The Sociolinguistics of Singing: Dialect and style in classical choral singing in Trinidad

This study looks at issues of dialect and style that arise in classical choral singing in Trinidad. It poses the question of what accent is preferred, and then goes on to look closely at perceived and real difficulties secondary school choral singers face in producing the target accents. It considers these findings in light of larger discussions of norm-setting and language attitudes in post-colonial contexts, and afterwards with reference to debates about language style, particularly in performance. The data reveal a preference for Standard British English pronunciations, while the use of features associated with mesolectal varieties of Trinidadian English/Creole is highly stigmatized. There is further evidence for endonormativity in the Trinidadian language context, the data indicative of two varieties in Trinidad: a Creole and a local variety of Standard English. The data also reveal several features that are part of neither the British nor the Trinidadian English phonemic inventories, but that are nonetheless identified as necessary for choral singing. These features were labeled classical choral singing style.

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https://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-93329570916

ISBN
978-3-8405-0101-2

Paperback, IX, 376 pages