Regional effects on Indian English sound and timing patterns

Abstract

English, spoken as second/third language by millions of speakers of India (IE), differs from other varieties of English in terms of sound patterns. Most descriptions of IE have focused on the influence of native language on IE (Wiltshire and Harnsberger, 2006; Sirsa and Redford, submitted). Some studies have also pointed out that IE may be evolving into multiple varieties due to social and political pressures (Wiltshire, 2005), but so far dialectal differences have not been explored independently from L1 influences. The current study aimed to do just this. Regionally based segmental and suprasegmental differences were investigated in IE spoken by Hindi and Telugu speakers, with equal numbers of speakers of each L1 recruited from two geographical sites (Delhi and Hyderabad). Analysis of IE sound patterns indicated that speakers from Hyderabad had more fronted /u/ than Delhi speakers, whereas Delhi speakers had longer phrase-final lengthening then Hyderabad speakers. Speakers from the two sites also had different rhythm structures and speech rates. These results support the suggestion that IE is evolving into multiple varieties, and that these varieties are not simply a function of different L1s.