Abstract
Theories of embodied cognition have emphasized the importance of the whole body in human communication (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999), and numerous empirical studies have shown that bodily actions affect multiple aspects of speech production and perception. This study examined the roles that hand and head gestures play in production of Mandarin tones by native English speakers. Twenty-four native English speakers were asked to imitate the four Mandarin tones from a model across three conditions: (1) audio-only, (2) audio and hand gestures, and (3) audio and head nods. For (2) and (3), participants watched videos in which a native Mandarin speaker visually depicted the tones with her hand and head, respectively. The participants’ production was then presented to seven native Mandarin listeners in an identification test to determine percent correctly produced. A 3 (conditions) x 4 (tones) ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of tone (1 > 3, 4 > 2) but no main effect or interaction of condition, indicating that hand and head gestures did not help learners accurately produce Mandarin tones. The results corroborate earlier acoustic analysis of the production data, confirming a limited role of hand and head gestures in phonetic and phonological aspects of L2 learning.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.