Bangladesh 11

Listen to Bangladesh 11, a 40-year-old man from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 40

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 15/05/1980

PLACE OF BIRTH: Dhaka, Bangladesh

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Bengali

OCCUPATION: mechanical engineer

EDUCATION: master’s degree

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject moved to Australia in 2008 and settled in Sydney, where he was still living with his family at the time of this interview.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

I came to know the subject when he was planning to migrate to Australia. At that time, like most Bangladeshis, he was shy to speak English. I advised him and three other engineers who were also migrating to Australia to meet regularly, after work, in a coffee shop and speak English. That helped. But after coming to Australia, like all new immigrants, he had difficulty understanding the broad Australian dialect. Constant listening and active communication helped.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: subject (under supervision of Amin Rahman)

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 27/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH:

ˈkɒ.ma gets e kɪ.or . wel, hɪərs ə ˈstɔː.ri fər ɪu ˈsæ.ra ˈper.i wəz ə ˈvet.er.ɪ.nər.i nɜːs huː hæd biːn ˈwər. kɪŋ ˈdaɪ.li ət ən old zuː ɪn ə de.ˈzɜː.tɪd ˈdɪ.strɪkt əf ðə ˈte.rɪ.tor.i, so ʃi wəz ˈver.i ˈhæp.i tʊ stɑːrt ə nɪu dʒɒb æt ə suː.ˈpərb ˈpraɪ.vɪt ˈpræk.tɪs ɪn nɔːθ skweər nɪər ðə dIuk striːt ˈtaʊ.wər. ðæt ˈe.riə wəz mʌtʃ ˈneə.rər fɒr hər ænd mɔːr tʊ hər ˈlaɪ.kɪŋ. ˈiː.ven so, ɒn hər ˈfərst ˈmɔːrn.ɪŋ, ʃi felt strest. ʃi eɪt ə boʊl əf ˈpɒ.rɪdʒ, tʃekt ˈhər.self ɪn ðə ˈmɪ.rər ænd wɒʃd hər feɪs ɪn ə ˈhʌ.ri. ðen ʃi pʊt ɒn ə plaɪn ˈjɪe.lo dres ænd ə fliːs ˈdʒæ.kɪt, pɪkd ʌp hər kit ænd ˈhed.ed fɒr wɜːk.

wen ʃi ɡɒt ðeər, ðeər wəz ə ˈwo.mən wɪθ ə ɡuːs ˈweɪ.tɪŋ fɒr hər. ðə ˈwo.mən ɡeɪv ˈsæ.ra æn ɒ.ˈfɪʃ.ɪəl ˈle.tər frɒm ðə vet. ðə ˈle.tər ɪm.ˈplaɪd ðæt ðə ˈæ.nɪ.məl kʊd bi ˈsʌf.ə.rɪŋ frɒm ə reər ˈfɒrm ɒf fu:t æn maʊθ dɪ.ˈziːz, whɪtʃ wəz sə.ˈpraɪ.zɪŋ, bɪ.ˈkɒz ˈnɒr.mə.li jɪu wʊd ˈon.li ɪk.ˈspekt tʊ ˈsiː ɪt ɪn ə dɒɡ ɒr ə ɡo:t. ˈsæ.ra wəz ˈsen.tɪ.ˈmen.təl, so ðɪs ˈmeɪd hər fiːl ˈsɒ.ri fɒr ðə ˈbɪuː.tə.fʊl bərd.

bɪ.ˈfɔr lɒŋ, ðæt ˈɪ.tʃi ɡuːz bɪ.ˈɡæn tʊ strʌt æ.ˈraʊnd ðə ˈɒ.fɪs laɪk ə ˈluː.nə.tɪk, whɪtʃ meɪd æn ʌn.ˈsæn.ɪ.tər.i mes. ðə ˈɡuː.səs ˈoʊ.nər, ˈme.ri ˈhær.ɪ.son, kept ˈkɒ.lɪŋ, ˈkɒ.ma, ˈkɒ.ma, whɪtʃ ˈsæ.ra θɒt wəz æn ɒd tʃɒɪs fɒr ə neɪm. ˈkɒ.ma wəz strɒŋ ænd hɪuːdʒ, so ɪt wʊd teɪk sʌm fɔːrs tʊ træp hər, bʌt ˈsæ.ra hæd ə ˈdɪ.fə.rənt ˈaɪ.ˈdɪə. ˈfərst ʃi traɪd ˈdʒent.li ˈstrɒ.kɪŋ ðə ɡuːsez ˈlo.ə.bæk wɪð hər pæm, ðen ˈsɪŋ.ɪŋ ə tɪʊn tʊ hər. ˈfaɪ.nən.ʃi.li, ʃi æd.ˈmɪ.nɪs.tərd ˈiː.θə. hər ˈe.fo:rts wə nɒt ˈfɪu.taɪl. ɪn no taɪm, ðə ɡuːz bɪ.ˈɡæn tə taɪər, so ˈsæ.rə wəz ˈe:.bᵊl tʊ ho:ld ˈɒn.tʊ ˈkɔ.ma æn ɡɪv hər e rɪ.ˈlæk.sɪŋ bæθ.

wʌns ˈsæ.ra hæd mæ.ˈnedʒd tʊ beɪθ ðə ɡuːs, ʃi waɪpt hər ɒf wɪθ ə kloð ænd leɪd hər ɒn hər raɪt saɪd. ðen ˈsæ.ra kɒn.ˈfərmd ðə vets ˈdaɪ.əɡ.ˈnɒ.sɪs. ˈɒl.most ɪ.ˈme.dɪ.ət.li, ʃi rɪ.ˈmem.bərd æn e.ˈfek.tɪv ˈtriːt.men ðæt rɪ.ˈkwerd hər tʊ ˈme.ʒər aʊt ə lɒt ɒf ˈme.dɪ.sɪn. ˈsæ.ra warnd ðæt ðɪs kɔːrs ɒf ˈtriːt.men maɪt bi ek.ˈspen.sɪv ˈaɪ.ðə faɪv ə sɪks taɪmz ðə kɒst ɒf ˈpen.ɪ.sɪ.lɪn. aɪ kɑːnt ɪ.ˈma.dʒɪn ˈpeɪ.ɪŋ so mʌtʃ, bʌt ˈmɪ.sɪs. ˈhær.ɪ.sən ə mɪ.lɪo.ˈneə ˈlɒ.ɪə ˈθɒt ɪt wəz ə feər praɪs fər ə kɪor.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Amin Rahman

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 04/11/2020

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

Hi. I will share with you a hobby of mine, and it is gardening. Long ago, when I was very young, my father used to have a garden. That garden had a combination of small plants and big trees. Among the plants, we had a lot of roses. I still remember there was a big guava tree; we could even climb. However, with the passage of time, that garden became smaller in shape, and none of the family members concentrated in it because of the lack of time. But I did not stop one thing: that is giving a little care to the left-out plants and pots from the old garden. By the time I was already a university student, when I used to water the pots in the morning and sometimes painted the pots as well. Then a big break came in my gardening activities. I migrated to Australia and started a new life, but I did not have time for gardening. It’s only 2019 when I started gardening again. But now it’s bit different. I have added some gardening beds in the garden to grow vegetables. I still have some native Australian plants and flower trees; anyway, as vegetables are seasonal, it is quite a new experience for me.

Last season, I have been successful growing tomato, potato, cauliflower, cabbage, and some herbs. This season, I am trying to grow similar. But, interestingly, I find myself more confident than last year. I believe it’s coming from the experience and outcome of last year. In addition, I will give credit to our Facebook gardening page that helped me a lot by providing information. To get information is simple. When you have a question, just post it in that page. There are thousands of members who see your question. Among them, some helpful people will reply you straight away. I think that is a lot of talk on my garden. Happy gardening.

[Subject speaks Bengali]: Aami ekjon prokousholi ebong, aami Australia tey Bangladesh thekey eshechhi. Bortomaney, aami Australia tey thaki. Aamar poribarey amar stri, ebong amar ekta meye achhey.

[English translation: I am an engineer, and I have come to Australia from Bangladesh. At present, I live in Australia. My family comprises my wife, and I have a daughter.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Amin Rahman

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 28/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

The subject speaks with an intelligible accent, which does not sound affected like some Bangladeshis who try to mimic native English speakers. From his speech, his origin can be traced back to the subcontinent. Normally, Australians do not pronounce the /r/ when it appears after a vowel sound, but this subject still pronounces it, though lightly, like the British. He has mastered the five English consonant sounds f, v, z, w, and ʒ, which are not present in the Bengali language, and his syllable stressing on multi-syllabic words is generally OK. Vowel quantity in his speech is OK, but sometimes he uses the non-RP or non-Australian standard vowel quality. For example, he pronounces the word “bath” as [bæθ], like Americans. The subject speaks at a good pace, about 123 words per minute, and with a reasonably good intonation, which should make it easier for people to understand him.

COMMENTARY BY: Amin Rahman

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 04/11/2020

The archive provides:

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