SlideShare une entreprise Scribd logo
1  sur  4
Télécharger pour lire hors ligne
Pronunciation research by written questionnaire
                                                         J.C. Wells
                                                University College London
                                              E-mail: j.wells@phon.ucl.ac.uk

                                                                 the number of syllables in a word, or obstruent voicing
                       ABSTRACT                                  assimilation:

This paper discusses pronunciation research using a written             Avez-vous l’impression de prononcer: a) le d
questionnaire to ask people overt questions about their                 de médecin comme un d ou comme un t ? …
pronunciation. Several investigations that have used this               b) le b d’absent comme un b ou comme un
approach are discussed. The technique is particularly                   p ?…
useful for large-scale surveys of variability in lexical         What all these questions have in common is that they do not
incidence or in the phonological system. It is unsuitable for    address matters of phonetic detail, but only matters of
surveying variability in phonetic realization.                   phonology.

                1.    INTRODUCTION                                      “If this had been a phonetic survey aiming to
                                                                        determine the exact nature of this or that
Dialectologists have always been ready to ask language                  articulation by a given subject, the oral
consultants (informants) questions about lexical matters                method would have been the only advisable
(‘What is your word for this?’). Syntacticians readily seek             one, indeed the only possible one. But since
out the opinion of speakers on whether some proposed                    it was a phonological survey … the presence
string of words is acceptable (well-formed) or not (‘Can                of an expert observer was much less
you say two furnitures?’). Such questions can be asked                  indispensable.” [My translation. – JCW]
either orally or in writing. In this session I want to argue     Thirty years later, still dealing with French, Walter’s survey
that some aspects of pronunciation, too, can be usefully         [2] was equally phonological, but returned to ‘the oral
investigated by the administration of a written                  method’, perhaps since audio recording techniques had
questionnaire.                                                   now become readily available. Her sample size was a mere
Ever since Chomsky redefined the goals of linguistics,           seventeen people. This survey is particularly noteworthy,
linguists have been attempting to model the knowledge of         however, in that it appears to be the first to have been
language that the native speaker carries in the mind. If we      carried out explicitly as part of the research for a
can speak a language, one of the things we know is how to        pronunciation dictionary [3]. This dictionary, claiming in
pronounce it. The task of the phonetician, it may be argued      its title to be concerned with French pronunciation ‘as it
— or at least one task — is to model that knowledge. Some        really is’, reports for some thousands of words which of the
(but by no means all) of this knowledge is available to          informants (identified as a to y) pronounced what.
introspection, and therefore for investigation by written               JEÛNE nm
questionnaire.
                                                                          ʒøn (abcdgjlprtvwx)
This is not a new idea. In 1945 Martinet [1] published a                  ʒœn (dmny)
justly famous survey of the phonology of spoken French                    ʒœ:n (k)
using as his respondents French officers in a
prisoner-of-war camp. Most of his questions concerned the
identity or non-identity of minimal pairs:
                                                                               2.    THE LPD SURVEYS

       Prononcez-vous de façon identique: a) jeune               In preparing a new pronunciation dictionary of English, the
       et jeûne ? … b) veule et veulent ? … c) filleul           Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, I felt the need to
       et filleule ? …                                           supplement my own intuitions — both as a native speaker
                                                                 of RP-style English and as a long-time observer of the
(i.e. in this case exploring the putative opposition /œ - ø/).   speech of those around me — with some kind of objective
Other questions concerned the presence of absence of the         data regarding the relative prevalence of the competing
so-called e muet, the French schwa that comes and goes:          pronunciations of various words that I knew to be subject to
                                                                 fluctuating or contentious pronunciation. An example
       Quelle prononciation vous paraît la plus
                                                                 would be zebra, pronounced by some as /ˈzi:brə/ but by
       naturelle … de j’me dis, je m’dis, je me dis ?
                                                                 others as /ˈzebrə/. Rather than attempt to explore data from
Others again concerned such matters as liaison consonants,       a spoken corpus (something impossible then, and far from
easy today), I carried out an opinion poll of speakers’           those with only a high school diploma, 69% among those
preferences in such words. I used a written questionnaire to      with an associate’s degree from a community college, 62%
ask a sample of speakers of British English a battery of          among those with a bachelor’s degree, and only 55%
some ninety such questions [4]. The findings of this survey       among those with a postgraduate degree. Another
were duly published in the first edition of the dictionary [5].   interesting finding, shown in fig. 2, was that younger
                                                                  people are significantly more likely than older people to
This sort of question is readily understood by everyone,          prefer /ɔ/ (as against /ɑ/) in orange and tomorrow.
non-phoneticians and phoneticians alike. Indeed, many
laymen have strong views about such matters. The survey
was based on a postal questionnaire submitted to a panel of
275 native speakers of British English. Many were
professionally concerned with speech in some way (e.g. as
academic phoneticians or radio announcers), but more than
a quarter of them were volunteers recruited from among the
general public. The survey revealed that for zebra 83%
preferred /e/ and only 17% /i:/. This finding was reported in
the dictionary, along with the findings for the other ninety
words investigated.
Whereas Walter used too few informants to enable any
statistical inferences to be made about possible associations
between phonological and social variables, the larger
sample size of this first LPD survey was sufficient to permit
several such inferences. In particular, an association
between pronunciation preference and respondent’s age                                                   o(range)≠(kn)o(t)
group became evident in several of the words investigated.
                                                                                                        (tom)o(rrow)≠(kn)o(t)

                                                                         Fig. 2. AmE vowel preferences, by age ([6])
                                                                  In 1998, in preparation for a revised edition of LPD, I
                                                                  conducted a further similar survey of British pronunciation
                                                                  preferences, using the largest sample yet — 1932
                                                                  respondents from all parts of Britain [7, 8], who gave their
                                                                  views on a further hundred items. The sample size made
                                                                  possible some statistically very robust conclusions about
                                                                  associations between pronunciation preferences and
                                                                  respondents’ age.




        Fig. 1. BrE stress preferences, by age ([4])
Fig.1 demonstrates the change in stress pattern preferences
in the words applicable, formidable, and kilometre:
younger respondents were more likely than older
respondents to vote for antepenultimate stress (as opposed
to initial stress).
Following up the first LPD survey, Shitara [6] carried out a
similar survey of American English pronunciation
preferences. She questioned a sample of 395 native                    Fig. 3. BrE preferences for [tʃ] over [tj], by age [8]
speakers, most of them academics in phonetics/linguistics,
                                                                  Rather than answering in handwriting on a paper form,
language teachers or students, following the same
                                                                  respondents were also offered the option of answering by
procedure. Again, given this larger sample size, it was
                                                                  e-mail or on the web.
possible to demonstrate differences in pronunciation
preferences between different age groups and also certain
correlations with region, sex, ethnicity, and occupation.                     3.   THE QUESTIONNAIRE
For example, Shitara found that the percentage preferring         Sociolinguists are well aware that informants are not able to
/-bju-/ rather than /-bru-/ in February was 78% among             give an accurate account of their own pronunciation. Labov
pointed out [9] that “in the conscious report of their own     Two words rhyme, in the English-language understanding
usage … New York respondents are very inaccurate”,             of this term, if and only if they are pronounced identically
generally over-reporting, i.e. claiming to use more            in respect of the primary-stressed vowel and whatever
prestigious variants than they really did. Trudgill [10],      follows that vowel. We can therefore often use rhyming and
however, found that in Norwich there was a sex difference,     non-rhyming to identify post-stress consonants (notably
with women indeed tending to over-report, but men on the       final consonants) and of course vowels.
contrary tending to under-report.
                                                               one (count: one, two, three) Focus on the vowel sound
The LPD surveys, accordingly, did not ask respondents to       a. /wɒn/ the word rhymes with John, on
report their actual usage. Rather, respondents were asked      b. /wʌn/ the word rhymes with gun, son
which they preferred of a number of variant
pronunciations of each questionnaire item. Furthermore,        Where identification by rhyming is not feasible, we must do
these variants were such as to be available to the conscious   our best to identify sounds in other ways. Given the popular
awareness of the respondents, and such that their              association of the terms “vowel” and “consonant” with
identification did not require any specialized phonetic        letters rather than with sounds, it is important to be explicit
knowledge.                                                     that we are concerned with sounds.

In each survey the questionnaire consisted of about a          to associate (to combine, connect) Focus on the -oci-
hundred multiple-choice questions. The instructions given      a. /-s-/ the consonant sound is as in (neur)osis, gross
to respondents typically asked them to “indicate the           b. /-ʃ-/ the consonant sound is as in ocean, motion
pronunciation you prefer. Usually this will also be your
own pronunciation”. A typical question took the following      Respelling, likewise, may be straightforward in some cases
form:                                                          but fraught with difficulty in others.

Asia (name of continent) Focus on the –s-                      chrysanthemum (a flower)            Focus on the -san-.
a. /ˈeɪʃə/ the consonant sound is as in pressure AYSH-uh       a. /-s-/ the middle bit is like san     kri-SAN-themum
                                                               b. /-z-/ the middle bit is like zan     kri-ZAN-themum
b. /ˈeɪʒə/ the consonant sound is as in measure AYZH-uh
                                                               direction (the way someone is facing or moving)
Notice here that the target is first presented in ordinary
                                                                                                Focus on the first syllable
spelling. To ensure that the respondent has identified the
right lexical item, it is then glossed. The respondent’s       a. /daɪ-/ the vowel sound is as in die      DIE-rection
attention is then drawn to the part of the word on which to    b. /daɪə-/ the vowel sound is as in dire DIRE-rection
focus, and the two (or more) options are presented: in IPA,    c. /dɪ-/ the vowel sound is as in dig       DIH-rection
by comparison with other words, and in respelling.             d. /də-/ the vowel sound is as in the last part of ladder
                                                                                                           DUH-rection
       4.    RHYMING AND RESPELLING                            English spelling conventions offer no way of
                                                               unambiguously indicating short vowels in non-final open
When the language under investigation is English, the
                                                               syllables. Nor is there a satisfactory respelling for /aʊ/ to
notorious inadequacy of English spelling makes it
                                                               distinguish it from /əʊ/, since its two usual spellings are
appropriate, as in the example given, to identify these
                                                               both ambiguous, as seen in now and snow, foul and soul.
options in more than one way. The IPA transcription targets
the phonetician and the knowledgeable layman; then
follows an explanation in terms of similar-sounding words,        5.    PHONOLOGY VERSUS PHONETICS
and finally the respelling, which is intended to be
self-explanatory to anyone accustomed to the spelling          Martinet, the pioneer of written questionaires in
conventions of English.                                        pronunciation research, famously was also the first to
                                                               define phonology as functional phonetics [11]. It was with
In other languages, where the relationship between             this in mind that he characterized his own study [1] as
orthography and pronunciation is more direct, this degree      dealing with phonology rather than with phonetics. In
of repetition may not be necessary.                            Trubetzkoyan terms [12, 13], he was concerned with
                                                               questions of the system (the number and identity of the
Particular care must be taken in cases where ordinary
                                                               items in the phonemic inventory) and with questions of
spelling conventions are ambiguous. In the identification of
                                                               lexical incidence (how phonemes are distributed in
consonants, this applies to pairs such as /θ-ð, s-z, ʃ-ʒ/.     particular lexical items, given the phonemic system). He
Sometimes possible rhymes can be exploited in the              also dealt with matters of phonotactics (what sequences of
questionnaire; sometimes other devices may be needed.          phonemes are permitted in particular positions), something
booth (stall, telephone box)  Focus on the -th                 that rather falls outside Trubetzkoy’s scope. He firmly
a. /buːθ/ the word rhymes exactly with truth                   eschews questions of phonetic realization.
b. /buːð/ the word rhymes exactly with smooth                  Perhaps the easiest matter to investigate is lexical incidence,
                                                               including stress placement. Respondents appear to have a
good feel for it, and can usually answer confidently.              aware only of the default realization of a phoneme. They
                                                                   cannot tell you whether they prefer (or use) clear /l/ or dark
The location of a word’s primary stress is something on            /l/ in vitally. They do not know how much labialization they
which respondents often hold strong views — not only in            use for initial /r/.
notorious cases such as controversy, but also in less fraught
cases such as applicable, kilometre, Caribbean.                    Nor are stated allophonic preferences of much value.
                                                                   Speech-conscious people such as volunteer to answer
Equally, we can readily ask about /ʃ/ vs/ ʒ/ in Asia, /θ/ vs/ ð/   written questionnaires generally claim to prefer [t] over [ʔ]
in booth, and /ʌ/ vs. /ɒ/ in one, as exemplified above: all are    under all circumstances. Perhaps if we were to present them
matters of lexical incidence.                                      with audio clips of, say, atmosphere as [ˈætnməs-],
This does not apply where the phonemic system is                   [ˈætʔməs-], [ˈæʔməs-], pronounced by a phonetician able to
uncertain or variable at the relevant point. We can ask the        keep everything else constant, we would get a more
English whether they prefer room with /uː/ or /ʊ/, but it is       realistic answer. Meanwhile, we certainly cannot use a
pointless to ask the Scots, who have no such opposition in         purely written questionnaire for research into phonetic
                                                                   detail.
their system. Again, in English English /ʊə/ is in the course
of disappearing from the phonemic inventory. Faced with a
question such as whether sure (traditionally /ʃʊə/) is or is                            REFERENCES
not a homophone of shore /ʃɔː/, the honest answer for some
speakers is sometimes yes, sometimes no. Their usage is            [1] A.   Martinet, La prononciation            du    français
inconsistent, their mental lexicon contains both                       contemporain, Paris: Droz, 1945.
possibilities, and their preference is undecided. This was         [2] H. Walter, La dynamique des phonèmes dans le lexique
allowed for in the 1998 LPD survey:                                    français contemporain, Paris: France Expansion, 1976.
shore (edge of the sea) and sure (certain)                         [3] A. Martinet et H. Walter, Dictionnaire de la
a. these two words sound exactly the same
                                                                       prononciation française dans son usage réel, Paris:
b. these words sound different from one another
                                                                       France-Expansion, 1973.
c. sometimes the same, sometimes different
                                                                   [4] J.C. Wells, “Age grading in English pronunciation
In other cases it may be better to present respondents with a
                                                                       preferences”, Proceedings of the XIIIth ICPhS 95,
forced choice, which is simpler for statistical processing.
                                                                       Stockholm, vol. 3, pp. 696-699, 1995.
Weak vowels present a particular problem. As any teacher
                                                                   [5] J.C. Wells, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, first
of English phonetics knows, beginners tend to deny the
                                                                       edition, Harlow: Longman, 1990.
existence of vowel weakening (reduction). The spelling
reinforces their view. To elicit data about preferences in the     [6] Y. Shitara, “A survey of American pronunciation
suffix -less the LPD 1998 survey wording was as follows:               preferences”, Speech Hearing and Language, work in
                                                                       progress vol. 7, University College London, 1993.
careless (inattentive, unthinking)     Focus on -less
a. the vowel sound is as in the second syllable                    [7] J.C. Wells, “Pronunciation preferences in British
                            of callous (harsh)                         English: a new survey”, Proceedings of the XIVth
b. the vowel sound is as in the second syllable of Alice               ICPhS 99, San Francisco, 1999.
c. callous and Alice rhyme anyhow,
                            so can’t decide between a and b        [8] J.C. Wells, “British English pronunciation preferences:
d. the vowel sound is as in the word less                              a changing scene”, JIPA 29(1): 33-50, 1999.
Presumably answer d. is simply wrong as far as the actual          [9] W. Labov, The social stratification of English in New
performance of native speakers of British or American                  York City, Washington DC: Center for Applied
English is concerned. Yet 38% of respondents voted for it.             Linguistics, 1966.
Their expressed preference coincides with no one’s usage
in the real world. Perhaps a more realistic response would         [10] P. Trudgill, On dialect, Oxford: Blackwell, pp.173ff.,
have been obtained if the respondents had had to listen to             1983.
the different options, rather than read about them. Would
they still have voted for the option that suggests only
                                                                   [11] A. Martinet, Phonology as functional phonetics,
                                                                       Publications of the Philological Society xv, London:
African English or foreigner-talk?
                                                                       Oxford University Press, 1949.
What we cannot ask for is information about phonetic
realization. Details relating to positional allophones of          [12] N.    Trubetzkoy, “Phonologie et géographie
vowels, velarization of consonants, kinds of r-sound —                 linguistique”, Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de
interesting as they may be in the description of English               Prague, 4:228-234, 1931.
phonetics — are normally just not available to the                 [13] J.C. Wells, Accents of English, Cambridge:
introspection of non-phoneticians. People are generally                Cambridge University Press, vol. 1, pp. 73-80, 1982.

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Hassan presentation of corpus
Hassan presentation of corpusHassan presentation of corpus
Hassan presentation of corpusHassan Ammar
 
Contrastive linguistic por julio cesar coloma
Contrastive linguistic por julio cesar colomaContrastive linguistic por julio cesar coloma
Contrastive linguistic por julio cesar colomaJulioCesar789
 
Supporting Readers Presentation
Supporting Readers PresentationSupporting Readers Presentation
Supporting Readers PresentationMarye Helms
 
Unit 2 Story 3 These Robots are Wild
Unit 2 Story 3 These Robots are WildUnit 2 Story 3 These Robots are Wild
Unit 2 Story 3 These Robots are WildCarolyn Speers
 
Can you really trust your intuition?
Can you really trust your intuition?Can you really trust your intuition?
Can you really trust your intuition?bob_ashcroft
 
Corpus linguistics
Corpus linguisticsCorpus linguistics
Corpus linguisticsIrum Malik
 
Involvement in personal narratives-ma of learner language
Involvement in personal narratives-ma of learner languageInvolvement in personal narratives-ma of learner language
Involvement in personal narratives-ma of learner languagePascual Pérez-Paredes
 
Tg first quarter_grade_7_english
Tg first quarter_grade_7_englishTg first quarter_grade_7_english
Tg first quarter_grade_7_englishM J
 
Giving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing language
Giving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing languageGiving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing language
Giving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing languageFrancis Gilbert
 
The assignment
The assignmentThe assignment
The assignmentayfa
 
The assignment
The assignmentThe assignment
The assignmentayfa
 

Tendances (18)

Hassan presentation of corpus
Hassan presentation of corpusHassan presentation of corpus
Hassan presentation of corpus
 
Contrastive linguistic por julio cesar coloma
Contrastive linguistic por julio cesar colomaContrastive linguistic por julio cesar coloma
Contrastive linguistic por julio cesar coloma
 
ISB
ISBISB
ISB
 
Supporting Readers Presentation
Supporting Readers PresentationSupporting Readers Presentation
Supporting Readers Presentation
 
Unit 2 Story 3 These Robots are Wild
Unit 2 Story 3 These Robots are WildUnit 2 Story 3 These Robots are Wild
Unit 2 Story 3 These Robots are Wild
 
Can you really trust your intuition?
Can you really trust your intuition?Can you really trust your intuition?
Can you really trust your intuition?
 
Corpus linguistics
Corpus linguisticsCorpus linguistics
Corpus linguistics
 
Alister
AlisterAlister
Alister
 
Pagbaybay na pasalita
Pagbaybay na pasalitaPagbaybay na pasalita
Pagbaybay na pasalita
 
Corpus linguistics
Corpus linguisticsCorpus linguistics
Corpus linguistics
 
Involvement in personal narratives-ma of learner language
Involvement in personal narratives-ma of learner languageInvolvement in personal narratives-ma of learner language
Involvement in personal narratives-ma of learner language
 
Tg first quarter_grade_7_english
Tg first quarter_grade_7_englishTg first quarter_grade_7_english
Tg first quarter_grade_7_english
 
Ijsrp p11202
Ijsrp p11202Ijsrp p11202
Ijsrp p11202
 
T0 numtq0nzq=
T0 numtq0nzq=T0 numtq0nzq=
T0 numtq0nzq=
 
Specialist genres
Specialist genresSpecialist genres
Specialist genres
 
Giving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing language
Giving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing languageGiving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing language
Giving able pupils a solid theoretical framework for analysing language
 
The assignment
The assignmentThe assignment
The assignment
 
The assignment
The assignmentThe assignment
The assignment
 

Similaire à Pronuciation research article

Phonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL students
Phonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL studentsPhonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL students
Phonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL studentsguest5763f0
 
Lin101 introduction to linguistics
Lin101 introduction to linguisticsLin101 introduction to linguistics
Lin101 introduction to linguisticsDr. Russell Rodrigo
 
Text 1.11 And The Language
Text 1.11 And The LanguageText 1.11 And The Language
Text 1.11 And The LanguageCandice Him
 
Research Project and PDP- 100192349
Research Project and PDP- 100192349Research Project and PDP- 100192349
Research Project and PDP- 100192349Jane McDonnell
 
Example Of Distinctive Feature Theory
Example Of Distinctive Feature TheoryExample Of Distinctive Feature Theory
Example Of Distinctive Feature TheoryChristy Hunt
 
ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...
ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES  S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES  S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...
ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...Sara Alvarez
 
Conversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred Responses
Conversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred ResponsesConversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred Responses
Conversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred ResponsesRoberto Criollo
 
Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)
Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)
Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)1213anita
 
The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...
The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...
The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...UCsanatadharma
 
Psycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisition
Psycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisitionPsycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisition
Psycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisitionSubmissionResearchpa
 
The Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation Instruction
The Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation InstructionThe Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation Instruction
The Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation Instructionenglishonecfl
 
Tesol2011 pc
Tesol2011 pcTesol2011 pc
Tesol2011 pcvacurves
 
Ujian compre
Ujian compreUjian compre
Ujian comprebharoes
 
Native Vs Non-Native Accent
Native Vs Non-Native AccentNative Vs Non-Native Accent
Native Vs Non-Native AccentSalah Mhamdi
 
Testing pronunciation seminar
Testing pronunciation seminarTesting pronunciation seminar
Testing pronunciation seminarIrina K
 
Syllable Division
Syllable DivisionSyllable Division
Syllable DivisionCola Gigli
 
Language Is A Common Mistake
Language Is A Common MistakeLanguage Is A Common Mistake
Language Is A Common MistakeBrenda Torres
 

Similaire à Pronuciation research article (20)

Phonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL students
Phonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL studentsPhonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL students
Phonemic categorizations of English stops among native speaking/EFL/ESL students
 
Phonology
PhonologyPhonology
Phonology
 
Lin101 introduction to linguistics
Lin101 introduction to linguisticsLin101 introduction to linguistics
Lin101 introduction to linguistics
 
Text 1.11 And The Language
Text 1.11 And The LanguageText 1.11 And The Language
Text 1.11 And The Language
 
Research Project and PDP- 100192349
Research Project and PDP- 100192349Research Project and PDP- 100192349
Research Project and PDP- 100192349
 
Example Of Distinctive Feature Theory
Example Of Distinctive Feature TheoryExample Of Distinctive Feature Theory
Example Of Distinctive Feature Theory
 
Age
AgeAge
Age
 
ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...
ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES  S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES  S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...
ANALYSIS OF A SELECTED BARGAIN DISCOURSE USING DELL HYMES S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. M...
 
Conversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred Responses
Conversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred ResponsesConversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred Responses
Conversation Analysis: Directness in NNS's Dispreferred Responses
 
Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)
Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)
Speech Act (Andrew D. Cohen)
 
The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...
The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...
The Influence of [b], [d], and [ð] of Blitar Javanese Phonemes to the Aqcuisi...
 
Psycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisition
Psycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisitionPsycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisition
Psycholinguistic conditions in vocabulary acquisition
 
The Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation Instruction
The Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation InstructionThe Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation Instruction
The Lingua Franca Core A New Model For Pronunciation Instruction
 
Tesol2011 pc
Tesol2011 pcTesol2011 pc
Tesol2011 pc
 
Ujian compre
Ujian compreUjian compre
Ujian compre
 
Native Vs Non-Native Accent
Native Vs Non-Native AccentNative Vs Non-Native Accent
Native Vs Non-Native Accent
 
Testing pronunciation seminar
Testing pronunciation seminarTesting pronunciation seminar
Testing pronunciation seminar
 
sociolinguistics
sociolinguisticssociolinguistics
sociolinguistics
 
Syllable Division
Syllable DivisionSyllable Division
Syllable Division
 
Language Is A Common Mistake
Language Is A Common MistakeLanguage Is A Common Mistake
Language Is A Common Mistake
 

Dernier

Patterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptx
Patterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptxPatterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptx
Patterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptxMYDA ANGELICA SUAN
 
HED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdf
HED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdfHED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdf
HED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdfMohonDas
 
Benefits & Challenges of Inclusive Education
Benefits & Challenges of Inclusive EducationBenefits & Challenges of Inclusive Education
Benefits & Challenges of Inclusive EducationMJDuyan
 
How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17
How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17
How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17Celine George
 
5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...
5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...
5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...CaraSkikne1
 
2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx
2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx
2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptxSandy Millin
 
M-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptx
M-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptxM-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptx
M-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptxDr. Santhosh Kumar. N
 
CAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptx
CAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptxCAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptx
CAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptxSaurabhParmar42
 
Clinical Pharmacy Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptx
Clinical Pharmacy  Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptxClinical Pharmacy  Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptx
Clinical Pharmacy Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptxraviapr7
 
AUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptxAUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptxiammrhaywood
 
CapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptx
CapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptxCapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptx
CapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptxCapitolTechU
 
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptxThe basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptxheathfieldcps1
 
The Singapore Teaching Practice document
The Singapore Teaching Practice documentThe Singapore Teaching Practice document
The Singapore Teaching Practice documentXsasf Sfdfasd
 
Prescribed medication order and communication skills.pptx
Prescribed medication order and communication skills.pptxPrescribed medication order and communication skills.pptx
Prescribed medication order and communication skills.pptxraviapr7
 
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...raviapr7
 
Education and training program in the hospital APR.pptx
Education and training program in the hospital APR.pptxEducation and training program in the hospital APR.pptx
Education and training program in the hospital APR.pptxraviapr7
 
How to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 Sales
How to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 SalesHow to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 Sales
How to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 SalesCeline George
 
PISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptx
PISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptxPISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptx
PISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptxEduSkills OECD
 
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptxmary850239
 

Dernier (20)

Patterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptx
Patterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptxPatterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptx
Patterns of Written Texts Across Disciplines.pptx
 
HED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdf
HED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdfHED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdf
HED Office Sohayok Exam Question Solution 2023.pdf
 
Benefits & Challenges of Inclusive Education
Benefits & Challenges of Inclusive EducationBenefits & Challenges of Inclusive Education
Benefits & Challenges of Inclusive Education
 
How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17
How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17
How to Use api.constrains ( ) in Odoo 17
 
5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...
5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...
5 charts on South Africa as a source country for international student recrui...
 
2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx
2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx
2024.03.23 What do successful readers do - Sandy Millin for PARK.pptx
 
M-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptx
M-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptxM-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptx
M-2- General Reactions of amino acids.pptx
 
CAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptx
CAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptxCAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptx
CAULIFLOWER BREEDING 1 Parmar pptx
 
Clinical Pharmacy Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptx
Clinical Pharmacy  Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptxClinical Pharmacy  Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptx
Clinical Pharmacy Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy, Concept of clinical pptx
 
AUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptxAUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY -- FANDOM -- JENKINS.pptx
 
CapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptx
CapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptxCapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptx
CapTechU Doctoral Presentation -March 2024 slides.pptx
 
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptxThe basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 10pptx.pptx
 
The Singapore Teaching Practice document
The Singapore Teaching Practice documentThe Singapore Teaching Practice document
The Singapore Teaching Practice document
 
Prescribed medication order and communication skills.pptx
Prescribed medication order and communication skills.pptxPrescribed medication order and communication skills.pptx
Prescribed medication order and communication skills.pptx
 
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
Patient Counselling. Definition of patient counseling; steps involved in pati...
 
Education and training program in the hospital APR.pptx
Education and training program in the hospital APR.pptxEducation and training program in the hospital APR.pptx
Education and training program in the hospital APR.pptx
 
How to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 Sales
How to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 SalesHow to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 Sales
How to Manage Cross-Selling in Odoo 17 Sales
 
PISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptx
PISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptxPISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptx
PISA-VET launch_El Iza Mohamedou_19 March 2024.pptx
 
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx3.21.24  The Origins of Black Power.pptx
3.21.24 The Origins of Black Power.pptx
 
Finals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quiz
Finals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quizFinals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quiz
Finals of Kant get Marx 2.0 : a general politics quiz
 

Pronuciation research article

  • 1. Pronunciation research by written questionnaire J.C. Wells University College London E-mail: j.wells@phon.ucl.ac.uk the number of syllables in a word, or obstruent voicing ABSTRACT assimilation: This paper discusses pronunciation research using a written Avez-vous l’impression de prononcer: a) le d questionnaire to ask people overt questions about their de médecin comme un d ou comme un t ? … pronunciation. Several investigations that have used this b) le b d’absent comme un b ou comme un approach are discussed. The technique is particularly p ?… useful for large-scale surveys of variability in lexical What all these questions have in common is that they do not incidence or in the phonological system. It is unsuitable for address matters of phonetic detail, but only matters of surveying variability in phonetic realization. phonology. 1. INTRODUCTION “If this had been a phonetic survey aiming to determine the exact nature of this or that Dialectologists have always been ready to ask language articulation by a given subject, the oral consultants (informants) questions about lexical matters method would have been the only advisable (‘What is your word for this?’). Syntacticians readily seek one, indeed the only possible one. But since out the opinion of speakers on whether some proposed it was a phonological survey … the presence string of words is acceptable (well-formed) or not (‘Can of an expert observer was much less you say two furnitures?’). Such questions can be asked indispensable.” [My translation. – JCW] either orally or in writing. In this session I want to argue Thirty years later, still dealing with French, Walter’s survey that some aspects of pronunciation, too, can be usefully [2] was equally phonological, but returned to ‘the oral investigated by the administration of a written method’, perhaps since audio recording techniques had questionnaire. now become readily available. Her sample size was a mere Ever since Chomsky redefined the goals of linguistics, seventeen people. This survey is particularly noteworthy, linguists have been attempting to model the knowledge of however, in that it appears to be the first to have been language that the native speaker carries in the mind. If we carried out explicitly as part of the research for a can speak a language, one of the things we know is how to pronunciation dictionary [3]. This dictionary, claiming in pronounce it. The task of the phonetician, it may be argued its title to be concerned with French pronunciation ‘as it — or at least one task — is to model that knowledge. Some really is’, reports for some thousands of words which of the (but by no means all) of this knowledge is available to informants (identified as a to y) pronounced what. introspection, and therefore for investigation by written JEÛNE nm questionnaire. ʒøn (abcdgjlprtvwx) This is not a new idea. In 1945 Martinet [1] published a ʒœn (dmny) justly famous survey of the phonology of spoken French ʒœ:n (k) using as his respondents French officers in a prisoner-of-war camp. Most of his questions concerned the identity or non-identity of minimal pairs: 2. THE LPD SURVEYS Prononcez-vous de façon identique: a) jeune In preparing a new pronunciation dictionary of English, the et jeûne ? … b) veule et veulent ? … c) filleul Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, I felt the need to et filleule ? … supplement my own intuitions — both as a native speaker of RP-style English and as a long-time observer of the (i.e. in this case exploring the putative opposition /œ - ø/). speech of those around me — with some kind of objective Other questions concerned the presence of absence of the data regarding the relative prevalence of the competing so-called e muet, the French schwa that comes and goes: pronunciations of various words that I knew to be subject to fluctuating or contentious pronunciation. An example Quelle prononciation vous paraît la plus would be zebra, pronounced by some as /ˈzi:brə/ but by naturelle … de j’me dis, je m’dis, je me dis ? others as /ˈzebrə/. Rather than attempt to explore data from Others again concerned such matters as liaison consonants, a spoken corpus (something impossible then, and far from
  • 2. easy today), I carried out an opinion poll of speakers’ those with only a high school diploma, 69% among those preferences in such words. I used a written questionnaire to with an associate’s degree from a community college, 62% ask a sample of speakers of British English a battery of among those with a bachelor’s degree, and only 55% some ninety such questions [4]. The findings of this survey among those with a postgraduate degree. Another were duly published in the first edition of the dictionary [5]. interesting finding, shown in fig. 2, was that younger people are significantly more likely than older people to This sort of question is readily understood by everyone, prefer /ɔ/ (as against /ɑ/) in orange and tomorrow. non-phoneticians and phoneticians alike. Indeed, many laymen have strong views about such matters. The survey was based on a postal questionnaire submitted to a panel of 275 native speakers of British English. Many were professionally concerned with speech in some way (e.g. as academic phoneticians or radio announcers), but more than a quarter of them were volunteers recruited from among the general public. The survey revealed that for zebra 83% preferred /e/ and only 17% /i:/. This finding was reported in the dictionary, along with the findings for the other ninety words investigated. Whereas Walter used too few informants to enable any statistical inferences to be made about possible associations between phonological and social variables, the larger sample size of this first LPD survey was sufficient to permit several such inferences. In particular, an association between pronunciation preference and respondent’s age o(range)≠(kn)o(t) group became evident in several of the words investigated. (tom)o(rrow)≠(kn)o(t) Fig. 2. AmE vowel preferences, by age ([6]) In 1998, in preparation for a revised edition of LPD, I conducted a further similar survey of British pronunciation preferences, using the largest sample yet — 1932 respondents from all parts of Britain [7, 8], who gave their views on a further hundred items. The sample size made possible some statistically very robust conclusions about associations between pronunciation preferences and respondents’ age. Fig. 1. BrE stress preferences, by age ([4]) Fig.1 demonstrates the change in stress pattern preferences in the words applicable, formidable, and kilometre: younger respondents were more likely than older respondents to vote for antepenultimate stress (as opposed to initial stress). Following up the first LPD survey, Shitara [6] carried out a similar survey of American English pronunciation preferences. She questioned a sample of 395 native Fig. 3. BrE preferences for [tʃ] over [tj], by age [8] speakers, most of them academics in phonetics/linguistics, Rather than answering in handwriting on a paper form, language teachers or students, following the same respondents were also offered the option of answering by procedure. Again, given this larger sample size, it was e-mail or on the web. possible to demonstrate differences in pronunciation preferences between different age groups and also certain correlations with region, sex, ethnicity, and occupation. 3. THE QUESTIONNAIRE For example, Shitara found that the percentage preferring Sociolinguists are well aware that informants are not able to /-bju-/ rather than /-bru-/ in February was 78% among give an accurate account of their own pronunciation. Labov
  • 3. pointed out [9] that “in the conscious report of their own Two words rhyme, in the English-language understanding usage … New York respondents are very inaccurate”, of this term, if and only if they are pronounced identically generally over-reporting, i.e. claiming to use more in respect of the primary-stressed vowel and whatever prestigious variants than they really did. Trudgill [10], follows that vowel. We can therefore often use rhyming and however, found that in Norwich there was a sex difference, non-rhyming to identify post-stress consonants (notably with women indeed tending to over-report, but men on the final consonants) and of course vowels. contrary tending to under-report. one (count: one, two, three) Focus on the vowel sound The LPD surveys, accordingly, did not ask respondents to a. /wɒn/ the word rhymes with John, on report their actual usage. Rather, respondents were asked b. /wʌn/ the word rhymes with gun, son which they preferred of a number of variant pronunciations of each questionnaire item. Furthermore, Where identification by rhyming is not feasible, we must do these variants were such as to be available to the conscious our best to identify sounds in other ways. Given the popular awareness of the respondents, and such that their association of the terms “vowel” and “consonant” with identification did not require any specialized phonetic letters rather than with sounds, it is important to be explicit knowledge. that we are concerned with sounds. In each survey the questionnaire consisted of about a to associate (to combine, connect) Focus on the -oci- hundred multiple-choice questions. The instructions given a. /-s-/ the consonant sound is as in (neur)osis, gross to respondents typically asked them to “indicate the b. /-ʃ-/ the consonant sound is as in ocean, motion pronunciation you prefer. Usually this will also be your own pronunciation”. A typical question took the following Respelling, likewise, may be straightforward in some cases form: but fraught with difficulty in others. Asia (name of continent) Focus on the –s- chrysanthemum (a flower) Focus on the -san-. a. /ˈeɪʃə/ the consonant sound is as in pressure AYSH-uh a. /-s-/ the middle bit is like san kri-SAN-themum b. /-z-/ the middle bit is like zan kri-ZAN-themum b. /ˈeɪʒə/ the consonant sound is as in measure AYZH-uh direction (the way someone is facing or moving) Notice here that the target is first presented in ordinary Focus on the first syllable spelling. To ensure that the respondent has identified the right lexical item, it is then glossed. The respondent’s a. /daɪ-/ the vowel sound is as in die DIE-rection attention is then drawn to the part of the word on which to b. /daɪə-/ the vowel sound is as in dire DIRE-rection focus, and the two (or more) options are presented: in IPA, c. /dɪ-/ the vowel sound is as in dig DIH-rection by comparison with other words, and in respelling. d. /də-/ the vowel sound is as in the last part of ladder DUH-rection 4. RHYMING AND RESPELLING English spelling conventions offer no way of unambiguously indicating short vowels in non-final open When the language under investigation is English, the syllables. Nor is there a satisfactory respelling for /aʊ/ to notorious inadequacy of English spelling makes it distinguish it from /əʊ/, since its two usual spellings are appropriate, as in the example given, to identify these both ambiguous, as seen in now and snow, foul and soul. options in more than one way. The IPA transcription targets the phonetician and the knowledgeable layman; then follows an explanation in terms of similar-sounding words, 5. PHONOLOGY VERSUS PHONETICS and finally the respelling, which is intended to be self-explanatory to anyone accustomed to the spelling Martinet, the pioneer of written questionaires in conventions of English. pronunciation research, famously was also the first to define phonology as functional phonetics [11]. It was with In other languages, where the relationship between this in mind that he characterized his own study [1] as orthography and pronunciation is more direct, this degree dealing with phonology rather than with phonetics. In of repetition may not be necessary. Trubetzkoyan terms [12, 13], he was concerned with questions of the system (the number and identity of the Particular care must be taken in cases where ordinary items in the phonemic inventory) and with questions of spelling conventions are ambiguous. In the identification of lexical incidence (how phonemes are distributed in consonants, this applies to pairs such as /θ-ð, s-z, ʃ-ʒ/. particular lexical items, given the phonemic system). He Sometimes possible rhymes can be exploited in the also dealt with matters of phonotactics (what sequences of questionnaire; sometimes other devices may be needed. phonemes are permitted in particular positions), something booth (stall, telephone box) Focus on the -th that rather falls outside Trubetzkoy’s scope. He firmly a. /buːθ/ the word rhymes exactly with truth eschews questions of phonetic realization. b. /buːð/ the word rhymes exactly with smooth Perhaps the easiest matter to investigate is lexical incidence, including stress placement. Respondents appear to have a
  • 4. good feel for it, and can usually answer confidently. aware only of the default realization of a phoneme. They cannot tell you whether they prefer (or use) clear /l/ or dark The location of a word’s primary stress is something on /l/ in vitally. They do not know how much labialization they which respondents often hold strong views — not only in use for initial /r/. notorious cases such as controversy, but also in less fraught cases such as applicable, kilometre, Caribbean. Nor are stated allophonic preferences of much value. Speech-conscious people such as volunteer to answer Equally, we can readily ask about /ʃ/ vs/ ʒ/ in Asia, /θ/ vs/ ð/ written questionnaires generally claim to prefer [t] over [ʔ] in booth, and /ʌ/ vs. /ɒ/ in one, as exemplified above: all are under all circumstances. Perhaps if we were to present them matters of lexical incidence. with audio clips of, say, atmosphere as [ˈætnməs-], This does not apply where the phonemic system is [ˈætʔməs-], [ˈæʔməs-], pronounced by a phonetician able to uncertain or variable at the relevant point. We can ask the keep everything else constant, we would get a more English whether they prefer room with /uː/ or /ʊ/, but it is realistic answer. Meanwhile, we certainly cannot use a pointless to ask the Scots, who have no such opposition in purely written questionnaire for research into phonetic detail. their system. Again, in English English /ʊə/ is in the course of disappearing from the phonemic inventory. Faced with a question such as whether sure (traditionally /ʃʊə/) is or is REFERENCES not a homophone of shore /ʃɔː/, the honest answer for some speakers is sometimes yes, sometimes no. Their usage is [1] A. Martinet, La prononciation du français inconsistent, their mental lexicon contains both contemporain, Paris: Droz, 1945. possibilities, and their preference is undecided. This was [2] H. Walter, La dynamique des phonèmes dans le lexique allowed for in the 1998 LPD survey: français contemporain, Paris: France Expansion, 1976. shore (edge of the sea) and sure (certain) [3] A. Martinet et H. Walter, Dictionnaire de la a. these two words sound exactly the same prononciation française dans son usage réel, Paris: b. these words sound different from one another France-Expansion, 1973. c. sometimes the same, sometimes different [4] J.C. Wells, “Age grading in English pronunciation In other cases it may be better to present respondents with a preferences”, Proceedings of the XIIIth ICPhS 95, forced choice, which is simpler for statistical processing. Stockholm, vol. 3, pp. 696-699, 1995. Weak vowels present a particular problem. As any teacher [5] J.C. Wells, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, first of English phonetics knows, beginners tend to deny the edition, Harlow: Longman, 1990. existence of vowel weakening (reduction). The spelling reinforces their view. To elicit data about preferences in the [6] Y. Shitara, “A survey of American pronunciation suffix -less the LPD 1998 survey wording was as follows: preferences”, Speech Hearing and Language, work in progress vol. 7, University College London, 1993. careless (inattentive, unthinking) Focus on -less a. the vowel sound is as in the second syllable [7] J.C. Wells, “Pronunciation preferences in British of callous (harsh) English: a new survey”, Proceedings of the XIVth b. the vowel sound is as in the second syllable of Alice ICPhS 99, San Francisco, 1999. c. callous and Alice rhyme anyhow, so can’t decide between a and b [8] J.C. Wells, “British English pronunciation preferences: d. the vowel sound is as in the word less a changing scene”, JIPA 29(1): 33-50, 1999. Presumably answer d. is simply wrong as far as the actual [9] W. Labov, The social stratification of English in New performance of native speakers of British or American York City, Washington DC: Center for Applied English is concerned. Yet 38% of respondents voted for it. Linguistics, 1966. Their expressed preference coincides with no one’s usage in the real world. Perhaps a more realistic response would [10] P. Trudgill, On dialect, Oxford: Blackwell, pp.173ff., have been obtained if the respondents had had to listen to 1983. the different options, rather than read about them. Would they still have voted for the option that suggests only [11] A. Martinet, Phonology as functional phonetics, Publications of the Philological Society xv, London: African English or foreigner-talk? Oxford University Press, 1949. What we cannot ask for is information about phonetic realization. Details relating to positional allophones of [12] N. Trubetzkoy, “Phonologie et géographie vowels, velarization of consonants, kinds of r-sound — linguistique”, Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de interesting as they may be in the description of English Prague, 4:228-234, 1931. phonetics — are normally just not available to the [13] J.C. Wells, Accents of English, Cambridge: introspection of non-phoneticians. People are generally Cambridge University Press, vol. 1, pp. 73-80, 1982.