The Intelligibility of Native and Non-Native English Speech: A Comparative Analysis of Cameroon English and American and British English Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr.phil) vorgelegt der Philosophischen Fakultät der Technischen Universität Chemnitz von Herrn Samuel Ngwa Atechi, geboren am 10.01.1969 in Awing (Kamerun) 1 This work is dedicated to: My dear father, Papa Elias Atechi (1920-1978) who did not live long to reap the fruits of his labour My beloved mother Mama Theresa Atechi for bringing me up as a single parent My brothers and sisters Jacob, Regina, Joseph, Godlive, Rose, Bridget and Oliver Atechi My children Olympian, Bloomfield and Eliasmill, as a source of encouragement for me My wife Julian for her constant love and her strength 2 Table of contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................................................4 PHONETIC SYMBOLS ........................................................................................................................................6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................................................8 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................10 1 CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ..............................................................................13 1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................13 1.2 IDENTIFICATION OF NEW ENGLISHES ...................................................................................................15 1.2.1 Geographical Identification............................................................................................................15 1.2.2 Societal Identification.....................................................................................................................18 1.3 PROBLEMS OF STANDARD ....................................................................................................................20 1.4 PEDAGOGICAL PROBLEMS....................................................................................................................24 1.5 ATTITUDES TOWARDS NON-NATIVE VARIETIES OF ENGLISH ..............................................................27 1.5.1 Native Speakers’ Attitudes Towards Non-Native Englishes ...........................................................28 1.5.2 Non-Native Speakers’ Attitudes Towards Non-Native Englishes ...................................................31 1.6 MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF NON-NATIVE ENGLISHES......................................................................34 1.6.1 Vowels ............................................................................................................................................35 1.6.2 Consonants .....................................................................................................................................38 1.6.3 Stress ..............................................................................................................................................40 2 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................................................43 2.1 THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGIBILITY ......................................................................................................43 2.1.1 Communication and Intelligibility..................................................................................................45 2.1.2 Factors Hindering Intelligibility.....................................................................................................47 2.1.3 Factors Aiding Intelligibility ..........................................................................................................48 2.1.4 Intelligibility Testing.......................................................................................................................50 2.1.5 Other Previous Investigations on Intelligibility..............................................................................52 2.1.6 Summary of Previous Findings on Intelligibility............................................................................64 3 CHAPTER THREE CAMEROON ENGLISH .........................................................................................67 3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................67 3.2 HISTORY OF ENGLISH IN CAMEROON ...................................................................................................67 3.3 LINGUISTIC SITUATION ........................................................................................................................70 3.3.1 Indigenous Languages....................................................................................................................70 3.3.2 Pidgin English (PE)........................................................................................................................71 3.3.3 Received Languages .......................................................................................................................72 3.4 IDENTIFICATION OF CAMEROON ENGLISH............................................................................................73 3.5 PEDAGOGICAL PROBLEMS....................................................................................................................75 3.6 ATTITUDES TOWARDS CAME...............................................................................................................77 3.7 PHONOLOGY OF CAME.........................................................................................................................77 3.7.1 The Vowels of CamE.......................................................................................................................81 3.7.2 Some Consonantal Processes in CamE ..........................................................................................88 3.8 SOUNDS IN COMPANY ..........................................................................................................................89 3.8.1 Assimilation ....................................................................................................................................89 3.8.2 Elision.............................................................................................................................................90 3.8.3 Liaison............................................................................................................................................91 3.9 SPELLING PRONUNCIATION ..................................................................................................................92 3.9.1 Silent Letters Pronounced ..............................................................................................................93 3.9.2 Other Spelling Induced Pronunciations .........................................................................................93 3 3.10 ANGLICISATION OF FOREIGN PRONUNCIATION ....................................................................................94 3.11 STRESS DEVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................95 3.12 PREVIOUS STUDIES ON CAME INTELLIGIBILITY ...................................................................................97 3.13 UNEXPLORED DIMENSIONS ..................................................................................................................99 4 CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH DESIGN...............................................................................................102 4.1 TEST MATERIAL.................................................................................................................................102 4.1.1 Test I (Connected Speech) ............................................................................................................102 4.1.2 Test II (Reading Passage).............................................................................................................103 4.1.3 Test III (Phonemic Contrast Elicitation) ......................................................................................104 4.1.4 Test IV (Nucleus Placement In Words).........................................................................................105 4.1.5 Test V (Nucleus Placement in Sentences).....................................................................................105 4.2 SPEAKERS AND RECORDING PROCEDURES .........................................................................................106 4.2.1 Selecting the Speakers ..................................................................................................................107 4.2.2 Recording Process........................................................................................................................109 4.3 THE LISTENERS AND LISTENING PROCEDURES...................................................................................111 4.3.1 Selection of Listeners....................................................................................................................111 4.3.2