Research methods and intelligibility studies

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2269008
AutoresAndrew Sewell (0000-0002-3797-1025, Lingnan University, autor correspondente)
Ano2010
Volume29
Fascículo2
Páginas257-269
Data de publicação2010-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoWorld Englishes (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0883-2919 • E-ISSN: 1467-971X
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-971x.2010.01641.x
OpenAlexW1840484093
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas33

This paper first briefly reviews the concept of intelligibility as it has been employed in both English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and world Englishes (WE) research. It then examines the findings of the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), a list of phonological features that empirical research has shown to be important for safeguarding mutual intelligibility between non-native speakers of English. The main point of the paper is to analyse these findings and demonstrate that many of them can be explained if three perspectives (linguistic, psycholinguistic and historical-variationist) are taken. This demonstration aims to increase the explanatory power of the concept of intelligibility by providing some theoretical background. An implication for ELF research is that at the phonological level, internationally intelligible speakers have a large number of features in common, regardless of whether they are non-native speakers or native speakers. An implication for WE research is that taking a variety-based, rather than a features-based, view of phonological variation and its connection with intelligibility is likely to be unhelpful, as intelligibility depends to some extent on the phonological features of individual speakers, rather than on the varieties per se

English as a lingua franca · Epistemology · Explanatory power · Intelligibility (philosophy · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Sociology · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology