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The Evolution of Pronunciation Teaching and Research: 25 years of intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness
Edited by John M. Levis, Tracey M. Derwing and Murray J. Munro
[Benjamins Current Topics 121] 2022
► pp. 33–50

Revisiting the Intelligibility and Nativeness Principles

 | Iowa State University
Levis (2005) named two conflicting approaches to pronunciation teaching, the Nativeness Principle and the Intelligibility Principle. This paper revisits those two principles to argue for the superiority of the Intelligibility Principle in regard to where pronunciation fits within the wider field of language teaching, in how it effectively addresses teaching goals, in how it best addresses all contexts of L2 pronunciation learning, and in how it recognizes the reality of social consequences of pronunciation differences. In contrast, the Nativeness Principle, despite its long pedigree and many defenders, falls short by advocating native pronunciation for L2 learners, which is both unlikely to be achieved and unnecessary for effective communication in the L2.
Keywords: Intelligibility principle, Nativeness principle, pronunciation teaching, social factors, World Englishes
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Terminology in Levis (2005) and Munro and Derwing (1995)
  • 3.Nativeness, Intelligibility and Pronunciation Teaching
  • 4.Nativeness, Intelligibility and their Implications for Pronunciation Teaching
  • 5.How are the Nativeness and Intelligibility principles related?
  • 6.Research and the nativeness principle
  • 7.Nativeness, Intelligibility and Contexts for Pronunciation Learning
  • 8.Intelligibility, Nativeness and Social Ramifications of Accent
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 1 June 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.121.03lev
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