ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines the early World Englishes (WE) conceptualizations of pronunciation through the model of understanding in cross-cultural communication. It illustrates the usefulness of Rasch-based analyses to additionally explicate aspects of the underlying constructs. The book reviews the state-of-the-art in assessing aspects of pronunciation using automatic speech recognition (ASR) and machine scoring techniques. It describes, without formulas, how ASR systems can be developed to predict expert judgments of pronunciation and discusses the approach from the perspective of establishing a definable norm against which the construct of pronunciation can be measured. The book concludes with an examination of current trends and future opportunities in this domain, such as the impact of continuing improvements in speech recognition technology and improvements to pronunciation measures stimulated by such trends as the rise of 'big data'.
