Title
Patterns of variation in the consonantal phonology of Hong Kong English
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
English World-Wide
Publication Date
5-1-2010
Volume
31
Issue
2
First Page
138
Last Page
161
Keywords
Hong Kong English, Implicational scaling, Intelligibility, New varieties of English, Phonological features
Abstract
This paper examines inter-speaker phonological variation within a mini-corpus of spoken Hong Kong English. The study focuses on consonantal features, and indicates that variation in the use of these features follows patterns that are implicational or hierarchical in nature. The findings are presented in the form of an implicational scale, in which the use of a particular feature by a speaker implies the use of other features by that speaker. The implicational patterns are discussed with reference to the intelligibility characteristics of the features and possible developmental pathways among L2 users. The possible relevance of the findings for areas of study such as the description of new varieties of English is also considered, with particular regard to pedagogical applications.
DOI
10.1075/eww.31.2.02sew
Print ISSN
01728865
E-ISSN
15699730
Publisher Statement
Copyright © John Benjamins Publishing Company
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Sewell, A., & Chan, J. (2010). Patterns of variation in the consonantal phonology of Hong Kong English. English World-Wide, 31(2), 138-161. doi: 10.1075/eww.31.2.02sew
