The consonantal system typical of mesolectal speech of English in Malaysia and Singapore (EMS) is described, and the differences noted between this and the general English consonant system. Four categories of difference may be found (systemic, realisational, struc tural and selectional), of which the most serious consequences is loss of intelligibility. The importance of these differences is assessed by reference to various criteria, including the occurrence and prestige/ stigmatisation of EMS features in other accents, the maintenance of perceptual distance between realisations, and the frequency of occur rence of features in connected speech. On the basis of these criteria, priorities are established for EMS language teachers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abercrombie, D.1956. Problems and Principles: Studies in the Teaching of English as a Second LanguageLondon: Longmans, Green.
2.
Abercrombie, D.1979. The accents of Standard English in Scotland. In A.J. Aitken & T. McArthur (eds, 1979). Languages of Scotland . Edinburgh: Chambers. 68-84.
3.
Aitken, A.J.1984. Scottish accents and dialects In P. Trudgill (ed., 1984). 94-114.
4.
Brown, A. forthcoming a. Vowel differences between Received Pronunciation and the English of Malaysia and Singapore: which one really matter? In J. Foley (ed.).
5.
Brown, A. forthcoming b. The staccato effect in the pronunciation of English in Malaysia and Singapore In J. Foley (ed.).
6.
Downes, W.1984. Language and Society. London : Fontana.
7.
Eisenstein, M.1983. Native reactions to non-active speech: a review of empirical researchStudies in Second Language Acquisition5:160-1976 (and bibliography, pp.237-249).
8.
Foley, J. ed., forthcoming. Studies in Singaporean English.Singapore: Singapore University Press.
9.
Gimson, A.C.1980. An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English (3rd edition). London: ELBS & Edward Arnold.
10.
Guy, G.R.1980. Variation in the group and the individual: the case of final stop decision. In W. Labov (ed., 1980) Locating Language in time and Space.New York: Academic Press. 1-36.
11.
Halliday, M.A.K., McIntosh, A. & Strevens, P.1964. The Linguistic Sciences and Language TeachingLondon: Longmans.
12.
Jones, D.1967. Everyman's English Pronuncing Dictionary (13th edition). London: Dent.
13.
Kachru, B.B.1976. Models of English for the Third World: white man's linguistic burden or language pragmatics?TESOL Quarterly10: 221-239. Also in J.C. Richards (ed., 1979). 1-7.
14.
Ladefoged, P.1982. A Course in Phonetics (2nd edition). New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Platt, J.T.1982. English in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong In R.W. Bailey & M. Gorlach (eds., 1982) English as a World Language.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 384-414.
17.
Platt, J.T. & Weber, H.1980. English in Singapore and Malaysia: Status, Features, FunctionsOxford: Oxford University Press.
18.
Prator, C.H.1968. The British heresy in TESL In J.A. Fishman, C.A. Ferguson & J. Das Gupta (eds., 1968) Language Problems in Developing Nations.New York: John Wiley & Sons. 459-476.
19.
Ramsaran, S.M.1978. Phonetic and phonological correlates of style in Engish: a preliminary investigation Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University College London.
20.
Richards, J.C. ed., 1979. New Varieties of English: Issues and Approaches.Singapore: RELC Occasional papers no. 8.
21.
Roach, P.1973. Glottalisation of English /p/, /t/, /k/ and /t∫/: a re-examinationJournal of the International Phonetic Association3:10-21.
22.
Siew, S.Y.1984. An investigation of the clues given by misspellings for the phonemic system of the Singaporean pronunciation of English Unpublished honours dissertation, Department of English Language & Literature, National University of Singapore.
23.
Smith, L.E. ed., 1983. Readings of English as an International Language.Oxford: Pergamon.
24.
Smith, L.E. & Bisazza, J.A.1982. The comprehensibility of three varieties of English for college students in seven countries. Language Learning32:259-269. Also in L.E. Smith (ed., 1983). 59-67.
25.
Smith, L.E. & Rafiqzad, K.1979. English for cross-cultural communication : the question of intelligibilityTESOL Quarterly13:371-380. Also in L.E. Smith (ed., 1983). 49-58.
26.
Strevens, P.1978. English as an international language: when is a local form of English a suitable target for ELT purposes? ELT Documents 102: English as an International Language. London: ETIC. 25-33.
27.
Strevens, P.1981. What is Standard English?RELC Journal12(2):1-9. Also in P. Strevens (1982) what is Standard English? Singapore: RELC Occasional papers no. 23. 1-8.
28.
Tay, M.1979. The uses, users and features of English in Singapore In J.C. Richards (ed., 1979). 91-111. Also in J.B. Pride (ed., 1982) New Englishes. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House. 51-70.
29.
Tay, M.1982. The phonology of educated Singapore EnglishEnglish Worldwide3:135-145.
30.
Tay, M. & Gupta, A.F.1983. Towards a description of standard Singapore English In R.B. Noss (ed., 1983) Varieties of English in Southeast Asia.Singapore: RELC Anthology Series no. 11. 173-189.
31.
Tongue, R.K.1979. The English of Singapore and Malaysia (2nd edition)Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
32.
Trudgill, P.1975. Accent, Dialect and the SchoolLondon : Edward Arnold.
33.
Trudgill, P.1984. Standard English in England In P. Trudgill (ed., 1984). 32-44.
34.
Trudgill, P. ed., 1984.Language in the British Isles.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
35.
Trudgill, P. & Hannah, J.1982. International English: A Guide to Varieties of Standard EnglishLondon: Edward Arnold.
36.
Wells, J.C.1982. Accents of English (3 volumes)Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
37.
Wells, J.C.1984. English accents in England In P. Trudgill (ed., 1984). 55-69.
