English Pronouncing Dictionary Research Articles

ACOUSTIC CORRELATES OF STRESS ASSIGNMENTS OF LOANWORDS AMONG NIGERIAN SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH

Nigerian English as a variety of world Englishes has received scholarly investigations at the segmental and suprasegmental levels. At the suprasegmental level, studies on the major varieties of Nigerian English have identified characteristic nature of stress assignment and interactions, but little or no research has explored stress assignment on loanwords in Nigerian English. The study examines the stress placements on loanwords among educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English. A well-prepared text is read by sixty (60) educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English, and Daniel Jones’ 8th Edition Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary serves as a control variable. The study uses Praat 6.0 to ascertain the degree of prominence of each syllable in the tokens among the respondents (dependent and control). The samples are analyzed using the metrical theory of stress for theoretical relevance. Findings reveal that the stress patterns of educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English in loanwords are 65% and 70% (respectively) closer to British English (hence, BrE), while the average percentage for both educated Igbo and Yoruba is 67.5%, similar to BrE. The study shows that educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English preferably stress the second syllable regardless of what is obtainable among the native speakers.

Stress Assignments of Loanwords among Nigerian Speakers of English

Nigerian English like a variety of world Englishes has received scholarly investigations at the segmental and suprasegmental levels. At the suprasegmental level, studies on the major varieties of Nigerian English have identified the characteristic nature of stress assignment and interactions, but little or no research has explored stress assignment on loanwords in Nigerian English. The study examines the stress placements on loanwords among educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English. A well-prepared text was read by sixty (60) educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English, and Daniel Jones’ 8th Edition Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary served as a baseline. The study uses Praat 6.0 to ascertain the degree of prominence of each syllable in the tokens among the respondents (dependent and control). The samples are analyzed using the metrical theory of stress for theoretical relevance (Liberman, 1975).[19] Findings revealed that the stress patterns of educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English in loanwords are 65% and 70% (respectively) closer to British English (hence, BrE). The study showed that educated Igbo and Yoruba speakers of English preferably stress the second syllable regardless of what is obtainable among the native speakers.

Методология составления цифрового словаря омографичных имен собственных и апеллятивов (на материале словарей LPD, EPD, OED)

The article describes the main approaches in compiling a projective electronic dictionary of proper names homographic with common nouns. The authors have found that the existing dictionaries of English proper names often give a general idea of onyms, their semantic, grammatical and etymological characteristics rather than a detailed description of the features of their pronunciation. In addition, homonymic groups of words that include a proper name are not mentioned in such dictionaries at all. Currently, there is no single onomasticon with representation of the entire range of phonetic variation and variability of lexical units. Thus, a dictionary of homographic proper names and common nouns, which is currently being compiled, will fill in some gaps in the system of lexicographic works. The research object is proper names that make up graphic homogroups with appellatives (about 200 groups) with a focus on their pronunciation determined by their semantics and grammatical features, as well as all possible phonetic variants of homographic proper names and appellatives registered in modern English pronouncing dictionaries - English Pronouncing Dictionary by D. Jones (EPD, 1-18 editions, 1917-2011) and Longman Pronunciation Dictionary by J. Wells (LPD, 1-3 editions, 19902008). The main aim is to develop the principles of compiling a digital dictionary of homographic proper names and common nouns. Using the resources of Oxford English Dictionary (OED), it is possible to create a more complete (combined) dictionary with indication of semantics and registration of all existing pronunciation variants of the entries. The article describes the initial stage of dictionary compilation and discusses the microstructure of lemmata for the letter “A” (9 graphic homogroups). The comparative lexicographic analysis carried out by the method of continuous sampling in EPD and LPD revealed inconsistency and insufficiency in the registration of both proper names and their meanings, as well as their British, American and some social pronunciation variants. The authors compiled a list of differences, regarding pronunciation, phonetic variants order, and semantics indication; checked the obtained information, using the OED online dictionary; then summarized and complemented the data from all three dictionaries and presented them in the entries (lemmata). The conducted linguistic research and the dictionary project are relevant for studying the problem of the English language variability. In the theoretical aspect it provides new data on the dynamics of the English language development, clarifies the dependence of the word pronunciation on its semantics, and the mechanisms of meaning conveying. In practical terms, the study provides a wide range of English language users with systematized data on the semantic and phonetic features of homographs. Their systematized layout is important for their correct usage in oral speech as wells as for the compilation of manuals, various dictionaries and reference books focused on the correct usage of English homonyms. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

A Pilot Study of Four Phonetic Changes in General British

The pilot study reports on the prevalence of four phonetic changes (yod coalescence, yod dropping, /ʒ/ versus /ʤ/ in loan words, and GOAT allophony) in General British. The study consists of two stages to address the question from different perspectives: native speakers’ preferences and documentation of the changes in current pronouncing dictionaries.Sixty words likely to undergo one of the changes are chosen for the analysis. The survey is based on the framework by Wells (1998). Though the descriptive study resultsreveal a high degree of the respondents’ preference for ‘modern’ pronunciation, it varies across categories. The comparative analysis of the manifestation of the changes in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2008), the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (2011), and the Current British English Searchable Transcriptions (N/A) indicate their gradual way into the ‘standard’ language.

(BOOK$) Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary with CD-ROM Pre Order

(BOOK$) Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary with CD-ROM Pre Order

The psychological perception of the glass menagerie from author’s perspective: Critical perception and view

This study aims to investigate the pronunciation mistakes in English in accordance with the phonetic study of voiceless and voiced inter-dental fricatives [θ], [ð] and alveolar liquid [r] sounds among Chinese learners of English at University Utara Malaysia (UUM). In order to find out non-native English leaner pronunciation errors, these errors reflect the interference of different sound systems on English pronunciation. Speech samples of the subjects’ pronunciation were taken through words in terms of [θ], [ð] and [r] sounds. Data was collected by contracting survey through structure; six Chinese students were selected by using non-probability convenient sampling technique. Using a reading 30 wordlist worksheets as the instrument of this research, the respondents’ pronunciation was observed and assessed by using native/ phonetics expert speaker and also ensured by the evaluation form. In addition, data of this study was analysed by SPSS (22 version) software package. Data was collected and analysed with the guidance of phonemic transcription of Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary. Using different pronunciation analysis, potential difficulties of English pronunciation for the three subjects were listed by comparing the sound systems of English among Chinese learners. Moreover, the pronunciation errors of subjects were diagnosed into categories based on Error Analysis. The findings would help to provide a clear understanding of the common characteristics of pronunciation errors made by the subjects. Finally, some recommendations have been proposed to overcome the pronunciation difficulties of non-native English learners.

Homographic Proper Names: On Peculiarities of Pronunciation Registration

The article considers phonetic variants of English proper names that comprise homographic groups, and some impairments during their registration in pronouncing dictionaries. The authors present the results of lexicographic and comparative analysis of units extracted from two pronouncing dictionaries: "Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary" by D. Jones and "Longman Pronunciation Dictionary" by J. Wells using the continuous sampling method. Particular attention is focused on the methods of registration and completeness of phonetic notation of homographs pronunciation. A number of peculiarities are noted in recording semantics, phonetic-and-orthographic variations in some homogroups in British and American English. Clear inconsistency and insufficiency of lexicographic parametrization of both homographic proper names and their national and social pronunciation variants, as well as the meanings of common and proper names are revealed. The conclusion is made about the accuracy of "Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary" in terms of registering several British and American variants of onyms pronunciation, supplemented by additional comments on the phonetic variants and meanings of numerous types of proper names (anthroponyms, toponyms, ergonyms). The data obtained are required for differentiating the meanings of proper names, correct use of onyms and appellatives in oral speech, as well as for compiling dictionaries and reference books.

Error in Vowel Pronunciation Made by Informatics Students

The purpose of this study is to figure out the dominant factor causing the errors of vowels pronounced by second-semester students of Informatics which is basically nonnative speakers of English. The approach applied in this study is qualitative. The data were collected via observation and recording which were constructed in the form of field-notes then analyzed and measured in accordance to English phonetic transcription in “English Pronouncing Dictionary” written by Jones (1997). This study involved 40 students of Informatics English subject at Informatics Program of Indraprasta PGRI University where English is only supporting subject. The data shows that the respondents were really lack of English pronouncing skill, especially vowels as 42 of 58 words containing vowels are pronounced incorrectly. As the result of study, we can conclude that the dominant error made by students is Interlingual errors (58,6% or 838 of 1.430 errors made by students), the errors occurred due to the interference of students? native language.

Phoneme distribution and syllable structure of entry words in the CMU English Pronouncing Dictionary

This study explores the phoneme distribution and syllable structure of entry words in the CMU English Pronouncing Dictionary to provide phoneticians and linguists with fundamental phonetic data on English word components. Entry words in the dictionary file were syllabified using an R script and examined to obtain the following results: First, English words preferred consonants to vowels in their word components. In addition, monophthongs occurred much more frequently than diphthongs. When all consonants were categorized by manner and place, the distribution indicated the frequency order of stops, fricatives, and nasals according to manner and that of alveolars, bilabials and velars according to place. These results were comparable to the results obtained from the Buckeye Corpus (Yang, 2012). Second, from the analysis of syllable structure, two-syllable words were most favored, followed by three- and one-syllable words. Of the words in the dictionary, 92.7% consisted of one, two or three syllables. This result may be related to human memory or decoding time. Third, the English words tended to exhibit discord between onset and coda consonants and between adjacent vowels. Dissimilarity between the last onset and the first coda was found in 93.3% of the syllables, while 91.6% of the adjacent vowels were different. From the results above, the author concludes that an analysis of the phonetic symbols in a dictionary may lead to a deeper understanding of English word structures and components.

English phonotactics

This article presents an analysis of the phonotactic structures of English presented inThe Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, paying attention to morphological boundaries, the difference between stressed and unstressed syllables, the difference between native and non-native, and considering the distribution of vowels as well as consonants. The phonotactic status of names turns out to be unlike the status of other morphologically unanalysable words, and some new observations are made on consonant clusters as well as vowel sequences, which have previously been overlooked.

No Bot’le No Party: T-Glottaling and Pronouncing Dictionaries

In the process of acceptance or refusal of variant pronunciations, t-glottaling seems to have experienced some stigmatization. Despite the recognized presence of t-glottaling in Received Pronunciation, recent calls for a ‘remod-elling’ of this accent, and a changing trend, especially among young RP speakers, an analysis of contemporary EFL pronouncing dictionaries — i.e. An English Pronouncing Dictionary (EPD), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (LPD), and the Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English (ODP) — reveals no recording of it. Some of the questions, addressed by this paper, are: do EFL pronouncing dictionaries avoid transcribing glottal stop just because it is an allophone of /t/? Are there or could there be other reasons for concealing the spread of such a non-standard feature?

Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (17th edition)

Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (17th edition)

From a Latin syllable-driven stress system to a Romance versus Germanic morphology-driven dynamics: in honour of Lionel Guierre

Within the framework elaborated by the late Professor Lionel Guierre (1921–2001), who pioneered a new school of thought in the study of English phonology, this paper sets out to disprove one of the founding principles of Chomsky and Halle’s theories (also pre-eminent in Halle and Keyser’s later works), namely the premise that the English stress system is, to a great degree, modelled on Classical Latin metrical rules (dichotomy between prefinal heavy syllables entailing penultimate stressing and prefinal light syllables entailing antepenultimate stressing). The first part proposes an overview of L. Guierre’s theoretical framework, essentially based on morphology and syntactic categories, backed up with our own contributions, notably on the role of affixes in stress assignment. A one-page, three-tier (syntactic, morphological and segmental) algorithmic table, capable of accounting for all primary stress distribution rules in contemporary English, endeavors to encapsulate the gist of the phonological system we advocate. In conformity with the methodology of the Guierrian school, all the governing principles and findings presented here are backed up by ample statistical work in the form of samples and inventories extracted from computerised British English phonetic corpora, and more particularly from Daniel Jones’s English Pronouncing Dictionary (12th Ed.). At the end of this recapitulation of the Guierrian stress theory, we come to the conclusion that syllable-weight (except in the case of prefinal consonant clusters) is not a determining factor of contemporary English phonology. In the second part, we propose a diachronic study of the Romance/Germanic conflict which, following the Norman Conquest, led to the formation of the English phonological system as we know it today. In the course of our historical observations, we show that Latin could not have been the underlying force in this process. Further examination of affixes, more particularly in relation to neutral derivation (stress preservation) and secondary stress positioning, also puts paid to the idea that Romance stressing principles eventually supplanted the Germanic stressing dynamics of the English language. In the conclusion to our paper, we express our conviction that English has inherited not one but several phonologies, whose workings are determined by morphology and word-length, but also by learned or foreign word characteristics, being thus the product of a merging process between Romance mechanisms applying to borrowings and learned vocabulary and the prevailing Germanic dynamics for more ordinary vocabulary, as borne out by the fact that most suffixes of the English language actually entail stress preservation.

Stress-neutral endings in contemporary British English: an updated overview

The present study is an attempt to account for current changes taking place in the behaviour of what are commonly taken to be stress-neutral endings in contemporary British English. The methodological framework being that of Lionel Guierre, this study aims for comprehensive coverage, via a survey of Guierre’s original database (which was initially compiled from the 12th edition of Daniel Jones’ English Pronouncing Dictionary, 1964) and a systematic collation of all relevant items with the entries of current phonetic corpora such as the two editions so far available of The Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, by Wells (1990, 2000), and the thoroughly updated 15th edition of Jones’ English Pronouncing Dictionary, by Hartman et al. (1997). From the entries of the above-mentioned dictionaries, it clearly appears that, in contemporary English, word stress is subject to variation and changes to a much larger extent than generally held. Thus, stress shifts are commonly observed in conjunction with allegedly neutral (and very productive) suffixes such as - ed, - ing, - ly, - atory or - able. Whilst some of these shifts can be ascribed to conflictual constraints, most are quite obviously induced by a system of rules governed by word categories and the quality of the syllable to which these suffixes attach.

NEW TRANSCRIPTIONAL POLICIES IN THE LATEST ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION DICTIONARIES. A HELP OR HINDRANCE TO THE FOREIGN LEARNER?

Up until very recently, Jones’ English Pronouncing Dictionary (EPD) was the undisputed norm with regard to the pronunciation of RP English. This situation began to change with the publication of Wells’ Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (LPD) (1990, 2000), followed soon by Roach & Hartman’s updated version of Jones’ classic pronunciation guide (1997) culminating with the arrival of Upton, Kretzschmar, and Konopka’s Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English (ODP) (2001). This commendable diversification of the transcriptional practice has, however, brought about a number of problems for the foreign learner. In this paper I will present the conventions governing the use of the new non-phonemic symbols in the three aforementioned dictionaries. It is argued that, despite their apparent simplicity, the changes introduced affecting high vowels seem to complicate things unnecessarily for the foreign learner, who seems to feel more at ease with a type of transcription where no non-phonemic symbol is used. The casuistry introduced in the representation of high elements followed by a vowel is, on the other hand, a long way from the simplicity principle advocated by Jones.

IPA vowel symbols for British English in dictionaries

The set of vowel symbols introduced by Gimson in 1977 into the Jones English Pronouncing Dictionary for the representation of British pronunciation became so widely used that for two decades an unprecedented harmony reigned and an ever wider non-specialist audience became accustomed to accept that pronunciations should be presented to them via the International Phonetic Alphabet in this form. This unity was disrupted by the publication by one branch of the Oxford University Press of important reference books in which one in four of the Gimson twenty vowel-phoneme symbols were changed. The grounds for welcoming or deprecating each of these changes are discussed.

English Pronouncing Dictionary (16th edition)

English Pronouncing Dictionary (16th edition)

R post-vocalique et histoire de l’anglais

In this paper, I explore the way in which a different norm emerged in England and in the United States concerning the pronunciation of post-vocalic r’s: the R. P. norm (or ‘BBC English’ in the terms of Roach and Hartman’s 1997 edition of Daniel Jones’ English Pronouncing Dictionary) is non-rhotic, whereas the US norm (or ‘Network English’ for the same authors) is rhotic. While the loss of post-vocalic r’s does require an explanation in phonetic and phonological terms, I mainly concentrate on broader sociolinguistic and sociohistorical issue: on the one hand, the early emergence in Britain of London and the surrounding counties as a centre from which changes radiate across the whole of Britain; on the other hand, the complex evolution of English in the United States with the emergence of new social and geographical boundaries. The paper will attempt to show that, while the selection of particular traits to separate dialects is usually arbitrary from a strict linguistic point of view, once a trait has been selected and functions as a ‘shibboleth’ in the Biblical sense (Judges, xii, 5-6, “King James Version”, 1611) powerful societal forces can conjoin to maintain and reinforce it. The role of London vs. New York in explaining rhoticity in Britain and the United States will be seen as a fundamental one.

English Pronouncing Dictionary (15th ed.)

English Pronouncing Dictionary (15th ed.)

The Representation of Stress-Patterns in Pronunciation Dictionaries: ‘Morse-Code’ vs. Orthographic Marking

The marking of stress in English phonetics has traditionally used a small vertical bar placed before the stressed syllable, though some dictionaries which provide an indication of pronunciation have used other conventions such as bold or italic typeface to denote the primary stressed syllable. In all the editions of the English Pronouncing Dictionary (e.g. Jones 1988), including the current one (hereafter referred to as EPD14), the vertical bar has been used, in superscript position for the primary stressed syllable and in subscript position for the secondary stressed syllable.