Beyond ideologies of nativeness in the intelligibility principle for L2 English pronunciation
A corpus-supported review
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14712332 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hyeseung Jeong (0000-0003-1058-7637, Stockholm University, corresponding author), Stephanie Lindemann (0000-0002-7923-5616, Georgia State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 129 |
| Pages | 103599 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | System (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0346-251X • E-ISSN: 1879-3282 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.system.2025.103599 |
| OpenAlex | W4406539997 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 67 |
The intelligibility principle for second language (L2) pronunciation challenges the nativeness principle that suggests that L2 speakers' goal should be nativelike pronunciation. However, in this corpus-supported review of studies based on the intelligibility principle, we show that the understanding of the principle is still underpinned by what we term ideologies of nativeness, which favor speakers of privileged first language (L1) varieties and undermine other L1 and L2 World Englishes speakers. We focus on discourses surrounding the two most prominent keywords: errors , frequently used to describe proficient L2 speech and blame it for compromised intelligibility, and comprehensibility , often uncritically used to gauge listeners’ understanding although it measures subjective perception and can be closely associated with nativeness. Such discourses can obscure a more complete understanding of communication that acknowledges variation in L1 speech and the mutual nature of communication, as well as contribute toward negative perceptions of L2 speakers. Based on our review, we suggest that teachers avoid prescribed pronunciation models, instead helping learners develop their pronunciation based on a broad perceptual repertoire. We further recommend that researchers focus on how communication difficulties are successfully repaired without relying on prescribed pronunciation norms, recognizing mutual responsibility and accountability for intelligibility by all interlocutors
English as a lingua franca · Epistemology · Ideology · Linguistics · Political science · Pronunciation · Sociology · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Law · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Psychology
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Moroccan EFL Learners’ Attitudes towards World Englishes and Native and Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers
Diving Into Language Teacher Beliefs
Accent and topic familiarity in L2 listening comprehension
Investigating Filipino College Teachers' Views on Aestheticizing the English Accent in ELT
Intelligibility and white aurality
Language teachers regaining a sense of praxis in pronunciation teaching and learning through Exploratory Practice as professional learning in Australia
We don't say ‘To-r Ó-nto. We say ‘To-r Ó-no.” Language ideologies on TikTok
Lexical stress saliency perception and categorization
Fostering Global Englishes Listeners
Pronunciation Fundamentals
Deconstructing Comprehensibility
Second language speech production
Native-speakerism
Channeling Voices to Improve L2 English Intelligibility
Comprehensible to Whom? Examining Rater, Speaker, and Interlocutor Perspectives on Comprehensibility in an Interactive Context
Second Language Speech Intelligibility Revisited
Effect of altering three phonetic features on intelligibility of English as a lingua franca
Developing a user-oriented second language comprehensibility scale for English-medium universities
“She does have an accent but…”
Racializing the Nonnative English Speaker
The impact of functional load and cumulative errors on listeners' judgments of comprehensibility and accentedness
Relative salience of suprasegmental features on judgments of L2 comprehensibility and accentedness
Intelligibility and individual learner differences in the EIL context
Intelligible, comprehensible, non-native models in ESL/EFL pronunciation teaching
The functional load principle in ESL pronunciation instruction
The listener
Development of discursive practices for the intelligibility of Thai English in interaction
Second language speech comprehensibility
Putting accent in its place
Teaching Native Speakers to Listen to Foreign-accented Speech
Rejecting nativeness to produce a more accurate and just Linguistics
Native and Nonnative Teachers of L2 Pronunciation
Reconceptualizing Speaking, Listening, and Pronunciation
Race and Tesol
Second Language Comprehensibility Revisited
Functional Load and the Teaching of Pronunciation
Functional Loads of Pronunciation Features in Nonnative Speakers' Oral Assessment
Processing Time, Accent, and Comprehensibility in the Perception of Native and Foreign-Accented Speech
Fostering Global Englishes Listeners
Intelligibility and the Listener
Second/Foreign Language Learning as a Social Accomplishment
Going beyond the Native Speaker in Language Teaching
Changing Contexts and Shifting Paradigms in Pronunciation Teaching
Linguistic justice and global English
Reliably Biased
Acoustic salience in the evaluations of intelligibility and foreign accentedness of nonnative vowel production
Foreign Accent, Comprehensibility, and Intelligibility in the Speech of Second Language Learners
The accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility of Asian Englishes
Intelligibility studies
International intelligibility of English
Torn between the norms
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 10 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |