Prosody transfer - German speakers acquiring Mandarin tones
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INTRODUCTION 7. Phonetik und Phonologie 2011, Osnabrück Tingting Brengelmann & Martine Grice [email protected]; [email protected] Prosody transfer - German speakers acquiring Mandarin tones Although producing lexical tones in citation form is unproblematic for English native speakers acquiring Mandarin Chinese, these same speakers appear to have great difficulties producing tones in connected speech (Shih, 2010 [1]). Do (advanced) German learners of Mandarin have difficulties with utterance level tonal implementation? German prosody: Marking of new information and focus with a peak accent (containing H*) Sparse tonal specification; has the same tune as (H not associated with a specific syllable) Mandarin prosody: Pitch range and postfocal compression [3], no pitch accent to mark focus. Specification of tone for each syllable, even the neutral tone has a target [4]. Ditribution of HL melody over two syllable [5] SPEAKERS 6 (1 x male, 5 x female) native speakers of Mandarin (L1). All grew up in northern China, between 20 and 35 years old. 6 (3 x male, 3 x female) German native speakers, learning Mandarin as L2 for at least 3 years. All German subjects have spent one year in China and are between 20 and 30 years old. SPEECH MATERIAL Sentence frame Wǒ kàn jiàn Noun1 zài Noun2 shàng. “I see Noun1 on Noun2 (on). Target words and focus conditions Noun 1: 4 disyllabic nouns, neutral tone on second syllable (tone sequences 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0) Noun 2: 4 disyllabic nouns, tone 3 on first syllable (tone sequences 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 and 3-4) 3 Narrow focus on Noun1, Noun2, broad focus 4 x 4 x 3 = 48 sentences PROCEDURE Subjects were familiarized with the eight test objects and given their names in pinyin and Chinese characters before the recordings began.The subjects were recorded reading sentences accompanying each picture. Some of these sentences contain gaps that speakers were instructed to fill with one of the eight test words. LEFT: There is a road on the picture. RIGHT: What do you see on the road? I see the basket on the road. LEFT: There is a basket on the picture. RIGHT: What do you see the basket on? I see the basket on the road. SUMMARY - 2-0 and 3-0 German learners realize a pitch peak, akin to pitch accent (H*) Possibly preferring a H tone for marking prominence - 4-0 German learners have fewer problems with 4-0 combination, as H and L distributed over two syllables, realisations more native-like prefocally - Transfer of L1 to L2 prosody is more evident in non-native production when words are in focus than prefocally 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 mean-norm-FOCUS-early-tone4-NS mean-norm-FOCUS-early-tone4-GS Blue = native speakers Red = German speakers Although native 3-0 is a valley contour, German L2 produce a contour resembling a peak accent (H*) Wo3 kan4 jian4 lou3 zi0 zai4 xiao3 lu4 shang4 I see basket on road on IN FOCUS Lou3 zi0 Lou3 zi0 PREFOCAL 1. Averaged contours (6 speakers per group) normalised in time and frequency domains [6] Even in prefocal position, German learners fail to produce the correct contour for tone 3-0 sequence LH ja RESEARCH QUESTIONS II. IN FOCUS REFERENCES [1] Shih, Chilin, & Hsin-Yi Dora Lu (2010). Prosody Transfer and Suppression:Stages of Tone Acquisition. Speech Prosody 2010100968:1-4 [2] Grice, Martine & Stefan Baumann (2007). An Introduction to Intonation – Functions and Models. In Trouvain, Jörgen & Ulrike Gut(eds.): Non-Native Prosody. Phonetic Description and Teaching Practice. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 25-51 [3] Chen, Y., & Gussenhoven, C. (2008). Emphasis and tonal implementation in Standard Chinese. Journal of Phonetics 36 (4): 724-746 [4] Chen, Y. & Xu, Y. (2006). Production of weak elements in speech: Evidence from neutral tone in Standard Chinese. Phonetica 63: 47-75 [5] JUN, S.(2007) Prosodic typology. Prosodic typology: The phonology ofintonation and phrasing. ed. S. Jun. Oxford University Press [6] Xu, Y. & Prom-on, S. (2010-2011). PENTAtrainer.praat. Available from: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/yi/PENTAtrainer/ For 2-0 combination in focus, natives place the H peak on second syllable, German L2 place peak on first (stressed) syllable (like H*) Prefocally, L2 contours closer to native speakers’ productions (contextual variation determined by Noun2) For 4-0 combination, natives distribute the HL melody over both syllables, L2 productions only minimally different L2 prefocal realisation can be native-like in some contexts, contextual variation not evident in native productionse L H sicher IN FOCUS Hou2 zi0 Hou2 zi0 Hou2 zi0 Mao4 zi0 Mao4 zi0 Mao4 zi0 Here: Disyllabic words with neutral tone: How do German learners implement tone combinations when they are in and out of focus? How are tones distributed across the two syllables? IN FOCUS PREFOCAL PREFOCAL PREFOCAL PREFOCAL 3-0 4-0 2-0
Transcript of Prosody transfer - German speakers acquiring Mandarin tones
INTRODUCTION
7. Phonetik und Phonologie 2011, OsnabrückTingting Brengelmann & Martine Grice
[email protected]; [email protected]
Prosody transfer - German speakers acquiring Mandarin tones
Although producing lexical tones in citation form is unproblematic for English native speakers acquiring Mandarin Chinese, these same speakers appear to have great difficulties producing tones in connected speech (Shih, 2010 [1]).
Do (advanced) German learners of Mandarin have difficulties with utterance level tonal implementation? German prosody: Marking of new information and focus with a peak accent (containing H*) Sparse tonal specification; has the same tune as (H not associated with a specific syllable)
Mandarin prosody: Pitch range and postfocal compression [3], no pitch accent to mark focus. Specification of tone
for each syllable, even the neutral tone has a target [4]. Ditribution of HL melody over two syllable [5]
SPEAKERS6 (1 x male, 5 x female) native speakers of Mandarin (L1). All grew up in northern China, between 20 and 35 years old.
6 (3 x male, 3 x female) German native speakers, learning Mandarin as L2 for at least 3 years. All German subjects have spent one year in China and are between 20 and 30 years old.
SPEECH MATERIALSentence frame Wǒ kàn jiàn Noun1 zài Noun2 shàng.
“I see Noun1 on Noun2 (on).
Target words and focus conditions
Noun 1: 4 disyllabic nouns, neutral tone on second syllable
(tone sequences 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0)
Noun 2: 4 disyllabic nouns, tone 3 on first syllable
(tone sequences 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 and 3-4)
3 Narrow focus on Noun1, Noun2, broad focus
4 x 4 x 3 = 48 sentences
PROCEDURE
Subjects were familiarized with the eight test objects and given their names in pinyin and Chinese characters before the recordings began.The subjects were recorded reading sentences accompanying each picture. Some of thesesentences contain gaps that speakers were instructed to fillwith one of the eight test words.
LEFT:There is a road on the picture.
RIGHT:What do you see on the road?I see the basket on the road.
LEFT:There is a basket on the picture.
RIGHT:What do you see the basket on?I see the basket on the road.
SUMMARY- 2-0 and3-0 German learners realize a pitch peak, akin to pitch
accent (H*)
Possibly preferring a H tone for marking prominence
- 4-0 German learners have fewer problems with 4-0 combination, as H and L distributed over two syllables, realisations more native-like prefocally
- Transfer of L1 to L2 prosody is more evident in non-native production when words are in focus than prefocally
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97
mean-norm-FOCUS-early-tone4-NS mean-norm-FOCUS-early-tone4-GS
Blue = native speakersRed = German speakers
Although native 3-0 is a valley contour, German L2 produce a contour resembling a peak accent (H*)
Wo3 kan4 jian4 lou3 zi0 zai4 xiao3 lu4 shang4I see basket on road on
IN FOCUS
Lou3 zi0
Lou3 zi0
PREFOCAL
1.
Averaged contours (6 speakers per group) normalised in time and frequency domains [6]
Even in prefocal position, German learners fail toproduce the correct contour for tone 3-0 sequence
LH
ja
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
II.
IN FOCUS
REFERENCES[1] Shih, Chilin, & Hsin-Yi Dora Lu (2010). Prosody Transfer and Suppression:Stages of Tone Acquisition. Speech Prosody 2010100968:1-4 [2] Grice, Martine & Stefan Baumann (2007). An Introduction to Intonation – Functions and Models. In Trouvain, Jörgen & Ulrike Gut(eds.): Non-Native Prosody. Phonetic Description and Teaching Practice. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 25-51[3] Chen, Y., & Gussenhoven, C. (2008). Emphasis and tonal implementation in Standard Chinese. Journal of Phonetics 36 (4): 724-746[4] Chen, Y. & Xu, Y. (2006). Production of weak elements in speech: Evidence from neutral tone in Standard Chinese. Phonetica 63: 47-75[5] JUN, S.(2007) Prosodic typology. Prosodic typology: The phonology ofintonation and phrasing. ed. S. Jun. Oxford University Press[6] Xu, Y. & Prom-on, S. (2010-2011). PENTAtrainer.praat. Available from: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/yi/PENTAtrainer/
For 2-0 combination in focus, natives place the Hpeak on second syllable, German L2 place peak on first (stressed) syllable (like H*)
Prefocally, L2 contours closer to native speakers’ productions (contextual variation determined by Noun2)
For 4-0 combination, natives distribute the HL melodyover both syllables, L2 productions only minimally different
L2 prefocal realisation can be native-like in some contexts, contextual variation not evident in native productionse
L H
sicher
IN FOCUS
Hou2 zi0 Hou2 zi0
Hou2 zi0 Mao4 zi0
Mao4 zi0 Mao4 zi0
Here: Disyllabic words with neutral tone:How do German learners implement tone combinations when they are in and out of focus?How are tones distributed across the two syllables?
IN FOCUS
PREFOCAL PREFOCAL PREFOCALPREFOCAL
3-0
4-0 2-0
