Speaking to Angmohs : intelligibility and identity as motivators for speech accommodation in Singapore

Interactions between speakers of different varieties of English is more common today than ever. In a communicative context involving a Singaporean English speaker and an Inner-Circle English speaker, issues of identity and intelligibility become more salient. This study uses the framework of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) to explore how issues of language identity and attitudes influence communicative choices of Singaporean English speakers when conversing with Inner-Circle speakers. Conversations between Singaporeans (n=14) with a British English speaker were compared to their conversations with a Singaporean English speaker, and the recorded conversations were analysed for phonological variation. A questionnaire was also issued to measure participants’ language identity and attitudes. In terms of overall phonological shift, participants were found to generally converge to their interlocutor, although many instances of divergent and maintaining behaviours was also found. While none of the measures of language attitudes showed a direct correlation with the measure of accommodation, two goals of achieving intelligibility and identity expression were highlighted to be the primary goals of accommodation. The possibility of achieving both seemingly competing goals is demonstrated to be through a mix of employing both convergent and divergent accommodative strategies.Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Multilingual Studie