English Dialects Research Articles

Navigating linguistic diversity toward ELF-informed pedagogy: Filipino teachers’ perceptions of their accent

ABSTRACT Teachers’ accents have become important in World Englishes (WE) and English as a lingua franca (ELF) studies. However, limited studies investigate how English teachers view their accents and how such perceptions affect their teaching practice. This study uses narrative inquiry to explore two Filipino English language teachers’ perceptions and practices of their English accents in multilingual and multicultural classrooms. The findings highlight their cultural, social, professional, and pedagogical orientations, which shaped their personal perceptions and pedagogical practices relating to their English language teaching with their English accent. While teachers recognised the cultural identity of their accents, their professional and social networks prescribed them to adopt a different accent. However, by consistently engaging with their language classroom pedagogies, they could adapt and reshape their teaching methods and their beliefs and perceptions, emphasising the importance of incorporating the need to introduce other Englishes. The findings have significant implications for policy and practice in an ELF-informed pedagogy, especially in a multicultural and multilingual classroom.

Translation Strategies and challenges for translating Maithili Idioms and Proverbs into English

Translation of idioms and proverbs presents distinctive challenges due to their cultural and linguistic specificity, requiring strategies that go beyond literal translation to convey their intended meaning accurately. This study explores the translation strategies and challenges encountered in translating Maithili idioms and proverbs into English. Drawing from the Longman Dictionary of English Idioms and Larson's definition of idioms, present article highlights the significance of idiomatic expressions in preserving cultural shades and emotional connotations. Through an analysis of idiomatic expressions from Maithili literature and their English translations, the study examines the methods employed in translating these cultural artifacts. Utilizing Baker's framework, the article discusses various translation techniques and emphasizes the importance of context in conveying the essence of idiomatic expressions. The findings underscore the complexities involved in translating idioms, urging translators to prioritize conveying meaning over literal interpretation and to provide additional context when direct equivalence is lacking.

Perception of Accent Modification Programs: Assimilation or Racism?

Background: International medical graduates (IMGs) represent approximately 25% of practicing physicians in the United States (US), including residents and fellows. Unfortunately, often non-American English accents often challenge professional credibility. In fact, many healthcare providers and scholars in the US face linguistic discrimination. This type of discrimination has not been examined in great depth, especially in academic medicine. Objective: The objective of this study is to examine IMG perspective as they relate to linguistic accent, explore accent modification programs, and analyze the message such programs may send to trainees. Methods: The authors utilized semi-structured interviews. The interviews took place virtually for 30 to 45 minutes. Interviews were transcribed and all response summaries were relayed back to the participant to assure correct meaning. Data was analyzed by 3 authors using the constant comparative method to extract recurrent themes. Secondary data specifically explores accent modification programs. Selection of institutions was purposeful and derived from web searches. We selected eight institutions, which allowed for a content analysis of each institutional website. A final thematic analysis was performed via discussing the themes as a group, inclusive of the publicly available institutional messages. Results: We identified three main themes: (1) perception of accent modification as racist and as forced assimilation, and (2) accent as linguistic discrimination and deficit-based thinking (3) hidden message in accent modification programs. Conclusions: Our research highlights an unsettling sentiment among IMGs: accent modification programs might harbor a racist undertone, potentially suggesting forced assimilation and covert biases. A significant number of participants expressed that perceived accents can be a source of discrimination.

Influence of Talker and Accent Variability on Rapid Adaptation and Generalization to Non-Native Accented Speech in Younger and Older Adults

ABSTRACT Listeners can rapidly adapt to English speech produced by non-native speakers of English with unfamiliar accents. Prior work has shown that the type and number of talkers contained within a stimulus set may impact rate and magnitude of learning, as well as any generalization of learning. However, findings across the literature have been inconsistent, with relatively little study of these effects in populations of older listeners. In this study, adaptation and generalization to unfamiliar talkers with familiar and unfamiliar accents are studied in younger normal-hearing adults and older adults with and without hearing loss. Rate and magnitude of adaptation are modeled using both generalized linear mixed-effects regression and generalized additive mixed-effects modeling. Rate and magnitude of adaptation were not impacted by increasing the number of talkers and/or varying the consistency of non-native English accents across talkers. Increasing the number of talkers did strengthen generalization of learning for a talker with a familiar non-native accent, but not for an unfamiliar accent. Aging alone did not diminish adaptation or generalization. These findings support prior evidence of a limited benefit for talker variability in facilitating generalization of learning for non-native accented speech, and extend the findings to older adults.

An Investigation of Pakistani English Speakers’ Perception about the relationship between Accent and Identity in English as a Lingua Franca Communication

An Investigation of Pakistani English Speakers’ Perception about the relationship between Accent and Identity in English as a Lingua Franca Communication

Translation and Semantics: Challenges and Strategies in Translating English Idioms

Translating idiomatic expressions poses significant challenges for translators, necessitating careful consideration of cultural context, semantic equivalence, and pragmatic usage. This study aims to explore the complexities involved in translating English idioms, with a focus on the intersection of translation and semantics. The primary objectives are to identify the main challenges faced by translators, examine the impact of cultural differences, and propose strategies to overcome these obstacles. Through an analysis of translation choices and translators' notes, four main strategies are identified: literal translation, paraphrasing, cultural equivalents, and adaptation. The findings reveal that cultural differences and semantic obstacles significantly influence the translation process. Furthermore, the study highlights the individual translation styles of the participants, and the variations in the approaches adopted and decision-making processes. The study found that the most important challenges in translating English idioms are: cultural differences, semantic obstacles, and the unfamiliarity of some idioms. This study also found that the most used strategies used in translating English idioms are: literal translation, paraphrasing, cultural equivalents, and adaptation.

Investigating the Challenges and Strategies of Thai University Students in Mastering English Idioms

Background: The acquisition of English idiomatic expressions is a critical aspect of language proficiency that unquestionably contributes to the improvement of effective communication skills. A number of studies have been conducted in the field of English idioms; however, there are still unanswered questions in this area. Since learning English idioms is a complex process, further investigation is needed, especially among students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the specific educational milieu of a university setting. Purpose: This study investigated the attitudes of Thai university students towards the importance of learning English idioms. In addition, it examined the challenges faced by these students in learning and comprehending English idioms, along with the effective strategies employed to overcome the difficulties. Methods: This study adopted a descriptive research design involving 50 fourth-year English major students (12% male, 88% female) from a university in southern Thailand. A survey questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale adapted from Orfan (2020) was used to collect the data from the participants. Results: The findings demonstrated that Thai university students had a positive attitude towards the importance of learning idioms and recognized the critical role they play in successful communication in English. Nevertheless, they faced various challenges when learning English idioms. They reported that idioms were challenging to grasp when taken out of context, and they faced difficulties due to their limited knowledge and cultural background. The participants in the study also reported utilizing different strategies to learn and comprehend idioms, such as guessing the meaning of idioms, using descriptive definitions in English, and memorization. Conclusion: This study offers valuable insights for both educators and researchers, serving as a foundation for the development of more efficient language teaching methodologies and promoting cross-cultural understanding in language acquisition.

A Philologist’s Perspective on Artificial Intelligence – a Case Study into English Dialect Dictionary Online 4.0

Abstract Our paper seeks to bridge the gap between a linguistic and a technological description of Artificial Intelligence, as we see chatbots and other representations pushing to the forefront of academic ways of working. We set out to venture a philologist’s perspective on AI, critically reflecting upon the extent and nature of a lexicographical software’s ‘intelligence.’ We shall discuss and demonstrate AI’s potentials and limitations by adhering to the specific case of the recently released English Dialect Dictionary Online 4.0 (Markus and team 2023). While we propose that EDD Online is ‘intelligent’ in the sense that its retrieval software will anticipate and be capable of answering many of the questions that dialectologists would raise, we claim that the reason for such ‘intelligence’ is inherently rooted within the competence of humans in terms of predicting such questions and of eliciting the answers by means of complex query rules. We shall in fact argue that – as opposed to retrieval software types like the hotly debated ChatGPT chatbot, which are merely black box phenomena – EDD Online 4.0’s user interface represents a rare feature of AI: transparency and proactive user-friendliness. (185 words)

Perception of ambiguous rhoticity in Glasgow

Relatively little research has been conducted on the effect of hearing an unfamiliar native English accent. This paper tests listeners with varying levels of familiarity with the Glaswegian linguistic environment, presenting them with naturalistic minimal pairs such as hut/hurt – produced by speakers raised in Glasgow – in two-alternative-forced-choice tasks. The results of Experiment 1 show a benefit of long-term familiarity in discriminating minimal pairs with derhoticised /r/, a phonetically eroded form of postvocalic /r/ in working class Glaswegian. Native Glaswegian listeners displayed high sensitivity to difference (d’), and low response bias (c) towards hearing either rhotic or non-rhotic words, indicating accurate perception. Unfamiliar listeners were less sensitive to stimulus difference, and were biased towards hearing plain vowels, demonstrating their unfamiliarity with Glaswegian /r/. Non-rhotic English listeners with a moderate level of experience with Glaswegian showed an effect of ‘perceptual hypercorrection’, i.e. over-reporting /r/ presence. Experiment 2 found that, following a short period of exposure, English listeners with very little experience with Glaswegian also started to show hypercorrection, suggesting rapid adaptation to novel phonetic detail. These results may be explained by some general principles underlying exemplar and hybrid theories, and contribute to the ongoing research into the complex nature of Scottish /r/.

The influence of cross-language similarity and transparency on idiom knowledge in non-immersed L2 speakers

Idioms are frequently used by native speakers but pose challenges for L2 learners. In this study, we aimed to identify the key psycholinguistic properties that predict L2 idiom knowledge among non-immersed speakers. A total of 53 Chilean L2 English speakers participated in an online idiom knowledge test, requiring them to recognize the figurative meanings of 99 English idioms and rate their transparency. The results showed that cross-language similarity and transparency, in conjunction with familiarity, significantly predicted L2 idiom knowledge. Conversely, literal plausibility, decomposability, frequency, and predictability did not significantly impact L2 idiom knowledge. Our findings support the Parasitic Hypothesis of vocabulary development and suggest that non-immersed L2 learners heavily rely on their L1 lexical and conceptual networks. The study underscores the importance of semantic transparency and cross-language similarity in L2 idiom acquisition, particularly for learners in non-immersive environments. Our findings advocate for a proficiency-tailored ESL instruction approach. Initially, focus on teaching transparent idioms and those similar to the learners' native language for better comprehension and retention. As proficiency increases, gradually introduce idioms without cross-language parallels to enhance comprehensive linguistic mastery. This approach offers practical insights for language education and applied linguistics.

Modern Methods of Comparative Study of Russian and English Idioms When Teaching English at a Higher Level

A good knowledge of a language, including English, is impossible without knowledge of its phraseology! Language, as a social phenomenon, is closely connected with the realities and traditions of the people-carrier. The article reveals the approaches to the definition of idioms, substantiates the importance and relevance of introducing idioms in the process of teaching English. It is proved that phraseology is not only a cultural and informative source, but also contains the richest linguistic material, allowing to study various aspects of phonetics, vocabulary and grammar of a foreign language on its basis.

NATIONALCULTURALCONNOTATIONOFREGULAREXPRESSIONSAND NATIONAL CODE IN KAZAKH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES

Phraseologisms are one of the language units that provide a lot of information about the history, culture, spiritual values, worldview and lifestyle of a certain nation. The phraseological fund of any language includes the culture, mentality, knowledge and traditions of the nation as much as possible. One of the urgent problems in modern linguistics is to determine the characteristic features of each nation based on the information stored in its language. In particular, the study of languages that are not closely related by genealogy, based on the position of new trends in linguistics, opens the way to great opportunities. Systematizing phraseological units in Kazakh and German, Kazakh and Romanian languages and conducting a comparative study of them is becoming the main object of domestic linguistics today. In the course of the research, methods such as collection, comparison, analysis, summarization, and conclusion were widely used. Phraseological phrases in Kazakh and English languages were analyzed from the semantic, linguisticand cultural aspects. The main features of idiomatic phrases in the Kazakh and English languages were determined, and the history of the origin of English idioms was considered. The results of the research made it possible to determine the connection of phraseological units defining the unique characteristics of each nation with national knowledge and national culture. In the article, it was concluded that regular expressions are the source of the lexical fund of every nation, that they have been formed over centuries and that the people observe the unique worldview of each nation, that it is the language wealth of the nation. In the article, it was determined that regular phrases are sources of ethno- cultural data, a unique linguistic basis for determining the national code.

A Study of Strategies for Translating English Idioms in Subtitles from Riverdale Series into Thai

This qualitative research examines the strategies employed in translating English idioms in the subtitles of the TV series "Riverdale" into Thai. The aim of the study is to investigate the strategies utilized by translators to interpret idiomatic expressions, as well as to determine the frequency of each strategy and its applicability to the context of Thai subtitles. A total of 510 idioms were analyzed using Baker's Taxonomy (1992) as the theoretical framework. The findings reveal that six out of the eight identified strategies were manifested in the translation of English idioms. The most frequently used strategy was translation by paraphrase using unrelated words (43.73%), followed by translation by cultural substitution (26.86%) and translation by paraphrase using a related word (19.80%). Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word (5.49%), translation by omission (2.16%), and translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation (1.96%) were also observed. However, translation by a more general word and translation by illustration were not found in this study. The results shed light on the strategies employed by translators in conveying the meaning of English idioms in Thai subtitles, highlighting the importance of linguistic and cultural considerations. The findings underscore the importance of cultural relevance and linguistic precision in audiovisual translation, offering insights that can inform future translation practices and enhance the effectiveness of subtitles in conveying idiomatic meaning to Thai audiences.

Navigating Non-Literal Language: The Complexities of Translating Idioms Across Cultural Boundaries

This research delves into the intricacies of translating idioms, focusing on the transition from English to Albanian. Idioms, deeply rooted in cultural and historical contexts, present significant challenges for translators because of their non-literal meanings and cultural specificity. The study reviews existing literature on idiom translation, highlighting the difficulties translators face and the strategies they use to maintain the authenticity of the source material. The paper identifies essential translation strategies such as paraphrasing, omission, and finding linguistic equivalents crucial in preserving the original text's intended meaning and essence. It emphasizes the importance of cultural understanding and cross-cultural awareness in the translation process, especially when dealing with fixed expressions and idioms that are culturally bound. Through an analysis of the translation of idioms from English to Albanian, the study reveals the need for coherence and careful consideration of linguistic nuances to convey meaningful messages effectively. It discusses conceptual metaphors, the cultural significance of specific motifs (like animals) in English idioms, and their translation into Albanian. Furthermore, the study explores the implications of idiom translation in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education. It suggests that teaching idioms by connecting them to their cultural origins and incorporating real-life examples can enhance EFL students' language proficiency and cultural understanding. The paper concludes by emphasizing the role of skilled translators in bridging linguistic and cultural gaps and provides references for further exploration of the topic.
 
 Received: 1 November 2023 / Accepted: 13 February 2024 / Published: 5 March 2024

Translation of idiomatic Expressions in “Looking for Alaska” into Indonesian

It is still a great debate whether a translator needs to substitute idiomatic expressions in the source with the idiomatic expressions in the target language. A translator plays a significant role in connecting the author and the reader. The present research examined the Indonesian translation of English idioms encountered in the novel of Looking for Alaska by John Green. This research employed a descriptive qualitative method. The data were sorted out from this novel as the corpus. There were 94 idioms encountered in the examined novel. The institutionalization-characterized idioms appeared the most frequent, and the least frequently employed idioms were characterized frozenness. The idioms were mostly translated through paraphrasing.Keywords: Idioms, translation, novel

Quantitative assessment of English accent variation: Levenshtein distance and perceptual identification

This is a perceptual study with a basis in acoustic phonetics. It investigates the extent to which accents of English can be quantified by the Levenshtein distance (LD), a string metric. LD defines string similarity by the minimum number of character edits required to transform one string into another. Narrowly transcribed speech samples of English provide the phonetic strings required for LD comparison. For the purposes of the current experiment, 24 speakers representing four English accent varieties are included: Midland American (control), British/Australian, Hindi-influenced, and Mandarin-influenced. High- and low-pass filters are used to augment or attenuate perceptual contribution of high- versus low-frequency information in the speech signal. Predictions stem from published correlations between LD and listeners’ perceptional ratings of intelligibility and native-likeness. For a group of monolingual American English listeners, confusion is expected between Midland American and British/Australian accents due to similarly low LDs, further intensified by low-pass filtering. However, fewer confusions are predicted between Hindi- and Mandarin-influenced English, due to varying L1 influences and the absence/presence of tonal information. This research seeks to explore accent perception, investigating the relationship between manipulated aspects of the speech signal and listener identification.

Translation Issues of the national cultural component (based on the material of the New Zealand territorial dialect of the English language of the Auckland region)

This study is devoted to the lexical translation peculiarities in the context of the national and cultural identity of the English language territorial dialect within the Auckland region in New Zealand. Its relevance is due to the multifaceted interaction of nations and the intensity of their cultural exchange at the present stage, in which the issues of accurate lexical translation become critical for successful mutual understanding and communication. Accordingly, lexical units translation subtleties of the New Zealand territorial dialect of the English language witihin the Auckland region are considered as the study's subject, with an emphasis on regional semantic meanings. The purpose of the current work is to identify linguistic nuances that cause difficulties in lexical elements translation to preserve the dialect's unique cultural and national features. The article is based on text-based Internet materials, single- and bilingual academic dictionaries, official documents and the data of informants. Scientific novelty is determined by a comprehensive study of the English language current lexical trends in the Auckland region in New Zealand and an in-depth analysis of national and cultural characteristics, which should be taken into account when translating territorial linguistic phenomena. As a result of the conducted research, the uniqueness of English regional manifestation with concretization in examples is proved, which serves as a source of translation difficulties. Understanding of these vocabulary features is an essential component of a translator's cultural literacy and contributes to the accurate transmission of meaning and national cultural nuances in the translation process. Thus, the study of the lexical translation specifics in the context of the New Zealand dialect of English in the Auckland region makes a significant contribution to the field of translation studies and linguistics, warning against possible distortions and misunderstandings in the course of interaction between languages and cultures.

The [s -- > ʃ] sound change in /str-/ contexts: how temporal changes in the acoustic spectrum affect fricative percept

Studies have documented a sound change in some English dialects whereby /s/ in the context /strV/ surfaces as [ʃtrV]. This can be interpreted as /s/ rounding for the rhotic being re-analyzed as [ʃ]. We recently measured F;M, the frequency of the main peak in mid-fricative spectra, in seven adults producing words with /s/ and /ʃ/ across phonetic contexts and compared the acoustics to perceptual rankings on an [ʃ] to [s] scale. One speaker exhibited a perceived sound change; two, partial sound changes. It was shown that F;M was correlated with the perceptual rankings for /strV/ words. However, in all speakers, lowered F;M for /s/ in labial contexts did not affect percepts. The time course of lip rounding and tongue-tip retraction in /strV/ could help differentiate coarticulation versus a phonemic change. Interestingly, however, X-Ray Microbeam data [Iskarous, K. et al. (2011) Articulatory-acoustic kinematics of /s/, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 129, 944-954] showed that / s/ constriction location was constant over time except in /str-/ context. This study will assess the amount and timing of F;M lowering, its perceptual consequences and likely articulatory causes, to gain more insight into the [strV] -- > [ʃtrV] sound change.

Intelligibility of British and American English in different listening conditions

Communication specialists frequently hear complaints from patients that unfamiliar accents are more difficult to understand, particularly in background noise. Previous work (Schilaty et al., 2021) has indeed shown that when presenting American listeners with both American and British accents, intelligibility in noise is poorer for the unfamiliar accent across age and hearing status. However, Schilaty et al. (2021) examined relatively easy sentence materials (Basic English Lexicon [BEL] sentences; Calandruccio & Smiljanic, 2012) in only one type of noise. The current study expands on previous work by comparing the intelligibility of American and British accents for a more difficult sentence set (Harvard sentences; Rothauser et al., 1969) in young adult American listeners across two noise types (speech-shaped noise and 12-talker babble). Stimuli consisted of 180 Harvard sentences produced by two male talkers: one with an American (Northwestern) dialect and one with a Southern British dialect. Young adult listeners with normal hearing transcribed the sentences in quiet, in speech-shaped noise at −3 dB SNR, and in 12-talker babble at −3 dB SNR. Listeners also completed a dialect familiarity questionnaire. The results will shed additional light on the interactions between talker and listener dialect, dialect familiarity, and background noise type.

A descriptive study of vowels in Dialects of Pakistani English

The widespread use of English as a lingua franca has created many varieties of Global English. Pakistani English is an under-documented variety. As Pakistan is a multilingual country, it has been a difficult task for the linguists to document the dialects of Pakistani English and to determine how these dialects are influenced by regional languages (e.g. Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu etc.). Previous studies focused on Pakistani English of only a few locations (influenced by only a few regional languages). A broad-based study is required to document the phonetics of Pakistani English. The current study investigates two questions about the Pakistani English vowel system: how much variety there is, and whether the dialects of Pakistani English are influenced by regional languages. Speech data was collected from 208 undergrad students from thirteen cities representing thirteen regional languages of Pakistan (e.g. Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar etc.). Participants read thirty-two words expected to contain monophthongs in initial, medial and final position. Formant measurements are measured automatically in Praat. Preliminary analyses show variation in formant values of vowels in regional dialects; The results will allow for documentation of the vowel space of Pakistani English and will provide a broad representation of Pakistani English dialects.