Inter Intelligibility of Philippine Language

Intelligibility of Philippine English

Introduction to Intelligibility

• Intelligibility is a crucial aspect of the acceptability of a particular English variety.

• It refers to how well speakers of English can recognize words spoken in a specific variety.

• The discussion is based on articles by Dr. Danilo Dayag and Dr. Shirley Dita.

Danilo Dayag's Article

• Dr. Danilo Dayag was a professor at De La Salle University and a former president of the Linguistic Society of the Philippines.

• His article is an intensive review of different studies on intelligibility.

Defining Intelligibility

• Kenworthy (1987): Being understood by a listener at a given time in a given situation.

• The extent to which a speaker's message is understood by a listener.

• Smith and Nelson (1985): Word or utterance recognition.

• In Dr. Dayag's article, intelligibility is used loosely as comprehensibility.

Importance of Intelligibility Studies

• Diag (2007, p. 4): With a high number of non-native English speakers, interactions occur between non-native speakers, raising questions about the intelligibility of non-native varieties, especially in Asia.

• The goal is not necessarily correct pronunciation, but being intelligible and comprehensible to other speakers.

Methodology in Dayag's Study

• Chose Mesolecto speakers of Philippine English as exemplars.

• Recorded 5-10 minutes of spontaneous speech.

• Transcribed the speeches for use in a cloze test.

• Selected two listeners from each of the three Kachruvian circles:

  • Inner circle (Americans)

  • Outer circle (Filipinos)

  • Expanding circle (Chinese and Korean graduate students)

• Listeners heard spontaneous speech and wrote down what they heard.

Results of Dayag's Study

• Philippine English intelligibility scores:

  • Approximately 80% intelligible to inner circle listeners (American speakers).

  • Approximately 75% intelligible to outer circle listeners (Filipino speakers).

  • Approximately 55% intelligible to expanding circle listeners (Chinese and Korean listeners).

  • Overall, approximately 70% intelligible to all listeners.

• Expanding circle listeners had the lowest intelligibility scores.

Explanations for Intelligibility Scores

• Substitution of interdental fricatives by alveolar stops (e.g., /θ/ and /ð/ sounds replaced by /t/ and /d/).

  • Example: "think," "nothing," "something" pronounced with /t/ and /d/.

• Dropping of the final sounds of consonant clusters.

  • Examples: "just," "risk," "impoverished," "fact."

Dita and De Leon's Article

• The study focuses on the intelligibility and comprehensibility of Philippine English to EFL speakers.

• Dr. Shirley Dita is an associate professor at De La Salle University.

• The study examines speeches of two speakers with varied background proficiency levels.

Speakers in Dita and De Leon's Study

• Speaker 1:

  • Female English lecturer, PhD student, speaking proficiency of 5/5 (self-assessment).

• Speaker 2:

  • Male nursing lecturer with two master's degrees, speaking proficiency of 3.5/5 (self-assessment).

Methodology in Dita and De Leon's Study

• Tested the intelligibility of the two speakers to 20 EFL students from China, Korea, Taiwan, Iran, Cambodia, Myanmar, Japan, and Mexico.

• Used a cloze test: students heard recordings and filled in missing parts of transcribed sentences.

• Conducted a focus group discussion to clarify understanding and challenges.

Results of Dita and De Leon's Study

• No EFL student scored higher than 60% on the intelligibility test, and some had no correct answers.

• Philippine English is least intelligible to expanding circle Englishes.

• Speaker 2 (less proficient) was found more intelligible than Speaker 1.

  • Probably due to the pace and speed of speech.

• Listener's proficiency affects intelligibility scores.

Semantic Anomalies and Context

• Some test items were semantically anomalous, affecting scores.

• Example: "They noticed fire coming from utensil earlier this morning" (where "apartment" was replaced with "utensil").

• EFL speakers struggled because they depended on context.

Exposure and Intelligibility

• The length of exposure to a particular variety of English does not ensure intelligibility.

• Listeners who stayed longer in the Philippines did not show significantly different scores.

Comprehensibility Results

• Almost half of the listeners had a perfect score in the comprehension test.

• Around a quarter of the listeners had one mistake.

• Philippine English is highly comprehensible to EFL speakers.

Conclusion from Dita and De Leon

• Philippine English is intelligible and comprehensible to EFL speakers.

Criticisms of the Studies

• In Dr. Dayag's study, asking listeners to write down what they heard is challenging and may affect intelligibility scores.

• In Dr. Dita and De Leon's study, semantically anomalous items may have affected intelligibility scores.

Suggestions for Future Research

• More studies are needed on the intelligibility and comprehensibility of Philippine English to a variety of speakers.

• This is a potential thesis topic.

The video discusses the intelligibility and comprehensibility of Philippine English to both native and non-native English speakers. It reviews studies by Dr. Danilo Dayag and Dr. Shirley Dita, which examine how well Philippine English is understood by different groups, including inner circle (American), outer circle (