Introduction The presence and deletion of the - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Introduction

The presence and deletion of the

yod

/j/ has been widely studied across the world. Jack Chambers a well-known linguist has greatly contributed to the research regarding the

yod

. Chambers has studied the /

ju

/-/u/

merger, for example is news pronounces ‘nooz’ or ‘nyooz’. Although many studies have been performed comparisons of yod usage and perception of Native English (L1) and English as a Second Language (L2) speakers has not been investigated. Hypotheses Yod-Dropping will be more prevalent in speakers with a closer geographical proximity to the USA. Speakers with a closer geographical proximity to the U.K. are predicted to have the yod intact. Speakers more proficient in English will be more likely to distinguish the differences between British and American pronunciations as well as identify the pronunciations that are connected to Canadian English. Participants Group One: 20 Native English Speakers from Queen’s University. Also known as L1 SpeakersGroup Two: 23 Non-Native English Speakers from Queen’s University. Also known as L2 speakers. MethodologyData was collected through a one-on-one interview. Consent from each participant was mandatory before any information was recorded. Preliminary information was taken to ensure each participant was appropriate for the study. Through four multi-part questions, information regarding personal usage and perceptions were recorded [See sample questions in Figure 2]. The collected data was separated into L1 and L2 categories and each question was graphed accordingly.

Results Of the speakers that gave reliable data, there appears to be a tendency for yod-dropping when preceded by an /s/ and the yod is maintained when preceded by the voiceless dental plosive. On the other hand, young Canadian English speakers appear to drop the yod in almost every environment. However, there are some L1 individuals who choose to maintain the yod solely in the word news.When asked survey questions concerning the perception of yod, L2 speakers claim to hear both the words containing the yod and eliminating the yod. In contrast, the young Canadians recognized that the yod was very uncommon in the speech around them. Both L1 and L2 groups did not show a trend on opinion of "Canadianness" nor the origin of the word. Similarly, neither group showed a strong inclination as to whether the words originated from British versus American pronunciation. ConclusionIn conclusion, our results mirrored our hypothesis concerning young adult L1 Canadian English speakers. Figure 1A illustrates that the overwhelming majority eliminated the yod which is in line to past studies (Chambers 1998). In figure 1B L2 speakers, as expected, demonstrated varying pronunciations of the lexical items. However, participants demonstrated a tendency to insert a yod following /t/ and to eliminate the yod when preceded by /s/.Self-reporting methods of perception of yod appeared to be relatively weak in both L2 and L1 speakers. The results of both categories were greatly divided in opinion. In future studies this could be better tested by stating both varieties of pronunciation and then asking participants to indicate whether the words sounded the same or different. If participants perceived the difference, one could ask whether the word was more similar to British or American pronunciation. The inadequacy of self-reporting in L2 Canadian speakers is further demonstrated with the word Tuesday as the majority of participants claimed to use a yod, however after transcribing their speech, only half the participants included the yod. Also, in future studies comparing L1 and L2 pronunciation, it would be beneficial to ensure that all L2 participants were at an intermediate or advanced level of English. This would help to eliminate L1 interference or transfer during the pronunciation portion of the survey.

Comparison of Native English and L2 Speakers on the Perceptions of Canadian English Lisa DeGeer and Briana Vandenberg Queen’s University

References Chambers, J.K., "Social embedding of changes in progress." Journal of English Linguistics 26.1 (1998) 17-20Dollinger, S. The written questionnaire as a sociolinguistic data gathering tool: Testing its validity. Journal of English Linguistics 40.1 (Mar 2012) 47-110

Sample Survey QuestionsCircle the variation of the bolded word you would use. Does ‘news’ sound like ‘nooz’ or ‘nyooz’?Does the u in ‘student’ sound like ‘oo’ in too or ‘u’ in use? For Interviewer Usage: Does the participant include the yod? ‘Tune’ Pronounced with Yod? Yes ☐ No ☐ ‘Tuesday’ Pronounced with Yod? Yes ☐ No ☐

References

Glain, O. The yod /j/: palatalise it or drop it!: how traditional yod forms are disappearing from contempory English. Université Jean Monet – IUT de Roanne Université Jean Moulin – Lyon 3. <http://www.cercles.com/n22/glain.pdf>Hariott, P., Cichocki, Wladyslaw. Accentedness Ratings of English Loanwords by Acadian French Listeners. Revue quebecoise de linguistique 22. 2 (1993): 93-106.

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