Production and perception of English lexical stress by native Mandarin speakers

Yanhong Zhang, Purdue University

Abstract

English lexical stress is correlated acoustically with F0, duration, intensity and vowel quality. Error in any of these features could interfere with acquisition of the stress contrast. This dissertation examined production and perception of English lexical stress by native Mandarin speakers. ^ In production study, Mandarin and English participants were asked to produce several English disyllabic word pairs (e.g. CONtract: noun; conTRACT: verb). Results showed Mandarin speakers produced significantly fewer native-like stress patterns, although they did use all four acoustic correlates to distinguish stressed from unstressed syllables. Use of duration and amplitude were comparable between native and non-native speakers, but there were significant difference between them with the height of F0 in stressed syllables and the F0 peak location in stressed/unstressed syllables as well as the formant patterns. Mandarin speakers mainly had problems with vowel reduction in certain unstressed syllables. Results suggest that Mandarin speakers of non-native productions of English lexical stress were influenced partly by their native-language experience with Mandarin lexical tones, and partly by similarities and differences between Mandarin and English vowel inventories. ^ In perception study, Mandarin and English listeners were asked to do stress identification tests, in which vowel quality was compared to F0, duration and intensity, respectively, in natural/flat pitch contour conditions. Overall results showed that native and non-native listeners weighted vowel quality greater than other cues, and Mandarin listeners showed a native-like vowel category boundary, suggesting that Mandarin listeners had native-like perceptual ability for vowel contrasts, [&egr;] and [I]. Native and non-native listeners, in a similar manner, showed the tendency of treating vowel quality and duration as a combinational cue in both pitch contour conditions. Intensity, while being used by English listeners, was not used by Mandarin listeners for stress identification with the possible reason that intensity is a minor cue for English lexical stress and Mandarin lexical tones. Native and non-native listeners revealed difference in stress perception with the use of F0 related to the pitch contour condition. The possible explanations were discussed. ^ The assumption that production errors were perceptually motivated seems not be supported. Still, this observation is instructive from a pedagogical perspective: Mandarin learners of ESL should be trained mainly with regards to articulation of certain “unfamiliar” vowels where English lexical stress is considered.^

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Alexander Francis, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Language, Linguistics|Speech Communication

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