The emergence of so many different kinds (or 'varieties') of international English has caused a number of linguists to question the use of native speaker pronunciation models in the teaching of English. This article presents my research into the pronunciation of global English and gives some teaching implications.
What is global English?
The term 'global English' is being used increasingly nowadays. It is a means of demonstrating that English is spoken in every part of the world, both among speakers within a particular country who share a first language, and across speakers from different countries/first languages.
English is no longer spoken only by its native speakers in the UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand, and by those who learn English in order to communicate with native speakers. It is also spoken among non-native speakers within countries like India, the Philippines and Singapore and internationally among non-native speakers from a wide range of countries/first languages throughout the world. This last use of English is often referred to as 'English as an International Language' or EIL, and it is this kind of English which we will focus on here as it is the largest group of English speakers, numbering around 1.5 billion.
What are the implications of EIL for pronunciation?
The emergence of so many different kinds (or 'varieties') of international English has caused a number of linguists to question the use of native speaker pronunciation models in the teaching of English. Their argument is that native speaker accents are not necessarily the most intelligible or appropriate accents when a non-native speaker is communicating with another non-native speaker.
As regards intelligible pronunciation for EIL, we need to identify which pronunciation features are crucial for mutual understanding when a non-native speaker of English talks to another non-native speaker and which are not at all important. These are often not the same features that are crucial and unimportant for a native speaker of English.
The findings from research
In my research I analysed interactions between non-native speakers of English. The aim was to find out which features of British/American English pronunciation are essential for intelligible pronunciation, and which are not. The findings have been formed into a pronunciation core for teaching which is known as the Lingua Franca Core. This is to indicate that it is intended as a guide for lingua franca interactions, not interactions between a native and non-native speaker of English. The main features of the Lingua Franca Core are...
On the other hand, many other items which are regularly taught on English pronunciation courses appear not to be essential for intelligibility in EIL interactions. These are...
All these things are said to be important for a native speaker listener either because they aid intelligibility or because they are thought to make an accent more appropriate.
What are the implications for pronunciation teaching?
By Jennifer Jenkins, lecturer in Sociolinguistics and Phonology at King's College, London
From teachingenglish.org.uk