Address of Corresponding Author

Folia Phoniatr Logop 2006;58:240-249 (DOI: 10.1159/000093181)

  Key Words

• Acoustics
• First language
• Second language
• Mandarin
• Vowels

  Abstract

The spectral and temporal characteristics of three English tense-lax vowel pairs (/i-i/, /æ-/, /u-u/) produced by native Mandarin speakers are reported. The euclidean distance based on first and second formant frequencies (F1 and F2), the durational differences, as well as the perceptual judgment of the tense-lax vowel contrast were examined in the syllable level productions of 40 Mandarin speakers compared to 40 American English speakers. Results of the comparative analysis indicated that Mandarin speakers differed significantly from the American English speakers in distinguishing the English tense/lax contrast. The general pattern shown across the Mandarin subjects was one in which the temporal feature, rather than the spectral feature, was more indicative of the tense-lax contrast as compared to the American speakers. In addition, the perception for the tense-lax contrast produced by Mandarin speakers was less distinctive as compared to the American speakers. The phonetic influences of the Mandarin language on the production of English tense-lax vowels are discussed.

Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Yang Chen, Department of Speech-Language Pathology
Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15282 (USA)
Tel. +1 412 396 4206, Fax +1 412 396 4196
E-Mail cheny@duq.edu

  Article Information

Number of Print Pages : 10
Number of Figures : 2, Number of Tables : 3, Number of References : 43