NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ894631
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0883-2919
EISSN: N/A
The Acoustic Reality of the Kachruvian Circles: A Rhythmic Perspective
Low, Ee Ling
World Englishes, v29 n3 p394-405 Sep 2010
This paper investigates whether the rhythmic properties of varieties of English found in each of the concentric circles of Kachru's model can, in any way, be elucidated by the "Three Circles" model. A measurement and comparison of the rhythm of three varieties of English: British English (from the Inner Circle), Singapore English (from the Outer Circle) and Mainland Chinese English (from the Expanding Circle) is done from recordings made of one subject from each variety reading "The North Wind and the Sun" passage. Measurements are made of successive vowel durations and the pairwise variability index (PVI) developed by Low, Grabe, and Nolan is calculated in an attempt to capture the rhythmic properties of the three varieties. The PVI has been shown to effectively capture the broad rhythmic typology between stress-based and syllable-based varieties of English. In particular, this paper examines whether it is the case that Mainland Chinese English (a norm-dependent variety) differs significantly in the rhythmic domain from Singapore English (a norm-developing variety) and be proven to be statistically similar to British English (a norm-providing variety).
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China; Singapore; United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A