Research Topics in Language Studies
(due Monday, November 2)
Compare and contrast your own pronunciation of English with that of a speaker from a contrastive dialect group.
Your comparative analysis should be based upon a recording of your own speech and that of the contrastive speaker. You should record yourself and the contrastive speaker in both casual, non-careful speech and reading a prepared word list.
Your word list should be constructed so as to cover the key areas of potential difference in English regional/national dialects. The list from Hughes and Trudgill 1997, provided as part of the readings for Unit 2: week 2, can serve as a model, though you may want to add additional words to cover sounds which are of particular interest re your chosen speakers. You should also feel free to add any phrases or groups of words to the reading list which you believe might test for variations that may be particularly relevant to your two speakers.
