Linguistic Dimensions of Accentedness,Comprehensibility and Intelligibility:Exploring Listener Effects in American,Moroccan,Turkmen and Chinese Varieties of English  

听话者因素对四种英语变体的口音、能理解性及可理解性的影响

作　　者：Mei WEI 魏梅(天津外国语大学)

机构地区：[1]Tianjin Foreign Studies University

出　　处：《Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics》2021年第4期520-542,590,共24页中国应用语言学（英文）

摘　　要：The present study examines accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility of American English, Moroccan English, Turkmen English, and Chinese English, from the perspectives of three groups of listeners: native speakers of English and Chinese speakers of English with or without international experiences. Of the 145 listeners, 38 had face-to-face interviews. These listener groups were asked to listen to the recordings of the four English varieties and fill in a cloze test.Results indicated that the three listener groups differed significantly in rating comprehensibility of American English, Moroccan English and Chinese English but they did not give Turkmen English statistically different ratings;there were no significant differences in accentedness ratings except for Chinese English;and there were significant differences in the intelligibility scores of the four English varieties. In addition, with respect to seven linguistic variables-speed, clarity, intonation,smoothness and fluency, vocal intensity, pause, vocabulary and grammar, there were significant differences in three listener groups’ rating of six variables in American English except the one of“speed”. By contrast, Chinese English received significantly different ratings only in “proper speed”. No differences were found in the ratings for Moroccan English and Turkmen English.Finally, unlike Chinese listeners without international experiences, native listeners and Chinese listeners with international experiences shared some similarities in correlations between the ratings of accentedness and comprehensibility and those of linguistic variables on Moroccan English,Turkmen English, and Chinese English. However, the results for American English from Chinese listeners without international experiences and native listeners seemed to be more alike. Linguistic variables correlating with accentedness and comprehensibility of American English showed a mixed profile. Qualitative data provided more variant elaborations on the pronunciations and language本研究比较了三组对美国英语、摩洛哥英语、土库曼斯坦英语及中国英语的口音轻重度、能理解性和可理解性的判断及填空结果。本族语者、中国无海外经历英语学习者和有海外经历英语学习者完成四种英语变体自我简介的听力理解完型填空,进而运用7级量表对口音、能理解度及语言分项做出判断。最后,145位被试中的38位参加了访谈。研究结果表明:首先,三组对美国英语、摩洛哥英语及中国英语在能理解性上存在显著差异;然而,三组仅对中国英语的口音判断差异显著;三组的可理解性差异显著。其次,除语速外,三组对美国英语在清晰度、语调、流畅性和流利度、声音强度、停顿、词汇和语法等6个变量的判断上存在显著不同;然而三组对于中国英语的判断则相反,仅语速差异显著,其他6个变量未见显著差异;对摩洛哥英语和土库曼斯坦英语在7个变量上的判断均无显著差异。最后,本族语者和有海外经历的中国听话者在摩洛哥英语、土库曼斯坦英语和中国英语的能理解性和口音与7个语言变量的相关性结果有一定的趋同性;但三组在美国英语上的相关性结果则不同,中国无海外经历的听话者和本族语者对于美国英语口音和能理解性与7个变量之间的相关性更接近。定性数据更充分表现出说话者的发音与语言使用之间的差异。

关 键 词：accentedness COMPREHENSIBILITY INTELLIGIBILITY English varieties linguistic variables 

分 类 号：H311[语言文字—英语] H310.1