Production of American English [eI] and [ε] by Mandarin speakers: mono- vs. disyllabic words

Abstract

Mandarin productions of English tense vs. lax vowels are difficult for English speakers to differentiate (Chen et al. 2006). In this study the production of American English [eI] and [ε] by Mandarin and American participants was investigated. The target vowels were embedded in monosyllabic and disyllabic words with a stop-V-voiceless stop context in carrier sentences of variable length. There were two formant measurements for each vowel (20% after the onset and before the end of the vowel). In the monosyllabic condition, Mandarin speakers' performance was similar to American speakers in duration and formant values except that [eI] started too low. However, in the disyllabic condition, Mandarin speakers' formants for [eI] and [ε] were overlapped and there was no significant durational distinction between [eI] and [ε]. One possible account for this difference is that when producing a disyllabic word, Mandarin speakers tend to shorten the vowel duration of the first syllable to compensate for the production of the following syllable. The difference in syllable conditions may reflect a tendency that Chinese regularizes word durations regardless of the number of syllables. Reference: Chen, Y. et al. (2006). Vowel production by Mandarin speakers of English. Clinical linguistics and phonetics, 15, 427-440