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Part of
Dynamics of Linguistic Diversity
Edited by Hagen Peukert and Ingrid Gogolin
[Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity 6] 2017
► pp. 163–191

Overarching consonant alternations

A case study of an unbalanced trilingual situation Bundeli – Hindi – English

| University of Hamburg

This pilot research project addresses the interlanguage transfer of phonetic-phonemic phenomena in a trilingual situation: Bundeli-Hindi (L1-L2, not standard – standard) bidialectism extended by L3 English. The audio data analysis focuses on semantically and grammatically empty cross-phonemic consonant alternations that are not conditioned by phonotactics. Their transfer points to a specific transfer type, involving systemic relations. I introduce an alternation rate index as a tool to assess the dependence of cross-phonemic interlanguage alternations on linguistic and sociolinguistic parameters. The results of the analysis indicate that cross-phonemic alternations are unilaterally transferred from Bundeli to Hindi and English and that the alternation rate is inversely related to the socio-educational level and language proficiency as well as to the level of language standardisation.

Keywords: Bundeli, Hindi, English, transfer, consonant alternations, alternation rate, language standardisation level
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Interrelations between Bundeli, Hindi and Indian English
    • Interrelation between Bundeli and Hindi
    • Bundeli – Hindi cross-phonemic alternations
    • Phonological adaptation of English
    • Accommodation of Standard English (RP) consonants in Hindi, Bundeli and Indian English
  • Data analysis and methodology
    • Audio data
      • Data collection
      • Types of school
      • Data collection procedure
      • Selection of data for analysis
      • Subjects
      • Data on the subjects’ language use
    • Audio data processing
    • Alternation rate
  • Discussion of the results
    • Summary of the data analysis
      • Alternations in the data elicited from KP
      • Alternations in the data elicited from DM
      • Alternations in the data elicited from CK
    • Linguistic perspective
    • Sociolinguistic perspective
    • Limitations of the analysis
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 24 May 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/hsld.6.09ora
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