earticle

영어

This paper investigates the patterns of use of the voiceless interdental fricative /θ/ by Singapore English speakers. Previous studies have successfully shown that the sound is realized in various forms in the language, but they remain silent on what percentage of speakers use a particular form of the sound. This is due to the fact that the studies are based on the impressionistic judgments of the researchers, or on the basis of a small number of speakers. In this article, we have interviewed 122 male university students and examined their pronunciations of the sound in word initial, medial and final positions. Our findings are, roughly, as follows: (i) 70 speakers (53%) use nonstandard forms [t,t,f], (ii) 23 speakers (19%) use the standard pronunciation in all three positions, (iii) 29 speakers (24%) use both standard and nonstandard pronunciations. These findings, together with other findings introduced in the text, will serve as a yardstick against which the future evolution of Singapore English can be measured.