Study on Prosodic Disambiguation of VP/NP Syntactic Structure by Chinese EFL Learners
摘要
Under the framework of Language Transfer and Prosodic Learning Interference Hypothesis, this study explores the influence of mother tongue on Chinese EFL learners’ L2 English prosodic disambiguation on the basis of Chinese EFL learners’ disambiguation in their L1 Chinese. The four parameters, duration, pause (if present), pitch (converted to semitone), and amplitude integral, are extracted. The results indicate (1) duration is the cue that functions efficiently. English natives produce C2 in NP longer than in VP, and this difference is significant. (2) In their mother language, Chinese EFL learners can disambiguate VP/NP ambiguity effectively. To be specific, participants produce both C1 and C2 in VP with longer duration, larger pitch range and greater amplitude integral, and this difference reach the significance level. (3) In their L2 English, Chinese EFL learners, like native English speakers, can effectively utilize duration to achieve the differentiating goal, but their specific performance is different from English natives’ in that English natives show significant difference in duration ratio and C2’s duration, while L2 learners show the difference in C1, which is partly influenced by their L1 Chinese and can be explained by Prosodic Learning Interference Hypothesis.