue privilégiée », mais qui cherche à accéder à un statut de reconnaissance et dont les emplois semblent très hétérogènes. Mots-clés: français langue étrangère, français langue seconde, statut, système scolaire marocain.  ABSTRACT. The French Language in Morocco calls for many questions which revolve around its status, the priority and the problems in the Moroccan school system. French has been officially present in Morocco since the beginning of the French Protectorate back in 1912. Its status has evolved through the time: from an official language under the protectorate, it has become the first compulsory foreign language in the school system. It’s undeniable that the calls relative to the functions of this language divert and witness of the complexity of the linguistic situation in a country where the multilingual veins an asset rather than a defection. Nonetheless, there is quite a big imprecision in the level of discourse on this language frequently referred to as « privileged » language but which seeks to access to a status of acknowledgment and the uses of which seem very heterogeneous. Keywords: French foreign language, French second language, Moroccan educational system, status.

Anti-deletions in an L2 grammar

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajend Mesthrie
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
South African ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
Grammatical Morphemes ◽  
Modern Standard

This paper offers a unified account of the syntactic “deviations” found in a second language variety of English, viz. Black South African English (BlSAfE). Most writing on the topic has been content to supply lists of non-standard features which are thought to be diagnostic of the variety. This paper aims to characterise the syntax of the variety via its recurrent properties, rather than as a superset of unrelated features. In this regard I use the cover term “anti-deletion” for three relatable properties: (a) restoring a feature that tends to be deleted in modern standard English, e.g. the infinitive marker to in She made me to go; (b) retaining, rather than deleting elements that are known to be deleted in some (non-standard) varieties of English, e.g. retention rather than deletion of the copula; and (c) inserting additional grammatical morphemes into the standard English structure, e.g. cross-clausal double conjunctions like although… but. The concept of an anti-deletion allows one to characterise one of the two systems that underlie BlSAfE, the other being the standard syntax of the Target Language (TL). More generally, the notion of “anti-deletion” can be used fruitfully in characterising the syntax of individual second language varieties of English on a continuum.

The Black Kenyan English vowel system

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The North ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
North Wind ◽  
The World

While acoustic phonetic studies have been carried out on all types of Englishes around the world, the second language variety spoken in Kenya has so far not been investigated acoustically. The present paper closes this gap by presenting an acoustic phonetic analysis of acrolectal Kenyan English. The data presented here consist of nine male speakers of acrolectal Kenyan English reading the “The North Wind and the Sun”-passage and were analysed using PRAAT (Boersma 2001; Boersma and Weenink 2008). As I will show, a careful visual and statistical analysis of the data unearthes several features of the Kenyan English vowel system that so far have gone unnoticed (e.g. a trend towards a seven vowel system with two front and two back mid vowels). Furthermore I will argue that some of these features can be traced back to the local L1 feature pool.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document