Data Sets

Brunei

ASEAN

Indonesian + Taiwanese — Ind2 : 161

S1 = Taiwanese female
S2 = Indonesian male

S1 : so all your family are here?

S2 : yeah eventually er (.) i have three children (.) how many you have

S1 : we got two

S2 : oh great <1> @@@ </1>

S1 : <1> and how about </1> you. do you <2> (have three) </2>

S2 : <2> three i have three </2> i have three childrens yeah

Intended Word: three

Heard as: two/three

Discussion: Initially, S1 was not sure if it was two or three, which is why she asked the question again. After S2 repeated three three more times, S1 understood him.

One factor might be the pronunciation of the initial TH sound as [t] rather than [θ]. We might note also that S1 has spent many years in the UK, where it is normal for [u] to be fronted; so it is maybe not surprising that she hears [tri] as two.