The Acquisition of Chinese as a Second Language Pronunciation: Segments and Prosody (Prosody, Phonology and Phonetics)

This book is the first edited book to cover a wide range of issues related to Chinese as a second language (CSL) speech, including tone and segment acquisition and processing, categorical perception of tones, CSL fluency, CSL intelligibility/comprehensibility and accentedness, and pronunciation pedagogy. Moreover, the book addresses both theoretical and pedagogical issues. It offers an essential go-to book for anyone who is interested in CSL speech, e.g. CSL speech researchers, Chinese instructors, CSL learners, and anyone interested in second language speech. Introduction References Contents Editor and Contributors About the Editor Contributors Segments and Tones Production of the Mandarin Rhotic Onset /ɹ/ by Indonesian Learners of Mandarin 1 Introduction 2 Method 2.1 Participants 2.2 Stimuli 2.3 Recording 2.4 Data Analysis 3 Results 3.1 Error Types 3.2 Acoustic Results 4 General Discussion 5 Conclusion References What is in the Final Stage of Inter-Language? Tone Errors and Phonological Constraints in Spontaneous Speech in Very Advanced Learners of Mandarin 1 Introduction 2 Research Questions, Method and Subjects 3 Data and Analysis 3.1 TMS 3.2 TPC 3.3 OCP 4 Discussion and Conclusions 4.1 Summary of Answers to the Research Questions 4.2 Rule Configuration as the Explanation 4.3 Constraint Re-Ranking in L2 Acquisition References Categorical Perception of Mandarin Tones by Native and Second Language Speakers 1 Introduction 2 Research Questions 3 Methodology 3.1 Subjects 3.2 Stimuli 3.3 Procedures 4 Results 4.1 Discrimination Task 4.2 Identification Task 5 Summary and Discussion 5.1 Results of the Discrimination Task 5.2 Results of the Identification Task 5.3 General Discussion 5.4 Pedagogical Implications 6 Conclusion References What if What You Think is the Opposite of What I Say? Evidence from Putonghua/Lanzhou Bidialectal Speakers on the Online Processing of Two Tonal Systems 1 Introduction 1.1 Mandarin Dialects: Lanzhou Mandarin 1.2 The Visual World Paradigm (VWP), Tone, and Bilingualism 1.3 This Study 2 Method 2.1 Participants 2.2 Materials 2.3 Procedure 3 Results 3.1 Behavioral Results 3.2 Eyetracking Results 4 Discussion 5 Conclusion Appendix: List of Stimuli Used in Eyetracking Trials References The Effect of Perceptual Training on Teaching Mandarin Chinese Tones 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Tones in Mandarin Chinese 2.2 English-Speaking Learners’ Perception of Tones in Monosyllabic and Disyllabic Words 2.3 High Variability Phonetic Training 3 Methodology 3.1 Participants 3.2 Stimuli 3.3 Procedure 4 Results 4.1 Tones in the Monosyllabic Stimuli by the Two Training Groups 4.2 Tones in the Disyllabic Stimuli by the Two Training Groups 4.3 Tonal Confusion in the Monosyllabic Stimuli by the Training Groups 4.4 Tonal Confusion in the Disyllabic Stimuli by the Training Groups 4.5 Training Effects on Syllable Position 4.6 Training Effects on Tonal Context 4.7 Training Effects on Tonal Sequence 5 Discussion and Conclusion 5.1 Improved Tones 5.2 Problematic Tone Pairs 5.3 Linguistic Factors 6 Pedagogical Implications 7 Limitations and Future Research References Tone Category Learning Should Serve Tone Word Learning: An Experiment of Integrating Pronunciation Teaching in the L2 Chinese Curriculum 1 Introduction 1.1 Tone Category Versus Tone Word Learning in L2 Chinese 1.2 Current Study: Integrate Pronunciation Teaching in the Curriculum 1.3 Technological Component of the Current Study 1.4 Pronunciation Assessment 1.5 Word-Specific Effect on Pronunciation 2 Research Questions 3 Methods 3.1 Participants 3.2 Training Materials and Test Instruments 3.3 Procedure 3.4 Data Coding 4 Results 4.1 Production Results 4.2 Comprehensibility Rating Across Words 4.3 Word Learning (Dictation) Results 5 Discussion 6 Pedagogical Implication Appendix References “Repeat After Me”: Is There a Better Way to Correct Tone Errors in Teaching Mandarin Chinese as a Second Language? 1 Introduction 2 Research Method 2.1 Participants 3 Results 4 Discussion 5 A Pedagogical Model 6 Limitations and Future Studies References Prosody Duration of Disyllabic Words Produced by Russian Learners of Chinese 1 Introduction 2 Methods 2.1 Participants 2.2 Experiment Instrument and Procedure 2.3 Analyses 3 Results 3.1 Duration of Disyllabic Words Between NS and NNS 3.2 Duration Affected by Different Positions in a Sentence 3.3 Duration Affected by Different Positions Within a Disyllabic Word According to the Positions in a Sentence 3.4 Duration Affected by Tones According to the Positions in a Sentence 3.5 Summary 4 Discussion 4.1 Differences at the Sentence-Medial Position 4.2 Non-significant Differences at the Sentence-Final Position 4.3 Tone Effect 4.4 Future Research Directions 5 Conclusion Appendix References How Does Mandarin Learning Experience Modulate Second-Language Learners’ Phonological Knowledge of Tone 3 Sandhi in Word Production? 1 Introduction 2 Methods 2.1 Participants 2.2 Materials 2.3 Procedures 2.4 Measurements 2.5 Data Analysis 3 Results 4 Discussion Appendix References Intelligibility, Comprehensibility, Accentedness, and Fluency The Effect of Fundamental Frequency on Mandarin Intelligibility by L2 Learners in Quiet and Noise Environments: A Pilot Study 1 Introduction 1.1 Intelligibility 1.2 Factors Affecting Intelligibility 2 Methodology 2.1 Participants 2.2 Stimuli 2.3 Procedure 2.4 The Measurement of Intelligibility 3 Data Analysis and Results 4 Discussions 5 Pedagogical Implications, Limitations and Future Studies 6 Concluding Remarks Appendix 1. Sentences List Appendix 2 References Effects of Segments, Intonation and Rhythm on the Perception of L2 Accentedness and Comprehensibility 1 Introduction 2 Background 2.1 Segments and Prosody in L2 Pronunciation Teaching and Research 2.2 Research Gaps 2.3 Predictions 3 Methodology 3.1 Material Preparation 3.2 Chinese Native Judges 3.3 Procedure 4 Results 5 Summary and Discussions 5.1 Summary 5.2 Discussions 6 Conclusions Appendix: Sentences Used References Foreign Accent in Second Language Mandarin Chinese 1 Introduction 2 What is Foreign-Accented Mandarin Like? 2.1 The Speech Sound Distributions of a Language 2.2 Accent-Shifted Pronunciation and Pronunciation Errors 2.3 How Frequent Are Tone Errors in L2 Speech? 2.4 How to Investigate Tone Errors in Future Research? 3 How Does Foreign-Accentedness Affect the Comprehensibility of L2 Mandarin? 3.1 The Relationship Between Accentedness and Comprehensibility in L2 Mandarin 3.2 Can Listeners Adapt to Foreign-Accented Mandarin? 4 Future Directions for Foreign-Accented Mandarin Research 4.1 What Specific Sounds May Be Most Important to Target in Pronunciation Teaching? 4.2 How Do Prosodic Features of Foreign-Accented Speech Impact Comprehensibility? 4.3 What Are the Social Implications of Foreign-Accented Mandarin? 5 Conclusion References Exploring Fluency and Disfluency Features of Oral Performances in Chinese as a Second Language 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Definitions of Fluency 2.2 Temporal Measures of Fluency 2.3 Studies on Fluency 3 Methodology 3.1 Instrument 3.2 Participants 3.3 Procedure 3.4 Rating 3.5 Analyses 4 Results 4.1 Correlations Between Fluency Features and Proficiency Levels 4.2 Distinguishing Fluency and Disfluency Features 5 Discussion 6 Conclusion Appendix References The Role of Vocabulary Knowledge in Second Language Speaking Fluency: A Mixed-Methods Study 1 Introduction 2 Second Language Speaking Fluency 3 Vocabulary and L2 Cognitive Fluency 4 The Present Study 5 Method 5.1 Participants 5.2 Experiment 5.3 Stimulated Recall 6 Results 6.1 Experiment 6.2 Stimulated Recall 7 Discussion 8 Conclusion Appendix References