初级阶段学习者对华语擦音与塞擦音的习得 = The acquisition of the fricatives and affricatives in mandarin by elementary level learners

Abstract

This thesis examines the acquisition of the three set of Chinese fricatives and affricatives: ?z, c, s?, ?zh, ch, sh?, ?j, q, x? by adult elementary learners of Chinese as a second language. Ten informants, one native Chinese (Beijing) and nine elementary level foreign learners (6-7 months of learning) participated in this study. The three set of Chinese fricatives and affricatives are absent from the phonetic inventories of the learners? first languages. This research is based on acoustic measurements to capture the difference coming up with the foreigners? Chinese pronunciation. The recording is followed by acoustic analysis on the basis of Praat, with an attempt to investigate the value of the learners? pronunciation. This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces of the background and the motivation of the study. Chapter 2 is the literature review of the field, including the theories of second language acquisition, researches of Chinese fricatives and affricatives and researches of teaching Chinese as a second language. The value of the thesis was analyzed by reviewing the academic history of this topic. The research questions and hypotheses are brought forward. In Chapter 3, the thesis introduces the methodology of the study. The acoustic analysis based on Praat program is used in this study. The duration, the peaks of frequencies and the transitions between onsets and vowels are measured as important acoustic parameters of fricatives. There are 5 sections in Chapter 4. These sections analyze the value of the Chinese fricatives and affricatives read by elementary level learners from America, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand separately. The essential finding is that the three sets of fricatives are either directly transferred from the pronunciation of the learners? mother languages or hyper-corrected by exaggeration, giving rise to the foreign accent in perception. Chapter 5 is the discussion and conclusion of the study. According to the results of Chapter 4, the elementary level learners have not acquired all the Chinese fricatives and affricatives. The similar phones are interfered by first language while the new phones are not. The new phones which are marked are more difficult to acquire. The values of ?zh, ch, sh? pronounced by learners are different when they combined with different vowels. In Chapter 5, some pedagogical methods are also provided, theoretically as well as empirically. The findings of this study suggest that the Chinese fricatives and affricatives are the important and difficult point in the Chinese as a second language classroom. The acoustic analysis is an effective method to know the problems of the learners? pronunciation. In addition, the acoustic method can play an important role to facilitate acquisition.