Experiment Study on Influence of Chinese Experience on English Phonetic Acquisition at the Perspective of Word Stress

Ge GAO

Abstract


In line with Perceptual Assimilation Model that is concerned with speech perception in second language acquisition, the present study seeks to reveal the relationship between the experience of L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English) production at suprasegmental level. The participants in the experiment are English native speakers and Chinese EFL learners. All the subjects are required to read English words, of which the stresses are recorded for comparison and analysis. The study finds that the occurrences of misplacement of word stress are always in polysyllabic words and there is a strong tendency of stress shift on the second syllable. The major reason for that is as follows: the second or the latter syllable is always stressed in Chinese double-syllable words. As a result, the second syllable of English words is often analogically stressed by Chinese EFL learners. Considering that, it is necessary to provide the EFL learners with sufficient L2 auditory input to develop phonological awareness.

Key words: Language experience; Speech perception; Suprasegmental


Keywords


Language experience; Speech perception; Suprasegmental

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n

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