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This paper reports the results of a study to determine how well nonnative English speakers understand 14 English intonation signals that generally do not have written correlates. The 14 signals were recorded free of any verbal context, and played first to 25 native English speakers to determine if they understood them without the usual visual or verbal clues, and then to 42 foreign students to determine if there was a significant difference between them and the native speakers. The results indicated that our foreign students may be missing or misinterpreting much that native speakers communicate quite automatically with “nonlexical” signals. The paper discusses the signals, their meanings, and the errors that foreign students made. Each of the signals is shown in an appropriate context with a narrow phonetic description to help anyone desiring to learn or teach the meanings conveyed by this part of English phonology. Related studies and possible avenues for future research are noted. |
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