Accent and Identity in Learner Varieties of English: A Study with German and French University Students in an English as a Lingua Franca Setting

by Stefanie Rottschäfer, Jutta Rymarczyk (Editor)

Overview

This mixed-methods study investigates the link between accent and identity in an English as a lingua franca setting. The subjects, German and French university students living in Scandinavia, pursue their study programmes and every-day lives in English. A quantitative speech data analysis of eight phonetic features describes the speakers’ accents, while a qualitative analysis of introspective interview data exhibits how they differ in terms of identity. The results provide an in-depth understanding of individuals using English as a lingua franca. Do the German and French speakers of English alter or keep their foreign accents in order to express identity in the seemingly neutral Scandinavian setting?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783631745649
Publisher:	Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	05/31/2018
Series:	Inquiries in Language Learning: Forschungen zu Psycholinguistik und Fremdsprachendidaktik , #22
Edition description:	New
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stefanie Rottschäfer is a linguist in the Department of English, American and Celtic Studies at Bonn University. Her main research interests include phonological second language acquisition, accents in English, English as a lingua franca, and sociolinguistics.

Table of Contents

Identity – Accents: Phonetic aspects of learner varieties – English as a lingua franca – Methods and methodology – Analysis of speech data – Qualitative content analysis – Discussion of results – Conclusion and prospects for future research