The Effect of the Chinese Articulation on Learning English.doc

汉语发音对英语发音的影响The Effect of the Chinese Articulation on Learning EnglishContentsAbstract.1Key words.1I.Introduction.1II.The essence of language transfer.2III.Conceptions and definitions.23.1 Phone and phoneme.33.2 Vowels and consonants in English.33.2.1 Monophthongs.33.2.2 Diphthongs.53.2.3 Stops.73.2.4 Fricatives and Affricates.73.2.5 Nasals, Approximants and Laterals.93.3 Initials and finals.113.3.1 The articulation places and manners of initials.113.3.2 The articulation places and manners of finals.123.4 Results of contrastive analysis.123.4.1 Vowels and finals.123.4.2 Consonants and initials.13.Contrastive analysis of syllables between English and Chinese.14.Intonation language and tongue language.14.Conclusion.15References16The Effect of the Chinese Articulation on Learning English摘 要： 语音过关是英语学习的关键，同时也是难点。然而，外语界对语音教学问题的探讨明显少于其他领域，。将英汉两种语音进行对比研究，对比教学，不失为一种良策。就在将两种语音进行对比教学的过程中，产生了一些似是而非的说法，例如：“普通话好，英语语音就好”是其中最具代表性的。这一问题的答案是不确定的。汉语的普通话和英语是两种民族的语言，它们之间既有共性、相似性，又有差异性，两种语言都有自己独特的一套语言系统、发音规律。本文着重从音节，元音与韵母，辅音与声母，以及发音、语调等方面对两种语言的发音规律、部位及方法进行了比较，从而帮助更多的汉语学习者规范英语发音。关键词：音节; 元音；辅音；发音；音调Abstract: To learn pronunciation is the key point of the English study, also is a difficult point. However, in foreign language study to discuss the teaching problem is obviously less than other studies. Contrast English pronunciation with Chinese pronunciation is a good method for English learners. But, when contrast these two languages in teaching process, a lot of unclearly parlances are made out. For example, someone said if you can speak a standard Putonghua you also could speak a standard English. Thats wrong, although there are many similarities between them there also have many differences. And these two languages all have their specialized language system and pronunciation rules. This thesis emphasizes to contrast these two language on pronunciation rules and articulation places from the syllable, vowel and final, consonant and initial, articulation and intonation, etc., aims at helping more and more Chinese EFL learners correct the English pronunciation.Key words: syllable; vowel; consonant; articulation; intonationI. Introduction As we know, conventionally, linguist has broken language down into three main components: pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Among them, pronunciation is the key point of English learning, an also a difficult point at the same time. However, it is clear that foreign language teaching research overemphasize on grammatical rules and very much neglect the importance of pronunciation teaching. It is thought that attaching importance to pronunciation has a great effect on English learning for Chinese English learners. This paper is on the basis of the theory of language transfer, comparing Chinese Putonghua with English and contrasting the similarity and difference between them. All of them are based on elaborate theory, by means of reading large relevant papers and works, analyses and discussion the examples, and then makes detailed explanations. II. The essence of language transfer According to D.P. Ausubels Transfer Theory (1986), transfer is a kind of cognitive behavior, reflected the active psychological process of individuals. Some researchers (冯忠良，1992；姚海林，1994) generalized that transfer is a acquired experience in one learning and the effect on another learning, an integrated process of new and old experience. Substantially, it is a process of forming new cognitive structure, which by mutually affecting and acting between previous cognitive structure and new learning. Transfer is the mutually influence in different learning, it has kinds of contents and types. That is to say, transfer also exists in language learning. At this point, we know that language transfer includes the transfer in different languages and the transfer in one language interior. That is inter-language transfer and intra-language transfer. For example, the transfer between Chinese and English belongs to inter-language transfer; the transfer in English vocabulary and reading comprehension or English writing belongs to intra-language transfer. To sum up, the effect of previous language knowledge on new language knowledge learning is language transfer. Whatever inter-language transfer or intra-language transfer, there exists positive or negative assimilative transfer. The transfer that promoting the learning of new knowledge is called positive transfers. On the contrary, the transfer obstructed the learning of new knowledge is negative transfer. Therefore, research on the transfer between Chinese Putonghua and English may be great helpful for Chinese English learners, especially the positive transfer between them. III. Conceptions and definitions Putonghua learners, to some extent, have the transfer in English pronunciation learning. Usually, that is the transfer of Putonghua articulation customs or articulation places. It is also a transfer of one articulation skill. Contrastive research on the aspects of phone, phoneme, syllable, etc. between the two languages, undoubtedly, can promote to find a appropriate requirement of positive transfer, thus, to avoid the influence of negative transfer, then, to help the learning of English pronunciation. 3.1 Phone and phonemePhone is the minimum unit in speech sounds, but in actual communication, the minimum unit is phoneme, which can distinguish meaning. Phoneme can be divided into segmental phonemes and suprasegmental phonemes. ( Linguistics：A Course Book, 2001) The former one contains vowels, consonants and vowel unite with consonant or consonant unite with consonant in vocabulary, that is called phoneme union as syllable. The latter one refers to stress, length, rhythm, tone, intonation and juncture. The following are the contrastive analysis and transfer effect between the two languages. 3.2 Vowels and consonants in English Vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips. Consonants are produced by constricting or obstructing the vocal tract at some places to divert, impede, or completely shut off the flow of air in the oral cavity. By contrast, a vowel is produced without such obstruction, so no turbulence or a total stopping of the air can be perceived.English belongs to Indo-European language. There are 20 vowels and 28 consonants. English vowels are grouped into monophthongs and diphthongs. In the 20 vowels, among which 12 are monophthongs and 8 are diphthongs. The English monophthongs can be classified according to 1) the height of the raised parent of the tongue; 2) the part of the tongue raised, and 3) the position of the lips, i.e. whether they are rounded or unrounded. 3.2.1 MonophthongsThere are front vowels in English: /i:/, /i/, /e/ and /æ/. The reason these are called front vowels is that the tongue body is shifted forward, causing the vowels to be produced in the front of the mouth. In addition, the front vowels may be subdivided into those that are high (or close), like /i:/ and /i/, mid, like /e/, and low (or open), like /æ/. For the two vowels in the high front space, /i:/ and /i/, the tongue is close to the hard palate. Likewise, for the low vowel /æ/ the tongue is nearly flat and the lower jaw more open than for the other front vowels. (英语语音教程，2002)/i:/ is a very common sound in the world's languages. Raising the body of the tongue from its rest position and shifting it forward make it. The /i/ sound is made by lowering the tongue slightly from the high-front position for /i:/. Also, /i:/ is a much more tense sound than /i/. The fact that English has these two high front vowels, differentiated by muscle tension in the root of the tongue, sets it apart from Chinese and many languages of the world. Both /i:/ and /i/ can occur in initial, medial, and final position in words. Very little differently should be encountered by Chinese learners in the pronunciation of /i:/, but /i/ is a problem sound. It is easy for learners to detect the difference in length. What counts here, however, is the difference in quality. It is therefore important to point out the fact that to pronounce a correct /i/, you need to 1) lower your tongue a little bit from the position for /i:/, and 2) make it a lax sound instead of a tense sound like /i:/. The importance of correct pronunciation of /i/ lies in the fact that it is the second most frequent vowel in English./e/ is also an English vowel with a high frequency of occurrence. The tongue body is shifted forward in the mid-plane. /æ/ is produced by shifting the body of the tongue forward from its relaxed state, and lowest of the front vowels. /e/ and /æ/ do not occur in final position in English words. /e/ and /æ/ are not really problem sounds for Chinese learners, but many fail to make a clear distinction between the two in their speech. The difficulty is that they have to make the clear distinction consistent.There are two central vowels in English: /:/ and /. They are called central vowels because they tend to be produced at point midway between the front and back vowels and between the high and low vowels./:/ is made with the tongue around the middle of the mouth. It occurs only in stressed syllables. / is also called a schwa. It is made similarly to /:/, but with less tension. / is the most frequently used vowel in English. Both /:/ and / may occur in all three word positions.Most learners do not have problems in the pronunciation of /:/ and /, but we still need to give special attention to the schwa. The problem with the schwa, may not generally be in production, but in knowing when to use the sound. No other vowel, with the exception of the other reduced vowel, /i/, is so important to an understanding of the English sound system and the way of functions in unstressed syllables.There are six back vowels in English. Shifting the body of the tongue back from its central position produces the back vowels. The tip of the tongue remains at the level of the lower teeth. The front and back vowels have several features in common as well as some differences. Unlike the front vowels that are made with a fairly neutral lip posture, for four of the back vowels the lips are rounded. The back vowels also may be subdivided into those that are high (/u:/ and /u/), mid (/:/ and /), and low (/a:/ and / /). /u:/ and /u/ are both high, back, rounded vowels. The /u:/ marks the highest boundary for back vowels, as /i:/ does for the front vowels. Therefore, the tongue is retracted from its east position and raised toward the soft palate. This vowel is quite common in the languages of the world and does not create problems for most Chinese learners. Along with /u:/, /u/ completes the vowels in the high backspace on the vowels chart. Its corresponding front vowel is /i/. When making the sound, the tongue is retracted as for /u:/ but not elevated to the same extent. In addition, the /u/ vowel is not made with as much tension in the root of the tongue as /u:/. The same tense lax contrast is also seen for /i:/ and /i/. This sound is not found very frequently as a phoneme in the languages of the world, certainly not in Chinese Putonghua. In English, it is not very common despite the fact that it appears in some frequently used words, such as should, good, and look. /u:/ occurs in all three positions of a word while /u/ occurs only in the middle position of a word, like book and hook. To ensure correct pronunciation, it is important to make the following distinction between /u:/ and /u/:1. /u:/ is the highest back vowel, so the raised part of the tongue for /u:/ is higher than that for /u:/;2.  the part of the tongue raised for /u/ is not as far back as that for /u:/;3. /u:/ has quite strong lip rounding while the lips are only slightly rounded for /u/./:/ is a mid-back vowel. For its production, the tongue is retracted and almost flat in the mouth. The vowel is almost fully back and has quite strong lip- rounding. / is a low vowel. The lips are slightly rounded. / is a difficult vowel for the Chinese learners. Many use a shortened version of /:/ as a substitute. To ensure correct pronunciation, it is important to make distinction between these two vowels:1. / is a low vowel while /:/ is a mid vowel, so the mouth is more open for /.2. /:/ has quite strong lip rounding while the lips are only slightly rounded for /. The /a:/ is made by lowering and flattering the tongue in the oral cavity. It is a low vowel, but not as far as other back vowels in English. / is quite different from other vowels in this group in that it is more like a central vowel than a back vowel. / is made with the tongue around the approximate middle of the mouth, but shifted slightly back. It is lower than the other central vowels /:/ and /. The lip position is neutral. It is important for learners to make a clear distinction between /a:/ and / in their pronunciation.3.2.2 DiphthongsThere are 8 diphthongs in English. Diphthongs are sounds that consist of a movement of glide from one vowel to another. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about all the diphthongs is that the first part is much longer and stronger than the second part. Take /ai/ as an example. Most of this diphthong consists of the /a/ vowel, and only in about the last quarter of the diphthong does the glide to /i/ begin. As the glide to /i/ happens, the loudness of the sound decreases. As a result, the /i/ part is shorter and quieter. The English diphthongs can be shown in the following diagram: Diphthong Centering closing   Ending in ending in i ending in u i e u ei ai i u ao /i/, /e/ and /u/ are called centering diphthongs because they all glide towards the / (schwa) vowel, as the symbols indicate. The starting point for /i/ is a little closer than /i/ as in bit, bin. /e/ begins with the similar vowel sound as the /e/ of get, men. /u/ has a starting point slightly closer than /u/ in put ,pull. (英语语音教程，2002)/ei/, /ai/ and /i/ are three diphthongs that glide towards /i/. /ei/ begins with the same vowel sound as the /e / of get, men.