Issues in Accents of English 2: Variability and Norm

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Ewa Waniek-Klimczak
Cambridge Scholars, 2010 - Foreign Language Study - 376 pages
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.

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About the author (2010)

Ewa Waniek-Klimczak is Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Åò;dÅo, Poland. Her teaching and research focus on second language phonetics and phonology, sociolinguistics, language varieties and English pronunciation. Over the years, she has organized conferences on teaching English phonetics and phonology and variability in native and non-native accents of English and edited or co-edited books containing contributions to the field, including Accents and Speech in Teaching English Phonetics and Phonology (co-edited with J. P. Melia, Peter Lang 2002) and Issues in Accents of English (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2008). She is also editor of the journal Research in Language, published annually by Versita and the University of Åò;dÅo.