The acoustic reality of the Kachruvian circles: a rhythmic perspective

Abstract

This paper investigates whether the rhythmic properties of varieties of English found in each of the concentric circles of Kachru's model can, in any way, be elucidated by the 'Three Circles' model. A measurement and comparison of the rhythm of three varieties of English: British English (from the Inner Circle), Singapore English (from the Outer Circle) and Mainland Chinese English (from the Expanding Circle) is done from recordings made of one subject from each variety reading The North Wind and the Sun passage. Measurements are made of successive vowel durations and the pairwise variability index (PVI) developed by Low, Grabe, and Nolan is calculated in an attempt to capture the rhythmic properties of the three varieties. The PVI has been shown to effectively capture the broad rhythmic typology between stress-based and syllable-based varieties of English. In particular, this paper examines whether it is the case that Mainland Chinese English (a norm-dependent variety) differs significantly in the rhythmic domain from Singapore English (a norm-developing variety) and be proven to be statistically similar to British English (a norm-providing variety).

Research on English in Singapore

“…In situating the positioning of Singapore English within existing theoretical paradigms designed to talk about the spread of English around the world, I will mention two main paradigms, the Kachruvian (Kachru ) Three Circles of English model and Schneider's (, ) dynamic model of post‐colonial Englishes. Low () cited in Tan () observes that these models fall under two main paradigms: one which views the study of English worldwide from an acquisitional perspective, that is, whether English was acquired or spoken as a native, first or second language and the other where the varieties of English are viewed as part of a developmental cycle. While the Kachruvian model is mainly an acquisitional one, Kirkpatrick (: 33) notes that both Kachru's (: 356) ‘phases of recognition’ of world Englishes and Schneider's (, 2007) ‘dynamic model of postcolonial Englishes’ recognize the developmental cycles of new varieties of English from the time that have been founded or transported to the point where it has become nativized to the culture and sub‐stratum influences of the local context of use all the way to what Schneider () calls the ‘differentiation’ phase.…”

“…Low (: 395–396) provides an elucidation of the Kachruvian model and relevant points to explain where Singapore English fits within this paradigm will be raised. Kachru's model was meant to represent ‘the types of spread, patterns of acquisition and the functional allocation of English in diverse cultural contexts’ (Kachru : 356).…”

EIL Pronunciation Research and Practice: Issues, Challenges, and Future Directions

“…However, with the increase in the use of EIL, this may not always be the case. Low (2010) provided clear acoustic evidence that Expanding Circle varieties share features, at least in terms of rhythmic patterning, with both Inner Circle (norm-providing) and Outer Circle (norm-developing) varieties. Based on her findings, Low (2010: 401–402) developed a Venn Diagram (see Figure 1) showing that the Inner Circle is no longer encapsulated within the Outer and Expanding Circle varieties as a concentric circle and that ‘there is a definite centrifugal push away from global norms towards local norms’.…”

Acoustic Analyses and Intelligibility Assessments of Timing Patterns Among Chinese English Learners with Different Dialect Backgrounds

“…The index has been multiplied by 100 to avoid fractional values. According to Low (2010), two modifications are necessary:…”