English World-Wide - Volume 45, Issue 3, 2024

Abstract

This study explores nativisation processes in the area of pragmatics. Focussing on expressions of gratitude, more than 1,300 thanking speech acts elicited from Nigerian speakers of English via Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) and 628 thanking speech acts identified in various text categories of the International Corpus of English-Nigeria (ICE-Nig) were analysed (i) regarding the use of thanking strategy, linguistic expression and structural form and (ii) compared with other varieties of English. The results show distinct strategies and forms of expressing gratitude in Nigerian English (NigE) that suggest nativisation processes as they reflect local cultural and communicative practices. Furthermore, systematic differences between thanking speech acts in the corpus data and those elicited in the DCTs were observed.

Abstract

Research on ethnolects tends to focus on qualitative salient features rather than quantitative differences in variables shared across the speech community. This study examines ethnolinguistic variation in the realization of word-final velar nasals in the English of Toronto, Canada. Over 4,000 tokens were extracted from sociolinguistic interviews with 50 residents of Toronto stratified by ethnicity, generation and sex, and coded for a series of linguistic and social factors. While speakers largely share linguistic conditioning, there are significant differences between social groups. A language-transfer explanation is not supported by comparing ethnic orientation scores with overall rates. An explanation based on intersecting social factors receives support by examining participant levels of education. Findings suggest that the meaning of velar nasals cuts across several social dimensions.

Abstract

This paper analyses the use of indigenous language elements including code-switching in two contrasting genres, i.e. group chats and Twitter memes along with tweets, in the English communication of South Asian (Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan) internet users. The results from group chats show that one of the most common lexical indigenous elements are tags, for example, address forms like yaar, machan, and da which all can be translated to English as ‘dude’ or ‘buddy’. The analysis of Twitter memes along with tweets shows that despite the tweet text being in English, the South Asian users tend to employ memes with indigenous text more often as compared to English memes for political satire. Overall, the study finds that code-switching and indigenous resources are used to create a sense of localness in English communication, whether it is group chats or Twitter memes and tweets.

Abstract

The durational variation, often referred to as speech rhythm, of outer and expanding circle varieties has often been described as different from inner circle varieties due to L1 influence. In an attempt to quantify previous subjective accounts, this preliminary study investigates durational variation across Kachru’s three circles, analyzing data of four inner circle, one outer circle and three expanding circle varieties, using durational variation metrics. The results indicate that these metrics can be used to identify the three circles in a comparative analysis of varieties, however categorizing a single variety into one of the three circles is not possible. Furthermore, the variation in metric is not uniform across all metrics, with only some metrics showing significant results in the statistical analysis. A future study using a more balanced sample of varieties and speakers can bring additional insights on the descriptiveness and reliability of different metrics of durational variation.

Abstract

In multiracial and multilingual Malaysia, Malaysian English (MalE) is not a homogeneous variety. Thus, the present study examines the phonetic implementation of voicing contrast in MalE across three major ethnic groups, Malay, Chinese and Indian, and compares the results with their first languages (L1s) and British English due to the historical ties. Voice onset time (VOT) and closure duration are measured and analysed in within-group and between-group comparisons. Findings reveal evident L1 influence on the initial stop production of Malaysian bilingual speakers, and simultaneous influence of British English due to long-term language contact. The influence of Malay as the national language is also observed. While VOT appears to play a role in discriminating between voiced and voiceless initial stop consonants, closure duration does not reflect equivalent significant effects. Hence, the phonetic and phonological features of MalE in multilingual Malaysia offer insights into one of the Englishes spoken beyond the Inner Circle.

This article reviews Multilingual Development. English in a Global ContextGBP 26.99978-110-892-608-9