Options
Reduced vowels and their effects on rhythm in PRC English
Author
Teo, Yin Yin
Supervisor
Goh, Christine Chuen Meng
Abstract
This study examines the use of reduced vowels in PRC English. Although previously thought to be more syllable-based than British English, PRC English appears to have reduced vowels (Deterding, 2006a). In this study, the presence of vowel reduction in PRC English will be examined and how this vowel reduction affects the rhythm of PRC English. The main aim of this study is to examine if the rhythm index used by Grabe and Low (2002) predicts the rhythm of PRC English.
A group of PRC English speakers were recorded reading a passage The North Wind and the Sun. Their speech is analysed for instances of vowel reduction. Auditory and acoustic measurements were made on selected content and function words with potentially reduced vowels in native variety. The rhythmic patterning of their speech samples are also calculated using the rhythm index developed by Grabe and Low known as the Pairwise Variability Index (nPVI) (Grabe & Low, 2002). These results from the data are compared to those from British English speakers. It is found that although vowel reduction does occur in PRC English, it is limited to mostly polysyllabic content words and not function words. This could largely be attributed to the way the English language is taught and learnt in the country. The overall rhythm of PRC English is also less stress-based compared to British English. It is, however, quite similar in rhythm to Singapore English, which is quite surprising, considering that Singapore English lacks vowel reduction in both content and function words. It is also interesting to note that Singapore English and PRC English are not within the same circles of English (Kachru, 1985), their similarity is therefore surprising.
A group of PRC English speakers were recorded reading a passage The North Wind and the Sun. Their speech is analysed for instances of vowel reduction. Auditory and acoustic measurements were made on selected content and function words with potentially reduced vowels in native variety. The rhythmic patterning of their speech samples are also calculated using the rhythm index developed by Grabe and Low known as the Pairwise Variability Index (nPVI) (Grabe & Low, 2002). These results from the data are compared to those from British English speakers. It is found that although vowel reduction does occur in PRC English, it is limited to mostly polysyllabic content words and not function words. This could largely be attributed to the way the English language is taught and learnt in the country. The overall rhythm of PRC English is also less stress-based compared to British English. It is, however, quite similar in rhythm to Singapore English, which is quite surprising, considering that Singapore English lacks vowel reduction in both content and function words. It is also interesting to note that Singapore English and PRC English are not within the same circles of English (Kachru, 1985), their similarity is therefore surprising.
Date Issued
2010
Call Number
PE1128 Teo
Date Submitted
2010