Presentation

Revisiting the Pronunciation of English by Speakers From Mainland China

---

Abstract

Pronunciation is a crucial component in achieving intelligibility and effective communication. Researchers have closely examined the pronunciation of English by Chinese speakers from various backgrounds, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, less research has been conducted with Chinese speakers from Mainland China. The importance of studies of Mainland Chinese speakers cannot be underestimated as these speakers clearly make up the majority of ESL/EFL learners from this language background. This study builds on a previous study conducted with Mainland Chinese speakers. Deterding (2005, 2006) built a corpus of 19 Chinese speakers from major dialect areas of China, including northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin; the eastern province of Shandong; and central provinces of Henan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hunan. This study serves as a complementary study on the pronunciation characteristics of Chinese speakers from southern provinces in English. Three participants from Guangxi province were recorded reading a passage and participating in a short interview. Our goal is to compare our findings to those of Deterding (2006) and to suggest possible teaching applications for EFL in the southern provinces of China.

How to Cite:

Huang, M. & Pickering, L., (2014) “Revisiting the Pronunciation of English by Speakers From Mainland China”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 6(1).