Bangladesh 14

Listen to Bangladesh 14, a 24-year-old man from Sylhet, Bangladesh. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 24

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 29/04/1996

PLACE OF BIRTH: Sylhet, Bangladesh

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Sylheti/Bengali

OCCUPATION: student/tutor

EDUCATION: bachelor’s degree

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

The subject has never lived outside Bangladesh. (He was born and brought up in Sylhet and visited other places in Bangladesh for short travels.)

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The main influence is his L1 language, Sylheti. His English is possibly influenced by different people from the United Kingdom, who are married to Sylhetis and hence visit Sylhet.

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): 25/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH:

ˈkɒ.ma gets a kio. wel, heərs e ˈstɔː.ri fər jɪu. ˈsæ.ra per, ˈsa.ra ˈpe.ri wəz e ˈvet.ere.nər.i nərs huː hæd biːn ˈwor.kɪŋ ˈdeɪ.li ət æn old zuː ɪn e de.ˈza:.tɪd ˈdɪ.strɪkt ɒf e ˈte.rɪ.tor.i, so hi, so ʃi wəz ˈve.ri ˈhæ.pi tʊ stɑːrt e nɪuː dʒɒb æt e suː.ˈpər ˈpraɪ.vɪt ˈpræk.tɪs ɪn nɔːθ skwor nɪər ðə dIuk striːt ˈtaʊ.wər. ðət ˈe.riə wəz mʌtʃ,ˈnɪə.rə, ˈnɪə.rər fɒr har ænd, moːr, mo:r tʊ har ˈlaɪ.kɪŋ . iː.ˈven so ɒn hər ˈfərst ˈmɔː.nɪŋ ʃi felt strest . ʃi eɪt e boʊl ɒf pɒ.ˈridʒ tʃekt ˈhər.self ɪn ðə ˈmɪ.ror ænd wɒʃt hər feɪs ɪn e ˈhʌ.ri . ðen ʃi pʊt ɒn e pa:m ˈjɪe.lo dres ænd e , f, fliːs ˈdʒe.ket pikd ʌp h, pɪkd ʌp hər kɪt ænd ˈhe.ded fər wɒrk .

wen ʃi, wen ʃi ɡɒt ðeər ðeər wəz e ˈwa.men wɪθ ə ɡuːs ˈweɪ.tɪŋ fər hər . ðə ˈwa.men ɡev ˈse.ra æn ɒ.ˈfɪ.ʃɪ.əl ˈlæ.tər frɒm ðə vet . ðə ˈlæ.tər ɪm.ˈplaɪd ðæt ðə ˈæ.nɪ.mal kʊd bi ˈsʌf. ə .rɪŋ frɒm e reər, frəm, ˈfɒrm ɒf fu:t æn maʊθ dɪ.ˈziːs whɪtʃ wəz sə.ˈpraɪz.ɪŋ bɪˈkɒz ˈnɔː.mə.li, jiu, jɪu wʊd ˈon.li ɪk.ˈspækt tʊ ˈsiː ɪt ɪn e dɒɡ ɔːr e , gɒt, ɡo:t. ˈsa.ra wəz ˈsen.tɪ.ˈmæn.tal so ðɪs ˈmeɪd hər fiːl ˈsɒ.ri fɒr ðə ˈbɪuː.tɪ.fʊl
bərd . bɪ.ˈfɔr lɒŋ ðæt ˈɪtʃ.i ɡuːs bɪ.ˈɡan tʊ strat ə.ˈraʊnd ðə ˈɒf.ɪs laɪk ə ˈlɒn.tɪŋ whɪtʃ meɪd æn, ʌn, ʌn.ˈsten.ɪ.ti mes . ðə ˈɡuː.zes ˈoʊ.nər ˈmær.i ˈhær.ɪ.son kæpt ˈkɒ.lɪŋ ˈkɔ.ma ˈkɔ.ma whɪtʃ ˈsæ.ra θɔːt wəz æn ɒd tʃɔɪs fər e neɪm . ˈkɔ.ma wəz strɒŋ ænd hɪuːz so ɪt wʊd bɪ tɪk sʌm fɔːrs tʊ trep har, bʌt ˈsæ.ra hæd e ˈdɪf.rent ˈaɪ.ˈdɪə. ˈfarst ʃi traɪd ˈdʒent.li ˈstro.kɪŋ ðə ˈɡuː.zes ˈlo.eər bæk wɪð hər pɑːm ðen ˈsɪŋ.ɪŋ e tɪun tʊ hər . ˈfaɪ.nəl.i ʃi æd.ˈmɪ.nɪs.ˈtred, æd.ˈmɪ.nɪs.tred, æd.ˈmɪ.nɪs.tred, æd.ˈmɪ.nɪs.tred,uh, æd.ˈmɪ.nɪs.tərd ˈiː. ðər. ðə ˈɒ.fərs, ðə ˈɒ.fərs weər nɒt ˈfɪu.taɪl, n, nɒt ˈfɪu.taɪl . ɪn no taɪm ðə ɡuːs bɪ.ˈɡæn tʊ faɪər, tʊ taɪər so ˈsæ.rə wəz ˈeɪ.bəl tʊ ho:ld ˈɒn.tʊ ˈkɔ.ma æn ɡɪv hər e rɪ.ˈlæk.sɪŋ bɑθ .

wʌns ˈsæ.rə hæd mæ.ˈnedʒd tʊ bɑθ ðə ɡuːs ʃi waɪpt hər ɒf wɪθ e klɒθ ænd leɪd hər ɒn hər raɪt saɪd, raɪt saɪd . ðen ˈsæ.rə kɒn.ˈfərmd ðet vets daɪ.əɡ.ˈno:.sɪs. ˈɒl.most ɪ.ˈmiː.dɪet.li ʃi rɪ.ˈmem.bərd æn ɪ.ˈfekt.ɪv ˈtriːt.ment ðæt rɪ.ˈkwaɪrd ðæt rɪ.ˈkwaɪrd har tʊ , me, me, tʊ ˈme.ʒar aʊt e lɒt ɒf ˈmed. ɪ.sɪn . ˈsæ.rə warnd ðæt ðɪs kɔːrs ɒf ˈtriːt.ment maɪt bi ek.ˈspen.sɪv, ˈi:. ðər, ˈaɪ.ðər faɪv ɔːr sɪks taɪmz ðə kɒst ɒf, pen, ˈpe.nɪ. sɪ.lɪn. aɪ kɑːnt ɪ.ˈma:.dʒɪn ˈpeɪ.ɪŋ so mʌtʃ bʌt ˈmɪ.sɪs ˈhær.ɪ.son e mɪ.lɪo.ˈneər ˈlɔː.jɪər ˈθɔːt ɪt wəz e,f, feər praɪs fɒr e kɪor.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Amin Rahman

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 18/11/2020

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I’m a teacher, and I’ve been teaching English for the last three years in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Sylhet is called a spiritual city. It is famous for its natural beauty and tea gardens. The most attraction of Sylhet is the shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal and Hazrat Shah Poran. Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal is on the highest of a hill that is locally known as “tilla.” Thousands of tourists from different corners of the world visit Sylhet every year.

[The subject speaks Bangla]: Aami Banglay gaan gai. Aami Banglar gaan gai. Aami amar amikey chirodin ei Banglay khoojey pai.

[English translation: I sing in Bengali. I sing Bengali songs. I always find myself in this Bengali language.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Amin Rahman

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 25/10/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

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

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

First, the subject pronounces the voiced bilabial fricative consonant sound /v/ correctly, unlike most Sylhetis who pronounce it as [bh]. He has also mastered the other English consonant sounds /f/, /z/, /w/, and /ʒ/. On only one occasion did he pronounce /dʒ/ as [z], pronouncing the word “huge” [hiuz]. It seems that he is not yet able to distinguish between the vowels /æ/ and /e/ and uses them interchangeably. For instance, he pronounced “jacket” as [ˈdʒe.ket ], “sentimental” as [ˈsæn.tɪ.ˈmæn.tal], “kept” as [kæpt], and “trap” as [trep], etc.

He read Comma Gets a Cure in 207.5 seconds, which is a speed of 108 words per minute. This low speed is due to his fumbling on multisyllabic words and sometimes repeating words. He repeated the word “administered” five times, pronouncing it incorrectly the first four times. The subject does not have an affected English accent, which some Sylhetis acquire who are in close contact with their British relatives.

COMMENTARY BY: Amin Rahman

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 18/11/2020

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