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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 42:1 (2019) ► pp.84–115

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The effects of Hong Kong L2 English speakers’ phonological features on listeners’ cognitive and affective perceptions

 | The Education University of Hong Kong
 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Published online: 4 July 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.18010.che
Abstract
This study explores the most perceivable phonological features of Hong Kong (HK) L2 English speakers and how they affect the perception of HK L2 English speech from the perspective of both native and non-native English listeners. Conversational interviews were conducted to collect speech data from 20 HK speakers of English and 10 native speakers of English in the United Kingdom. Phonological features of 20 HK speakers of English were analyzed at both segmental and suprasegmental levels. Forty listeners with different language backgrounds were recruited to listen and rate the speech samples of the 20 HK speakers of English in terms of the cognitive perception of foreign accentedness and comprehensibility and affective perception of likability and acceptability. This study identifies the phonological variables that contribute significantly to listeners’ perception of accentedness, comprehensibility, likability, acceptability, and overall impression of HK speakers’ English speech.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Segmental features of HK speakers of English
    • 2.2Prosodic features of HK speakers of English
      • 2.2.1Stress
      • 2.2.2Tone and intonation
      • 2.2.3Pausing
      • 2.2.4Speech rate
    • 2.3Perception of L2 speech
      • 2.3.1Cognitive perceptions of comprehensibility
      • 2.3.2Cognitive perceptions of accentedness
      • 2.3.3Overall impression of accented speech
      • 2.3.4Affective perceptions of acceptability and likability
  • 3.The production study
    • 3.1Methods
      • 3.1.1Participants
      • 3.1.2Data collection procedures
      • 3.1.3Phonological analyses
    • 3.2Results
  • 4.Perception study
    • 4.1Methods
      • 4.1.1Participants
      • 4.1.2Rating instrument
    • 4.2Results
      • 4.2.1Cognitive perceptions of comprehensibility and accentedness
      • 4.2.2Affective perception of likability and acceptability
      • 4.2.3Overall impression on HK speakers’ pronunciation and rhythm
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
    • 5.1Phonological features of HK speakers of English
    • 5.2Cognitive perception
    • 5.3Affective perception
    • 5.4Overall phonological performances
  • 6.Implications and limitations
    • 6.1Limitations and further study
  • References
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