The influence of Gujarati and Tamil L1s on Indian English: a preliminary study

Abstract

Abstract: English as spoken as a second language in India has developed distinct sound patterns in terms of both segmental and prosodic characteristics. We investigate the differences between two groups varying in native language (Gujarati, Tamil) to evaluate to what extent Indian English (IE) accents are based on a single target phonological‐phonetic system (i.e., General Indian English), and/or vary due to transfer from the native language. Consonants, vowels and intonation patterns from five Gujarati English (GE) and five Tamil English (TE) speakers of IE were transcribed and, in a subset of cases, acoustically analyzed. The results showed transfer effects in GE back vowels, TE rhotics and the proportion of rising versus falling pitch accents in GE intonation. The effect of the General Indian English model was evident in the front vowels of both GE and TE and in the presence of initial voiced stops in TE. Thus, the data reveal both phonetic and phonological influences of IE speakers’ native language on their accent in IE, even in proficient speakers; these influences appear to supersede IE norms and can be found in both the segmental and suprasegmental properties of their speech.

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