The intelligibility of South Asian Englishes to Chinese pre-service English teachers: implications for sustainable language education

In light of the growing need for effective communication across English varieties, this study examines the intelligibility of three South Asian Englishes—Indian, Pakistani, and Nepali English—among Chinese pre-service English teachers. Grounded in the theoretical framework of World Englishes, the study adopts a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative analysis of word-by-word transcription accuracy with qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended questionnaire responses. Results indicate moderately limited overall intelligibility, with Nepali English yielding the highest average comprehension rate (66.67%) and Indian English the lowest (55.22%). Phonological features such as vowel length contrasts, retroflex consonants, and voicing distinctions were identified as key barriers. In addition, participants’ limited exposure to South Asian Englishes and prior training in Inner Circle norms contributed to perceptual challenges. These findings underscore the need for more inclusive exposure to accents and phonological training in teacher education programs, thereby promoting intercultural communicative competence and advancing the goals of sustainable language education.