Abstract
This paper investigates foreign accent by comparing vowel production of native speakers, heritage and non-native learners with data from a large corpus of spontaneous Chinese learner speech. Snippets were evaluated by untrained Mandarin raters on accent ratings and followed up with acoustic analysis of vowel qualities. The rating result showed a high correlation between accent and pronunciation. It is found that it is easier to improve the goodness of pronunciation, but the impression of accent is hard to change. Duration and formant studies reveal that L1 transfer has long-term impact on accent. The vowel [u] produced by second language learners was more fronted than that by native speakers. The vowel [y] is difficult for learners who associate front vowel with unrounding or, alternatively, whose performance falls between [y] and [u]. The formant space of Mandarin low vowels [a] and [a] produced by learners were in the opposite direction from the way native speakers did or were not distinguished. The research findings have implication on language teaching and pronunciation training method.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Speech Prosody |
| Publisher | Tongji University Press |
| Pages | 234-237 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Volume | 1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9787560848693 |
| State | Published - 2012 |
| Event | 6th International Conference on Speech Prosody 2012, SP 2012 - Shanghai, China Duration: May 22 2012 → May 25 2012 |
Other
| Other | 6th International Conference on Speech Prosody 2012, SP 2012 |
|---|---|
| Country | China |
| City | Shanghai |
| Period | 5/22/12 → 5/25/12 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Foreign accent
- Mandarin vowels
- Second language acquisition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Software
- Mechanical Engineering
Cite this
A corpus study of native and non-native vowel quality. / Wu, Chen Huei; Shih, Chilin.
Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Speech Prosody. Vol. 1 Tongji University Press, 2012. p. 234-237.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
}
TY - GEN
T1 - A corpus study of native and non-native vowel quality
AU - Wu, Chen Huei
AU - Shih, Chilin
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - This paper investigates foreign accent by comparing vowel production of native speakers, heritage and non-native learners with data from a large corpus of spontaneous Chinese learner speech. Snippets were evaluated by untrained Mandarin raters on accent ratings and followed up with acoustic analysis of vowel qualities. The rating result showed a high correlation between accent and pronunciation. It is found that it is easier to improve the goodness of pronunciation, but the impression of accent is hard to change. Duration and formant studies reveal that L1 transfer has long-term impact on accent. The vowel [u] produced by second language learners was more fronted than that by native speakers. The vowel [y] is difficult for learners who associate front vowel with unrounding or, alternatively, whose performance falls between [y] and [u]. The formant space of Mandarin low vowels [a] and [a] produced by learners were in the opposite direction from the way native speakers did or were not distinguished. The research findings have implication on language teaching and pronunciation training method.
AB - This paper investigates foreign accent by comparing vowel production of native speakers, heritage and non-native learners with data from a large corpus of spontaneous Chinese learner speech. Snippets were evaluated by untrained Mandarin raters on accent ratings and followed up with acoustic analysis of vowel qualities. The rating result showed a high correlation between accent and pronunciation. It is found that it is easier to improve the goodness of pronunciation, but the impression of accent is hard to change. Duration and formant studies reveal that L1 transfer has long-term impact on accent. The vowel [u] produced by second language learners was more fronted than that by native speakers. The vowel [y] is difficult for learners who associate front vowel with unrounding or, alternatively, whose performance falls between [y] and [u]. The formant space of Mandarin low vowels [a] and [a] produced by learners were in the opposite direction from the way native speakers did or were not distinguished. The research findings have implication on language teaching and pronunciation training method.
KW - Foreign accent
KW - Mandarin vowels
KW - Second language acquisition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902951779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84902951779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84902951779
SN - 9787560848693
VL - 1
SP - 234
EP - 237
BT - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Speech Prosody
PB - Tongji University Press
ER -