Phonological Intelligibility: A Study of Malay and Chinese Learners of English in Malaysia

Abstract

This study examines the phonological intelligibility of segmental features in interactions between 22 Malay and Chinese learners of English in Malaysia. The database contains about 23 hours of interactions based on four information gap tasks. The features draw on the Lingua Franca Core introduced by Jenkins (2000, 2004). The goals of this study are to identify segmental features that affect phonological intelligibility in these interactions; and to ascertain whether phonological accommodation occurs in same-L1 and different-L1 interactions

Phonological intelligibility in L2 varieties of English should be examined from the point of the view of its speakers and hearers, the NNSs, who use English for international as well as intranational communication, predominantly with other NNSs. These NNSs are rarely monolinguals learning English in a NS context. This mirrors the situation in Malaysia, where English has played a dominant role for intercultural communication in its multicultural society.