Different Varieties Of English Research Articles

РЕАКЦИЯ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА НА ВОСПРИЯТИЕ ВАРИАНТОВ АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ)

The varieties of the English language (World Englishes) have been thoroughly studied and described in multiple works that list the distinctive features of each. Nevertheless, a huge amount of textual data regularly published in World Englishes requires research and analysis from the point of view of the cultural identity of the author and their variety of English. In this regard, there is a need for effective tools for analysis and recognition of the English of the text. This paper focuses on the study of the effectiveness of ChatGPT, developed as a pre-trained AI model, in text analysis of translingual literature created in different varieties of English. The study is an attempt to assess the volume and degree to which AI is able to recognize extra-linguistic information that conveys the intentions, cultural specifics and identity of native and non-native speakers of English.

Exploring Indonesian Learners’ Attitudes and Beliefs toward English Accents: A Case Study in an Indonesian University

<em>This study reported the attitudes of 67 Indonesian English language learners toward British, American, and their own English accents and explored the underlying reasons motivating these attitudes. The participants’ English proficiency ranged from intermediate to advanced proficiency and confirmed either or both direct and indirect exposures to intercultural communication with speakers of English of other nationalities. The participants were required to listen to three audio samples, Received Pronunciation (RP), General American (GA), and Indonesian accented English (IAE), and to rate the accents on ‘standard’, ‘intelligent’, ‘polite’, and ‘pleasant’ traits. To seek the significant overall mean scores and the meaningful scores across the groups, ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test were used. The results of the interview, additionally, were analyzed using content analysis techniques to find meaningful categories to clarify such emerging perceptions. The results show an overall positive attitude toward all three accents with the Indonesian accent perceived significantly more positively compared to the other two on the ‘intelligent’, ‘polite’, and ‘pleasant’ traits. The more positive evaluation of their own accent was driven by the realization that mutual intelligibility is more important than prestige, and there is a need for cultural value projections, that is, to use their own accent to channel politeness. These results call for the reinforcement of mutual intelligibility as the core of assessment and acceptance of local accents in classrooms. This can be channeled through the active promotion of audio samples demonstrating different varieties of English in the class instead of focusing exclusively on RP and GA; and through teachers’ acceptance of students’ intelligible local accents.</em>

An Analysis of Global Englishes Aspects in English Textbooks at the Lower Secondary Level in Thai EFL Context

The spread of English as a global language has resulted in several changes, which challenge the foundations of how language should be taught and learned. To match today‘s sociolinguistic realities, researchers have called for a paradigm shift from the traditional pedagogy to a new pedagogy that can prepare students to use English in international communication involving different varieties of English and its cultures. The purposes of this study are (1) to investigate the aspects of target interlocutors, and (2) to investigate cultural depictions as reflected in three selected English textbooks, which are currently used in lower secondary level (Grade 7) in Thailand. Three English textbooks are purposively selected as the samples of this study. Data is collected from the communication practice tasks (e.g., conversation dialogues, emails, and letters) and the contents of the reading passages, and articles in the textbooks. The Galloway's and Rose's (2018) GELT framework and Kachru's (1992) Three Circles Model are used to analyse data. The findings reveal that the textbooks mostly represent the target interlocutors from Native English users. With regards to the aspect of cultural depiction, the findings reveal that various cultures from all three circles are represented in these textbooks. The findings suggest that the English textbooks that which are currently used in Thai EFL context are likely to rely on the traditional ELT in the aspect of the target interlocutors. However, the depiction of cultural aspects in the textbooks corresponds more to the GELT concept with regards to the promotion of learners from different cultures across circles.

‘Women should not wear pants?’ Reflections from Kenyan English speakers in a strait between American and British English

This paper aimed at examining the lived experiences of Kenyans caught between the two main varieties of English and the communication challenges they often face. The paper aims to provide evidence for the challenges that Kenyan speakers of English have experienced as a result of the confluence between British English (BrE) and American English (AmE). The study is explorative; thus, a descriptive research design was used. The purposive sample consisted of sixty-five subjects, all of whom were well-travelled. Using interviews, they were asked about their experiences with the different varieties of English, and their responses were recorded. Autoethnography, a qualitative research method that involves introspection and cultural analysis, was also used. Thematic content analysis was used to extract the themes and group them for data analysis. The theoretical framework used is World Englishes. The results indicate that there is indeed some communication breakdown due to linguistic varieties, but the differences are largely understood by speakers of the different varieties. Attitude plays a major role in communication challenges between different English, especially among teachers. The study urges acceptance of different varieties of English so long as communication takes place. This has implications for teaching English to Kenyan and speakers of other languages to whom English is taught as a Second Language or Foreign language.

Creaky Voice in American English: How Are American Women Who Use Creaky Voice Perceived?

Vocal fry is a voice quality that can be found in different varieties of English and is used by many different speakers. Nonetheless, it is considered an emerging female voice quality that impairs their work opportunities. The study of the perception of vocal fry has gained attention in the last few years. However, there is a lack of literature reviews comparing the speech evaluations done for vocal fry. In this article eight papers were compared and evaluated. This article not only demonstrated how important the choice of voice sample, evaluator and methodology is to the outcome of the findings but also references possible consequence the choice of an artificial vocal fry and free speech had on the perception of vocal fry in American English.

Comparing the Intelligibility of Different Varieties of English Through Predicting Learners Comprehension: A Phonetic Experimental Approach

Abstract In this paper, we focus on the need for measuring the intelligibility of English pronunciation using an automated speech system, and the system proceeded in this feasibility study was tested with 18 speakers coming from six countries representing six types of English (China, Vietnam, Egypt, India, South Africa and the Philippines). Those test candidates were selected carefully to stand for a series of intelligibility, two different approaches, transcription and nonsense, were utilized to test and measure their intelligibility. An automated computer pattern developed for speaking proficiency scoring based on suprasegmental measures was set to predict intelligibility scores. The Pearson’s correlation was 0.743 for transcription construct and 0.819 for the nonsense construct between the human assessed and computer predicted scores. The reliable inter-rater Cronbach’s alpha for the transcription scores was 0.943 and 0.945 for the nonsense intelligibility scores. Basing on the type of intelligibility measure, the computer utilized different suprasegmental measures to predict the score. The computer used 11 measures for the nonsense intelligibility score and eight for the transcription score. Only two features were common to both constructs. These analyses and results of this computer experimental pattern can provide researchers of L2 different perspectives of measuring intelligibility in research afterwards.

Inextricable Connection: World Englishes, Language Diversity, and Cross-Cultural Communication

As the population continues to diversify, and English is used as the universal language, providing opportunities for students to learn about language diversity is considered critical. One way to achieve that is through the study of language’s structure, history, and meaning of words. Linguists use this knowledge to understand how language works and how it can be used to communicate effectively. The concept of World Englishes is particularly important for English teachers and educators, who need to be aware of the existence of different English dialects spoken and that these varieties are becoming increasingly important as global communication increases. Although the concept of World Englishes is relatively new, studying different varieties of English is not. Cross-cultural communication is essential for any institution that has diverse operations or plans to expand internationally. Linguistic barriers include differences in spoken and written language, as well as differences in the way that language is used in different cultures. Understanding the aspects of cross-cultural communication, language diversity, and World Englishes is the main focus of this study.
 
 Received: 5 October 2022 / Accepted: 26 December 2022 / Published: 5 January 2023

Exploring Saudi University English Teachers' Perceptions of Global Englishes

This paper aims to explore the paradigm of Global Englishes through the perceptions held towards it by university English teachers in Saudi Arabia. Due to reasons, such as globalization and colonization, the presence of English can be found in all countries throughout the world. Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia have not yet fully institutionalized the language which places them in the expanding circle, where English is currently seen and pedagogically taught as a foreign language. There are currently more non-native speakers of English than native English speakers worldwide, presenting a wide array of English varieties, influenced by native languages and local dialects. International teachers and students of English have presented a common theme and that is their desire to speak English with native like proficiency. Thus, in turn, the current method through which English language teaching takes place is typically a standard nativism approach using American or British English as a benchmark. The concern is that the standard nativism model may not accurately reflect the variety of English that is practiced and used specifically in Saudi Arabia in the case of this study, nor within the world as countless people use English as their second or even third language. Global Englishes offers a diversified and inclusive way of accepting varieties of English and it offers a framework for English to be taught within. The current study sought to explore the perceptions held by Saudi university teachers towards Global Englishes. The study made use of focus group interview discussions with university English teachers in Saudi Arabia from which three dominant themes emerged through thematic analysis. Firstly, it was clear that the teachers were not fully aware of the notion of Global Englishes before the study, and therefore did not realize that alternative methods of English language teaching were being developed to include and accept different varieties of English. In addition, the teachers did not view Global Englishes as a legitimate framework for teaching English, for reasons such as it navigates from the “pure” form of standard English. In conclusion, the teachers seemed to be some-what apprehensive about incorporating Global Englishes into their teaching curriculum. Similar results have been found in other studies of a comparable nature.

World Englishes in ELT textbooks in Swedish upper‐secondary schools

AbstractIn this article, we investigate how different varieties of English are represented in a selection of materials used in upper‐secondary schools in Sweden. A 2011 policy reform of the curriculum for the teaching and learning of English at upper‐secondary level underscored the global dimension of the language, taking a distance from the traditional focus on British English. Findings from our content analysis of two selected textbooks suggest that despite this policy change, emphasis is still placed on standard varieties of Inner Circle countries. When other varieties are represented, the characters that utilise them are often portrayed in a more negative light than their Inner Circle counterparts. We suggest that this is indicative of a policy–practice disconnect. We discuss the pedagogical implications for the students of the limited exposure to linguistic variation in English that emerges from the textbooks and point at different ways to continue investigating this issue.

Intelligibility of Select World Englishes and the Factors Affecting It: The Case of High School ESL Learners

With the significant upsurge of English language speakers in the world, it is easier to anticipate the chances of both native and non-native speakers communicating with each other. As a consequence, the question of the intelligibility of the different English varieties has become a significant area to be studied. Normally, most studies utilized participants who have an extensive background in the language, such as English majors, teachers, or natives of the English language, to investigate the intelligibility of World Englishes. However, in the Philippine setting, students across all grade levels also use English as their second official language. Stemming from the aforementioned, this paper projects to establish the research space by employing ESL senior high school students of Southern Mindanao to determine the intelligibility of American, Philippine, and Chinese Englishes and the factors that affect the intelligibility of these varieties. With a mixed method research design, the study found that Philippine English was relatively the most intelligible variety to the students. Moreover, the study further revealed that accent familiarity, pronunciation, speech rate, and linguistic environment are the factors that influence intelligibility. The findings of the study suggest that English language users should be keen on the factors that affect intelligibility to increase their awareness of the different varieties of English. It is also suggested that teachers should adopt a variety that is most beneficial for the users to achieve better intelligibility.

Exposure to Englishes in Listening Classrooms: The Perspectives Of Indonesian ESL Learners

Due to the global scale of English use, English as a lingua franca (ELF) is at play. Given this reality, exposes to different varieties of English rather than a single variety of English, preparing second language learners to Englishes is paramount for readiness to involve in ELF communication. This paper reports on the classroom instruction of exposing college listeners with Englishes via TED talks using a portfolio to find out how they see these varieties and what they can learn from them. Data were from records of portfolio and questions at the end of the instruction. Using general inductive analysis, there were three lessons learned from the instruction. Acknowledgement of many models of English, Englishes can be the ‘right’ English, and Englishes as a marker of identity were lessons observed to appear from the Englishes exposure. The exposes to Englishes also brought about complexities of wholehearted adoption to Indonesian accent. Pedagogical implications for classroom instructions are also made.

Exposure to Englishes in Listening Classrooms: The Perspectives Of Indonesian ESL Learners

Due to the global scale of English use, English as a lingua franca (ELF) is at play. Given this reality, exposes to different varieties of English rather than a single variety of English, preparing second language learners to Englishes is paramount for readiness to involve in ELF communication. This paper reports on the classroom instruction of exposing college listeners with Englishes via TED talks using a portfolio to find out how they see these varieties and what they can learn from them. Data were from records of portfolio and questions at the end of the instruction. Using general inductive analysis, there were three lessons learned from the instruction. Acknowledgement of many models of English, Englishes can be the ‘right’ English, and Englishes as a marker of identity were lessons observed to appear from the Englishes exposure. The exposes to Englishes also brought about complexities of wholehearted adoption to Indonesian accent. Pedagogical implications for classroom instructions are also made.

An Experimental Study on EFL Teacher Trainees’ Opinions about English as a Lingua Franca

The present study investigates three different groups of Freshman year EFL teacher trainees’ opinions regarding the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) Perspective in ELT. A quantitative quasi-experimental research design with repeated measures was used to investigate the initial opinions of the participants, and how their opinions changed after semester-long target culture native speaker-oriented class practices versus intercultural ELF-oriented practices as part of their Listening and Pronunciation course. A total of 83 students participated in the study. To collect data, a six-item mini questionnaire was used as pre and post survey immediately before and after the experiment. The results indicated that the teacher trainees under investigation favored native English varieties over nonnative ones while at the same time accepting the international lingua franca role of English in today’s globalized world. The three different treatments they took during the experiment caused some changes in their initial opinions as will be explained in detail in the coming sections of the paper. The overall findings of the study support previous research on language learners’ opinions about and attitudes towards different varieties of English, and their use in English lessons and course materials

WHAT VARIETY OF ENGLISH SHOULD WE TEACH?

Being exposed to different varieties of English through modern media today, students often pick up and bring into classes substandard or archaic types of pronunciation. Another reason for the outdated inappropriate models is didactic time lag exemplified in classes by elderly teachers. In spite of the wide spreading of EE, RP still ranks high and remains the favoured norm for teaching purposes. But the ongoing changes in RP, on the one hand, and the fast spreading of EE, on the other, make it necessary to introduce modern RP to students and, furthermore, to qualify the status of the changes into the one to be taught as a modern norm and the changes listed for recognition and intelligibility.

Informal digital learning of English and perceptions of using EIL materials: attitude toward varieties of English as a mediator

ABSTRACT This mixed-methods study aims to examine the mediating role of attitude toward English varieties in the relationship between Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and perceptions of using English as an International Language (EIL) materials in pre-service English teachers. We collected and analyzed survey data from 434 Indonesian EFL pre-service teachers, using the Jamovi programme. Survey results showed that both receptive and productive IDLE activities had a significant impact on attitudes toward different forms of English, which in turn had a significant impact on views of using EIL resources. Individual interviews (n = 10) and stimulated recalls (n = 7) revealed that participation in IDLE activities (e.g. watching YouTube videos with different English accents and users) aided in maintaining a more positive attitude toward different varieties of English. As a result, pre-service EFL teachers became more open to using EIL materials, such as listening materials that employ different English accents. This study suggests that IDLE is an important factor in developing positive attitudes toward English varieties, an approach that may enable today's pre-service EFL teachers to become more open toward and tolerant of integrating EIL pedagogy into practice.

English as a Lingua Franca Approach: Implications and Limitations in Saudi English as a Foreign Language Classrooms

English language considers a global language spoken by a majority of people around the world. It is a language used mainly for communication, trades and study purposes. This widespread of English language being wildly spoken lead to different varieties of English as a lingua franca (ELF) means that non native speakers of English still be able to communicate with each other. Using ELF as a legitimate variety of English in language classrooms is questioned by some researchers. This paper will provide an overview of the concept of ELF. It will also present implications and limitations of using ELF in Saudi English as foreign language classrooms.

Identities and Language Use across Contexts in a Multilingual University in Hong Kong: A Filipina International Student’s Narrativized Account

ABSTRACT This paper explores the intricate relationship between identity and language use in a multilingual university context by analyzing a Filipina international student’s narrativized accounts of her experiences in a Hong Kong university. The findings suggest that the international student’s identity negotiation and language practices vary markedly across contexts and appear to be shaped by different language regimes operating in different in-class and out-of-class spaces within the university. The study also reveals that various language ideologies mediate the international student’s situated identity negotiation and language use, including ideologies pertaining to the relationship between language and ethnicity, the relationship between English proficiency levels and the local/non-local student categorization, and the hierarchization of different varieties of English. Overall, the study argues for the need to attend to the complex and dynamic interplay between identity negotiation, language use and language ideology in understanding the international student’s experiences in a multilingual university context.

Dealing with trouble in conversation in English-speaking cultures

Abstract This paper deals with the features of the system of other-initiated repair in different varieties of English, and thus in different cultural settings in which English is spoken. Corpus-based data are used to investigate whether and how repair practices, which are essential to the human communication system, vary across English-speaking cultures. The data show that while, on the whole, repair practices are very similar across different varieties, there are differences with respect to the frequency of the different formats deployed for removing trouble and differences as regards the preferred strategies for restoring and maintaining mutual understanding.

Primed progressives? Predicting aspectual choice in World Englishes

AbstractThis corpus-based study focuses on the progressive:non-progressive alternation from a novel perspective, i.e. the effect of syntactic priming. We annotated a dataset of 5,000 progressive and non-progressive occurrences in ten different varieties of English from theInternational Corpus of Englishfor variables such as Aktionsart categories and elements related to priming and subjected the data to a generalized linear mixed methods tree analysis. The results indicate that the progressive is most likely to occur in situations that are durative in nature and when they are preceded by another progressive; overall, we find some evidence of probabilistic indigenization with regard to the use of progressives in different varieties. However, while syntactic priming seems to play a role overall in the choice of the progressive over the non-progressive, we do not find evidence supporting the idea that priming may explain the use of non-standard stative progressives.

Attitudes of German high school students toward different varieties of English

Abstract In line with international developments in applied linguistics, school curricula in Germany have begun to demand that Global Englishes be included in English Language Teaching. However, the perspectives of German school students, the main addressees of such a shift, are little explored. This article investigates the attitudes to and familiarity with different Englishes among 160 German high school students, using a mix of direct and indirect attitude elicitation methods and a nationality identification task. Informants rated (speakers of) Standard Southern British (StSBrE), Standard American (StAmE), Indian (IndE), German (GerE), and African/Kenyan English (AfrE/KenE). Multivariate analyses revealed that informants are most familiar with StSBrE and StAmE. StSBrE and, to a smaller degree, StAmE are perceived as reference norms, while English as a Second Language (ESL) varieties, especially IndE are rated negatively for competence, professionalism, and intelligibility. Familiarity with specific English as a First/Native Language varieties is linked to more positive attitudes. The observed congruence of directly and indirectly elicited attitudes suggests that changes put forth in language curricula have not influenced language attitudes (yet).