Issues in Accents of English. 2 Variability and Norm

This book explores variability and norm in accent production and perception by native and non-native speakers of English. The issues discussed range from description of selected phenomena in native and non-native accents of English, analysis of similarities and differences between accents, their intelligibility and attitudinal value, through reports on the role of identity and motivation in learning English pronunciation, research methods in pronunciation teaching and ultimate attainment, to discussion of different aspects of stress, rhythm and timing in the organisation of speech.

The volume contains contributions based on original data collected and analysed by researchers active in the fields of accent variability and English pronunciation teaching. The studies adopt sociolinguistic and/or applied linguistics perspectives in their descriptive and experimental accounts of native and non-native accents, addressing questions as to the sources of variability and the nature of the norms accepted or imposed in language acquisition and usage. By bringing the results of numerous studies into the foreground, the volume hopes to contribute to accent and pronunciation teaching and stimulate further discussion in the field of applied phonetics.