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ERIC Number: EJ1482163
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Sep
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8333
EISSN: EISSN-1467-9922
Available Date: 2025-07-02
The Role of Prosody in International Communication in English in Call Center Interactions
Lucy Pickering1; Eric Friginal2; Shigehito Menjo1
Language Learning, v75 suppl 1 p139-169 2025
This paper examines outsourced call center interactions to illustrate how these contexts can enhance pronunciation analysis and training. Public opinion in the United States and the United Kingdom regarding the perceived "pronunciation problems" of agents based in call centers in Outer-Circle English-speaking countries is typically negative. However, it is often difficult for researchers to pinpoint the specific issues involved, as access to authentic calls is scarce. This paper reports an investigation into the role that the differing use of prosodic conventions can play in call center interactions recorded in the Philippines between Filipinos and North Americans. A microethnographic analysis of call center data focused on prosodic features of interaction suggests that, where conflict occurs, it is mirrored in the prosodic features of the interaction. This has important implications for modeling effective interaction and training for high-stakes contexts.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States; United Kingdom; Philippines
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1East Texas A&M University; 2The Hong Kong Polytechnic University