Intelligibility and Segmental Phoneme Repair Strategies in English-as-a-Lingua-Franca Interactions among Chinese and Japanese Speakers of English

Abstract

This is a qualitative study of the types of segmental repair that maintain mutual intelligibility in English-as-a-Lingua-Franca interactions among Chinese and Japanese speakers of English (

Beyond intelligibility: ‘Transintelligibility’ phenomena in English as a Lingua Franca interactions

“…The second observation is that Nelson's () and Derwing and Munro's () pronunciation trifurcations seem to be insufficient to account for some aspects of ELF interactions from an emic perspective. Although mutual intelligibility can be assessed from an emic perspective, as demonstrated by previous research (e.g., Matsumoto, ; O'Neal, , ), the interactants are not always negotiating the pronunciation solely to restore or maintain mutual intelligibility. Furthermore, it is difficult to claim that the phonetic negotiations concerned either Nelson's () or Derwing and Munro's () conceptions of comprehensibility.…”

“…In line 20, Bai proffers a candidate pronunciation for “abroad,” and then in line 23, Bai explicitly corrects Masahiro's pronunciation and proffers another candidate pronunciation for “abroad” within the phrase “actually it's abroad.” The word ‘actually’ is a strong indication that correction is the intent of Bai's turn rather than repair. Bai's proffered candidate pronunciation is very different from the articulation that Masahiro used to express “abroad.” Bai does not articulate “abroad” with the same vowel qualities and consonants as Masahiro, and even removes the epenthetic vowel (O'Neal, ). Usually, proffers of candidate pronunciations are used in segmental repair sequences as part of the effort to reestablish mutual intelligibility.…”

“…While recent SLA and world Englishes research has tended to examine both intelligibility and comprehensibility (e.g., Orikasa, ; Saito & Shintani, ), it is fair to say that intelligibility remains the major, if not the singular, focus of ELF phonology studies. Whether the study focuses on pedagogical contexts (e.g., Schaller‐Schwaner, ), interview data (e.g., Deterding, ), conversations among university students (e.g., Matsumoto, ; O'Neal, , ), or air traffic controllers and airline pilots (e.g., Kim & Billington, ), intelligibility assumes a major importance in ELF phonology studies.…”

“…Although CA studies of suprasegmental phonology (e.g., French & Local, ) date back to the genesis of CA, the application of CA methodology to the study of segmental phonology is a relatively recent phenomenon (e.g., Brouwer, ; Matsumoto, ). This is somewhat puzzling because segmental phonology is just as negotiable and subject to repair as any other aspect of language (Matsumoto, ; O'Neal, , ). And one domain in which segmental phonology might especially be relevant is within English as a lingua franca (ELF) interactions, in which speakers from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds communicate with each other with varied pronunciations.…”

“…ELF studies of segmental phonology have revealed important insights into the nature of intelligible segmental pronunciation (Deterding, ; Jenkins, ). Other ELF phonological studies have demonstrated the extent to which mutually intelligible segmental pronunciation is negotiated and co‐constructed through interactions (Matsumoto, ; O'Neal, , ). Yet, the focus of these studies has been rather limited.…”