Consonant clusters and intelligibility in English as a Lingua Franca in Japan

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
George O’Neal

This is a qualitative study of the relationship between consonant cluster articulation and intelligibility in English as a Lingua Franca interactions in Japan (Jenkins 2000; Matsumoto 2011). Some research has claimed that the full articulation of consonant clusters in lexeme-initial and lexeme-medial position is critical to the maintenance of intelligibility (Jenkins 2000, 2002, 2007; Walker 2010; Deterding 2013). Using conversation analytic methodology to examine a corpus of repair sequences in interactions among English as a Lingua Franca speakers at a Japanese university, this study claims that consonant elision in consonant clusters in lexeme-initial, lexeme-medial, and lexeme-final position can attenuate intelligibility, and that the insertion of an elided consonant into a word that was oriented to as unintelligible can help restore intelligibility in English as a Lingua Franca.

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1144-1171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharynne McLeod ◽  
Jan van Doorn ◽  
Vicki A. Reed

A holistic view of phonological development can be attained only through exploration of the relationship between universal developmental sequences, to establish a general pattern of development and individual learning and to provide information regarding variability. This study examined consonant cluster production, looking specifically at the relationship between general trends and individual differences as children acquire these sounds. The spontaneous speech of 16 normally developing Anglo-Australian 2-year-olds was elicited monthly for 6 months, and the corpus of 96 samples was examined using independent and relational phonological analyses. Data demonstrated that 2-year-olds were able to produce a range of consonant clusters in word-initial and word-final position, but few of the younger participants could produce consonant clusters correctly. Only half of the participants showed an increase in the percent of consonant clusters produced correctly over the 6-month period; however, their developing phonological maturity was revealed in the increase in the range and diversity of their repertoire of consonant clusters and by their closer approximations to the adult target. Specific findings of the study were compared to 10 trends for children's acquisition of consonant clusters emerging from the literature over the last 70 years.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-217
Author(s):  
Karijn G. Nijhoff

This paper explores the relationship between education and labour market positioning in The Hague, a Dutch city with a unique labour market. One of the main minority groups, Turkish-Dutch, is the focus in this qualitative study on higher educated minorities and their labour market success. Interviews reveal that the obstacles the respondents face are linked to discrimination and network limitation. The respondents perceive “personal characteristics” as the most important tool to overcoming the obstacles. Education does not only increase their professional skills, but also widens their networks. The Dutch education system facilitates the chances of minorities in higher education through the “layering” of degrees. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-215
Author(s):  
Cristina Scardulla

AbstractThe use of English as a Lingua Franca is a promising solution to the overcoming of language barriers in a wide variety of contexts and, despite being formally governed by the principle of multilingualism, the European institutions are no exception. This paper aims at shedding light on the perception on the use of ELF within the European Commission, by presenting the results of a questionnaire carried out within the framework of a broader PhD project. The target population is that of interpreters working for the European Commission. The analysis focuses on two specific questions, which address interpreters in their role as communication experts, inviting them to momentarily set aside their opinion on the relationship between ELF and interpretation and rather assess ELF in terms of “communicative effectiveness,” considered as an essential component to a successful communication. Results confirm previous ITELF (Interpreting, Translation and English as a Lingua Franca) studies, in that interpreters believe that ELF tends to decrease the level of communicative effectiveness and that, based on their direct experience, less than half of the speakers in these meetings succeed at expressing themselves effectively when using ELF. Most importantly, they elaborate on what this loss of effectiveness entails in terms of communication quality, interlocutors’ participation rights and multilingualism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Maree Maher

OECD data suggest a significant gap between desired fertility rates and the total fertility rate achieved in developed industrial nations. In a qualitative study conducted in Australia in 2002 and 2003, people were asked how family policies influenced their decisions to have children. Participants did not clearly associate their fertility choices and prevailing policy settings. But their decision-making was grounded in commonplace accounts of incompatibility in balancing work and family. This article considers how individual choices may be shaped by such social and policy discourses and what implications this has for our understanding of the relationship between fertility choices and policy settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 100450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yilin Yang ◽  
Mengqiu Cao ◽  
Long Cheng ◽  
Keyu Zhai ◽  
Xu Zhao ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Leykum ◽  
Sylvia Moosmüller ◽  
Wolfgang U. Dressler

2002 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Hassebrock Laakso

About one-third of custodial mothers choose not to pursue a child support award even though it can be a significant source of income. A qualitative study was conducted with 43 mothers who have each had at least one child in a nonmarital relationship, to learn more about how mothers make the decision to file or not file for child support. The findings indicate that a key determinant in a mother's decision is the quality of her relationship with the father: a mother is less likely to file when the relationship is good and more likely to file when the relationship is poor or has ended. Other key determinants are family influence and availability of information about filing. Visitation was not found to influence these decisions. Unfortunately, mothers are often making their decisions without access to accurate and timely information. Social workers frequently are employed in settings that serve families faced with decisions about child support, and have numerous opportunities for intervention by providing both information and guidance about the decision.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Éric Pelet ◽  
Panagiota Papadopoulou

Establishing customer trust in an online vendor requires the provision of an environment in which customers can overcome their fear and reluctance about shopping transactions by forming trust and positive perceptions about the online vendor. This paper studies the impact of the colors of e-commerce websites, as an atmospheric variable of the interface, on customer trust. The effect of the colors of e-commerce websites on customer trust has only been indirectly examined in terms of website characteristics, such as website quality and usability, where color is viewed as a key interface attribute. Thus, the relationship between color itself and trust remains largely under investigated. To address this gap, this paper presents an exploratory qualitative study on how customers develop trust in an online vendor, as a result of the colors of the e-commerce website. The empirical findings provide theoretical and practical implications regarding the effect of web stores color on trust.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fauzan Rosli ◽  
Ermy Azziaty Rozali

After the conquest of Egypt in 1517M, the relationship between the Ottoman and the northeast African Muslim community was served. On 1555M, the eyalet of Habesha was established in order to protect the Two Holy Cities of Muslims and the Muslim community in Red Sea shores particulary the northeast Africa. Apart from that, the establishment of the Habesha eyalet was to secure the political and trade route for the Ottoman on that region. Unfortunately, the Ottoman’s initiative were seen as provocations to the Bani Funj, ruler of the Sinnar Sultanate in Nubia which eventually led to centuries of feud between them.The objective of this article is to identify the relationship dynamics between the Ottoman and the Muslim community in northeast Africa, mainly in the regions of Nubia and Ethiopia. This qualitative study is carried out through literature and historical analysis to observe similarities, make comparisons and deduce interpretations of related historical events in that relationship. This study found that, the Ottoman’s relationship throughout the 16th and the 18th centuries, changes allies and foes constantly between the Sinnar Sultanate as well as the Ethiopian kingdoms. Meanwhile, even after the collapse of the Adal Sultanate’s holy war, the Ottoman’s commitment on the destiny of Ethiopian Muslim remained unchanged.   Keywords: Ottoman, Muslim community, Sinnar Sultanate, Ethiopia   Setelah menguasai Mesir pada 1517M, hubungan antara ‘Uthmaniyyah dan komuniti Muslim timur laut Afrika mula terjalin. Pada 1555M, eyalet Habesha telah diasaskan untuk melindungi Dua Kota Suci umat Islam serta komuniti Muslim di persisiran pantai Laut Merah terutamanya di timur laut Afrika. Selain itu, penubuhan eyalet Habesha juga bertujuan mengukuhkan kedudukan politik dan penguasaan perdagangan ‘Uthmaniyyah ke atas rantau tersebut. Walau bagaimanapun, tindakan ‘Uthmaniyyah itu dilihat sebagai sebuah provokasi kepada Bani Funj yang menguasai kesultanan Sinnar di Nubia. Keadaan ini telah membawa kepada perseteruan lebih daripada dua abad. Objektif artikel ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti hubungan dinamik ‘Uthmaniyyah dengan komuniti Muslim di timur laut Afrika terutama di dua wilayah utama iaitu Nubia dan Ethiopia. Kajian kualitatif ini dijalankan melalui kaedah kepustakaan dan analisa sejarah bagi melihat persamaan, membuat perbandingan serta menghasilkan interpretasi terhadap peristiwa-peristiwa sejarah yang terkait dalam hubungan tersebut. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa sepanjang abad ke-16M hingga ke-18M, hubungan antara ‘Uthmaniyyah dan kesultanan Sinnar serta kerajaan Ethiopia menjadikan status lawan dan kawan sering kali berubah. Manakala, komitmen ‘Uthmaniyyah terhadap nasib Muslim Ethiopia tidak berubah walaupun setelah kekalahan gerakan jihad kesultanan ‘Adal.   Kata kunci: Uthmaniyyah, Komuniti Muslim, Kesultanan Sinnar, Ethiopia


Author(s):  
Thora Másdóttir ◽  
Sharynne McLeod ◽  
Kathryn Crowe

Purpose This study investigated Icelandic-speaking children's acquisition of singleton consonants and consonant clusters. Method Participants were 437 typically developing children aged 2;6–7;11 (years;months) acquiring Icelandic as their first language. Single-word speech samples of the 47 single consonants and 45 consonant clusters were collected using Málhljóðapróf ÞM (ÞM's Test of Speech Sound Disorders). Results Percentage of consonants correct for children aged 2;6–2;11 was 73.12 ( SD = 13.33) and increased to 98.55 ( SD = 3.24) for children aged 7;0–7;11. Overall, singleton consonants were more likely to be accurate than consonant clusters. The earliest consonants to be acquired were /m, n, p, t, j, h/ in word-initial position and /f, l/ within words. The last consonants to be acquired were /x, r, r̥, s, θ, n̥/, and consonant clusters in word-initial /sv-, stl-, str-, skr-, θr-/, within-word /-ðr-, -tl-/, and word-final /-kl̥, -xt/ contexts. Within-word phonemes were more often accurate than those in word-initial position, with word-final position the least accurate. Accuracy of production was significantly related to increasing age, but not sex. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive study of consonants and consonant cluster acquisition by typically developing Icelandic-speaking children. The findings align with trends for other Germanic languages; however, there are notable language-specific differences of clinical importance.


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