The Influence of Regional Differences of Native German Speakers on the L2 English Pronunciation of Selected Phonetic Features
Keywords:
Pronunciation, German accent, Regional variation, Consonants, English as an International LanguageAbstract
Pronunciation, as an aspect of non-native accent, is one of the most noticeable aspects of English as a Foreign Language. Age of learning may have an impact on whether nativelike pronunciation can be attained. Furthermore, standard as well as regional dialects may have an influence on pronunciation through cross-linguistic influence. This project aims to gain a better understanding of possible regional variations in native German speakers’ English pronunciation by examining the production of specific consonants. The project is framed by the discussion of English as a Second Language compared to English as an International Language and whether learners’ wishes should be considered. The analyses undertaken in this project are based on 26 individually structured interviews, which included a production task of 14 sentences each containing a specific consonant sound. No significant difference between German regions was discovered, which may largely be due to the low number of participants and a selection bias discovered during the project.
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