Misunderstandings in English as a Lingua Franca: An Analysis of ELF Interactions in South-East Asia (Developments in English as a Lingua Franca [DELF] Book 1)

This book explores the nature and causes of misunderstandings in ELF interactions. It is based on a corpus of conversations between English speakers from south and east Asia that helps us investigate what causes misunderstandings, particularly the pronunciation, grammar, word choice, and discourse. The book also considers how such misunderstandings may be signalled and repaired. Finally, it discusses the implications for teaching English around the world and offers guidance to teachers in enabling their students to become highly intelligible. * Based on a corpus of misunderstandings that is made available to the reader. * Provides a detailed analysis of misunderstandings and issues of intelligibility that can be understood by non-specialists. * Offers guidance to teachers in ensuring their students achieve a high level of intelligibility. List of abbreviations Keywords for Vowels Transcription conventions Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1. Scope of the investigation 1.2. Overview of the book Chapter 2 ELF, intelligibility and misunderstandings 2.1. ELF and World Englishes 2.2. The Lingua Franca Core (LFC) 2.3. Intelligibility 2.4. Misunderstandings 2.5. Repairs 2.6. Accommodation 2.7. Conversation Analysis 2.8. Conclusion Chapter 3 Data and methodology 3.1. CMACE 3.1.1. Speakers 3.1.2. Recordings 3.1.3. Transcription 3.2. Analysis 3.2.1. Instances and tokens 3.2.2. Classification Chapter 4 Pronunciation 4.1. Consonants 4.1.1. TH 4.1.2. Initial [h] 4.1.3. [n],[l], [r] and [w] 4.1.4. Initial consonant cluster simplification 4.1.5. Final consonant cluster simplification 4.1.6. Dark-L 4.1.7. Aspiration and voicing 4.1.8. Fricatives and affricates 4.1.9. Other missing consonants 4.1.10. Consonants: summary 4.2. Vowels 4.2.1. NURSE 4.2.2. TRAP 4.2.3. FACE 4.2.4. Vowel length 4.2.5. Vowel reduction 4.2.6. Miscellaneous vowels 4.2.7. Vowels: summary 4.3. Spelling pronunciation 4.4. Stress 4.4.1. Word stress 4.4.2. Utterance stress 4.5. Rhythm, intonation and speaking rate 4.5.1. Rhythm 4.5.2. Intonation 4.5.3. Speaking rate 4.5.4. Syllables 4.5.5. Laughter 4.6. Phonetic accommodation 4.6.1. Listening accommodation 4.6.2. Speaking accommodation 4.7. Summary of pronunciation Chapter 5 Lexis, grammar and code-switching 5.1. Lexis 5.1.1. Words 5.1.2. Phrases 5.1.3. Idioms 5.1.4. Shifted meaning 5.1.5. Polysemes 5.2. Grammar 5.2.1. Plural nouns 5.2.2. Articles 5.2.3. Verb suffixes 5.2.4 Missing verbs 5.2.5. Prepositions 5.2.6. Word order 5.2.7. Other grammar issues 5.3. Code-switching 5.4. Miscellaneous 5.5. Summary of lexis, grammar and code-switching Chapter 6 Repairs 6.1. Self-initiated repairs 6.1.1. Correcting oneself 6.1.2. Unprompted paraphrase 6.1.3. Asking for help 6.2. Responses to misunderstandings 6.2.1. Asking for clarification 6.2.2. Correcting 6.2.3. Silence 6.2.4. Backchannels 6.2.5. Selecting part of the utterance 6.2.6. Changing the topic 6.2.7. Laughter 6.2.8. Non-awareness 6.3. Avoiding misunderstandings 6.3.1. Topic fronting 6.3.2. Lexical repetition 6.3.3. Echoing 6.3.4. Collaborative completions 6.4. Summary of repairs Chapter 7 Implications for pedagogy 7.1. Implications of the findings 7.2. Pronunciation teaching 7.3. Materials for ELF-based teaching 7.4. Teaching accommodation 7.5. Testing 7.6. Prognosis for the future Appendix The tokens of misunderstanding in CMACE References Author Index Subject Index

This series welcomes book proposals detailing innovative and cutting edge research and theorisation in the field of English as a lingua franca (ELF), in essence, English as the chosen medium of communication among people from different first languages. The unprecedented use of English as an international lingua franca, largely because of its relationship with the processes of globalisation, has led to the realization that conventional attitudes to English and approaches to its study need to be critically examined. This has resulted in a very considerable and fast-growing field of research that is concerned both with the sociolinguistic significance of English as lingua franca as a naturally adaptive linguistic development and with its theoretical as well as applied linguistic implications. ELF, as phenomenon and as study, is not only diverse and emergent, it is also controversial and rapidly gaining in importance.

The purpose of the series is to offer a wide forum for work on ELF, including aspects such as descriptions and analyses of ELF; ELF use in a range of domains including education (primary, secondary and tertiary), business, tourism; conceptual works challenging current assumptions about English use and usage; works exploring the implications of ELF for English language policy, pedagogy, and practice; and ELF in relation to global multilingualism.

Finally, in line with the subject matter of the series, authors are not required to use native English, but to write in a way that is intelligible to a wide international readership. To our knowledge, Developments in English as a Lingua Franca is the first book series to build this approach into its official policy.

Early titles in the series are expected to include the following: Reflexively Speaking - Uses of Metadiscourse in ELF, The Pragmatics of ELF, English as an Academic Lingua Franca, Misunderstandings in East Asian ELF, Culture and Identity through ELF, The Pedagogy of ELF, and ELF and Multilingualism in Europe.

This series welcomes book proposals detailing innovative and cutting edge research and theorisation in the field of English as a lingua franca (ELF), in essence, English as the chosen medium of communication among people from different first languages. The unprecedented use of English as an international lingua franca, largely because of its relationship with the processes of globalisation, has led to the realization that conventional attitudes to English and approaches to its study need to be critically examined. This has resulted in a very considerable and fast-growing field of research that is concerned both with the sociolinguistic significance of English as lingua franca as a naturally adaptive linguistic development and with its theoretical as well as applied linguistic implications. ELF, as phenomenon and as study, is not only diverse and emergent, it is also controversial and rapidly gaining in importance. The purpose of the series is to offer a wide forum for work on ELF, including aspects such as descriptions and analyses of ELF; ELF use in a range of domains including education (primary, secondary and tertiary), business, tourism; conceptual works challenging current assumptions about English use and usage; works exploring the implications of ELF for English language policy, pedagogy, and practice; and ELF in relation to global multilingualism. Finally, in line with the subject matter of the series, authors are not required to use native English, but to write in a way that is intelligible to a wide international readership. To our knowledge, Developments in English as a Lingua Franca is the first book series to build this approach into its official policy. Early titles in the series are expected to include the following: Reflexively Speaking - Uses of Metadiscourse in ELF , The Pragmatics of ELF , English as an Academic Lingua Franca , Misunderstandings in East Asian ELF , Culture and Identity through ELF , The Pedagogy of ELF , and ELF and Multilingualism in Europe . This series welcomes book proposals detailing innovative and cutting edge research and theorisation in the field of English as a lingua franca (ELF), in essence, English as the chosen medium of communication among people from different first languages. The unprecedented use of English as an international lingua franca, largely because of its relationship with the processes of globalisation, has led to the realization that conventional attitudes to English and approaches to its study need to be critically examined. This has resulted in a very considerable and fast-growing field of research that is concerned both with the sociolinguistic significance of English as lingua franca as a naturally adaptive linguistic development and with its theoretical as well as applied linguistic implications. ELF, as phenomenon and as study, is not only diverse and emergent, it is also controversial and rapidly gaining in importance. The purpose of the series is to offer a wide forum for work on ELF, including aspects such as descriptions and analyses of ELF; ELF use in a range of domains including education (primary, secondary and tertiary), business, tourism; conceptual works challenging current assumptions about English use and usage; works exploring the implications of ELF for English language policy, pedagogy, and practice; and ELF in relation to global multilingualism. Finally, in line with the subject matter of the series, authors are not required to use native English, but to write in a way that is intelligible to a wide international readership. To our knowledge, Developments in English as a Lingua Franca is the first book series to build this approach into its official policy. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher. 4.1. Consonants4.1.1. TH; 4.1.2. Initial [h]; 4.1.3. [n], [l], [r] and [w]; 4.1.4. Initial consonant cluster simplification; 4.1.5. Final consonant cluster simplification; 4.1.6. Dark-L; 4.1.7. Aspiration and voicing; 4.1.8. Fricatives and affricates; 4.1.9. Other missing consonants; 4.1.10. Consonants: summary; 4.2. Vowels; 4.2.1. NURSE; 4.2.2. TRAP; 4.2.3. FACE; 4.2.4. Vowel length; 4.2.5. Vowel reduction; 4.2.6. Miscellaneous vowels; 4.2.7. Vowels: summary; 4.3. Spelling pronunciation; 4.4. Stress; 4.4.1. Word stress; 4.4.2. Utterance stress; 4.5. Rhythm, intonation and speaking rate