Acoustic realization and perception of english lexical stress by mandarin learners

Authors

  • Yuwen Lai Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66044
  • Joan Sereno Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66044
  • Aliard Jongman Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66044

Keywords:

Computational linguistics, Linguistics, Acoustic, Mandarin Chinese, Stress locations, Tone languages

Abstract

An acoustic and perception study was conducted to investigate the acquisition of English lexical stress by Mandarin learners. Mandarin Chinese is a tone language that adopts height and contour to signal lexical meaning, while English is a stress language. It was observed that the Mandarin learners are different from native English speakers in the acoustic realization. The study used fourteen disyllabic word pairs with similar segmental composition in stress location. The mean F0, max F0, intensity, duration, and F2 of stressed and unstressed vowels were compared to the native English speakers during the study. The study also observed that native English speakers utilize mean F0, max F0, intensity, and duration to signal stressed syllables in noun readings.

Additional Files

Published

2008-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Lai Y, Sereno J, Jongman A. Acoustic realization and perception of english lexical stress by mandarin learners. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2008 Sep. 1 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];36(3):124-5. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2069

Issue

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada