A comparative corpus analysis of the frequencies and functions of so between native and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong

2022 ◽  
pp. 205-221
Author(s):  
Phoenix Wai Ying Lam
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

The effects of Hong Kong L2 English speakers’ phonological features on listeners’ cognitive and affective perceptions

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-115
Author(s):  
Hsueh Chu Chen ◽  
Qian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
Affective Perception ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Conversational Interviews

Abstract This study explores the most perceivable phonological features of Hong Kong (HK) L2 English speakers and how they affect the perception of HK L2 English speech from the perspective of both native and non-native English listeners. Conversational interviews were conducted to collect speech data from 20 HK speakers of English and 10 native speakers of English in the United Kingdom. Phonological features of 20 HK speakers of English were analyzed at both segmental and suprasegmental levels. Forty listeners with different language backgrounds were recruited to listen and rate the speech samples of the 20 HK speakers of English in terms of the cognitive perception of foreign accentedness and comprehensibility and affective perception of likability and acceptability. This study identifies the phonological variables that contribute significantly to listeners’ perception of accentedness, comprehensibility, likability, acceptability, and overall impression of HK speakers’ English speech.

The Functions of Actually in a Corpus of Intercultural Conversations

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Way

Using a corpus of naturally occurring conversations between native and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong, we examine the use of actually in intercultural conversations. The frequencies with which the two groups of speakers use actually and the functions it performs are compared and contrasted. Our findings suggest that Hong Kong Chinese speakers of English use actually far more frequently than native speakers of English. The patterns of usage are remarkably similar in certain respects but there are differences in use and in the position actually occupies in utterances which in turn can affect the way that it functions. Explanations are offered for the differences in usage between the two groups of speakers.

Experiences and identities in ELF communication

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Positive Experiences

This paper examines a group of Hong Kong university students’ experiences and identities in English as a lingua franca (ELF) communication. As part of a larger research study, this paper analyzes narratives written by eighteen English majors at a Hong Kong university on their experiences of communicating through ELF. The findings show that these students had generally positive experiences and reported achieving mutual understanding through ELF by employing various communicative strategies. The analysis also points to the complexity of the students’ identity formation in ELF communication. As a result of their perceptions of the unequal power relations between native and non-native speakers of English, these students were found to perceive themselves in an inferior position when interacting with native speakers of English in ELF communication. Moreover, the students were found to reveal ambivalence in the perceptions of their identities in ELF communication, owing to their struggle over the competing desires of appropriating a native-speaker accent commonly associated with prestige and retaining some traces of their own accent in an attempt to maintain their lingua-cultural identity.

scholarly journals Race and native speakers in ELT: parents' perspectives in Hong Kong

English Today ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Global Context ◽  
The World ◽  
Important Means ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

English is used as an important means of international and intercultural communication around the world more than ever. Because of its widespread use in the global context, non-native speakers of English around the world outnumber native speakers by far (Crystal, 1997). According to Kachru and Nelson (1996: 79), ‘accepting even cautious estimates, there must be at least three nonnative users of English for every old-country native user’. A similar phenomenon is also observable in the English Language Teaching (ELT) profession, with the vast majority of teachers of English as a second and foreign language in the world being non-native speakers.

Hong Kong university students’ perceptions of their identities in English as a Lingua Franca contexts

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Asian Context

This paper presents findings from an exploratory study that investigated the perceptions of a group of Hong Kong university students concerning their identities in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) contexts. Qualitative data were collected primarily via in-depth interviews with a group of second-language speakers of ELF who use English with people from different first-language and cultural backgrounds on a regular basis. The analysis revealed that these participants came to terms with their identities as non-native speakers of English and emphasized the importance of maintaining their cultural identities as Hong Kong or Chinese speakers of ELF. In addition, most of them valued their ‘multicompetence’ in English, Cantonese and Putonghua when speaking English in ELF situations. The inquiry also found that some participants’ identification with other non-native speakers of English within the ELF community was rather selective and that different members within the ELF community were not perceived as equally ideal speakers of ELF. The study offers some valuable insights into the identities of ELF speakers and the wider ELF community within an Asian context.

scholarly journals Investigating the Application and Distribution of Metadiscourse Features in Research Articles in Applied Linguistics between English Native Writers and Iranian Writers: A Comparative Corpus-based Inquiry

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1268-1285
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Vasheghani Farahani
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Way

Metadiscourse features are the elements that can show the presence of writer(s) in the writing process.  The main objective of the present study was to run a quantitative corpus-based study on the way metadiscourse features (elements) were used by English native writers and Iranian non-native writers in the field of Applied Linguistics. To this end, 29 articles in the field of Applied Linguistics written by native speakers of English and Iranian non- native speakers of English were randomly selected; compiling together a corpus of 173839 words. Also, for the raw data and corpus analysis, the Sketch engine software was exploited by the researcher. The results of the study couldreveal the fact that in overall, writers of both corpora made use of interactive metadiscourse features more than interactional metadiscourse ones and that the texts written by native speakers enjoyed more metadiscourse markers compared to texts written by Iranian non-native speakers.

The use of vague language in intercultural conversations in Hong Kong

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Similar Range ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Vague Language ◽  
Specific Concern

This paper presents the findings of a study of vague language use based on a corpus of naturally-occurring conversations between native and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong. The specific concern of the paper is to describe the use of vague language by the two sets of speakers. The forms of vague language present in our data are defined and exemplified. Both the native English and the non-native speakers use vague language extensively in our data for a similar range of purposes, for example to achieve informal communication, classify objects, fill a lexical or knowledge gap, and accommodate one another. We also investigated whether communication problems are experienced in these intercultural conversations by speakers using vague language differently. We conclude that in our data at least there is no evidence to suggest that such communication problems arise from differences in vague language use. On the contrary, the use of vague language by both native and non-native speakers facilitates rather than hinders successful communication in intercultural conversations.

scholarly journals Indirectness, inexplicitness and vagueness made clearer

Pragmatics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

The ability to do indirectness, inexplicitness and vagueness is a key component in the repertoire of all competent discoursers and these are commonplace phenomena in written and spoken discourses, particularly in conversations. The study reported in the paper seeks to delineate and exemplify these three terms which are used frequently in the literature, but which are potentially confusing as they are not always unambiguously defined and consistently applied. The purpose of the study is to describe the differences between the three terms in terms of their pragmatic usage and functions, drawing upon a corpus of naturally-occurring conversational data between Hong Kong Chinese and native speakers of English. In so doing, this study underlines the widespread occurrence of these forms of language use and the ways in which participants in spoken discourse employ them to jointly construct both context and meaning.

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