Phonetics and sociology: the lengthening of English vowels in the speech of two generations of Polish immigrants in Great Britain Cover Image

Fonetyka a socjologia: wzdłużenie samogłosek angielskich w mowie dwóch pokoleń imigrantów polskich w Wielkiej Brytanii
Phonetics and sociology: the lengthening of English vowels in the speech of two generations of Polish immigrants in Great Britain

Author(s): Ewa Waniek-Klimczak
Subject(s): Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Phonetics / Phonology, Sociolinguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego

Summary/Abstract: Vowel lengthening as a clue for voicing of the following consonant has been chosen as one of the phonetic parameters used in the sample analysis of the English production of two generations of Polish immigrants in Britain. The hypothesis discussed in the paper concerns the influence of the speaker s attitude towards the major speech community - English speech community in this case - on the use of the chosen parameter. The choice of vowel lengthening has been based on the expected difficulty in the employment of the clue by the native speakers of Polish. The results are complex: although they verify the main claim, they also point to the need for further research in the area of the speech of immigrants as the learners of the second language in natural environment.

  • Issue Year: 1992
  • Issue No: 26
  • Page Range: 115-127
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish