论文部分内容阅读
【Abstract】In English， phonemes， defined as the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language， are used to distinguish meaning of each sound （Yule， 1999）. For example， long vowel [i：] and short vowel [i] are two different phonemes， which represents different meanings between the forms “heat” and “hit”. Pronouncing [i：] as [i] in the word “heat” will lead to misunderstanding to listeners. This phonetic feature doesn’t exist in Chinese. Thus， there is no doubt that learners confront with difficulties when pronouncing them. In this case， Chinese learners will employ similar sounds from the first language to substitute them， which will result in errors in pronunciation and meaning. In English teaching， it is found that learners are puzzled about such English phonetics and cannot pronounce them accurately. From the perspective of phonetic， the paper explores the reasons for those common errors on the basis of negative phonetic transfer， aiming at offering some proposal to improve students’ pronunciation.
【Key words】negative transfer； English monophthongs； Chinese single final
1. Introduction
English and Chinese are divided into two different language families， with English belonging to Germanic language and Chinese to Sino-Tibetan. They possess lots of discrepancies in aspects of phonetics， grammars and cultures as well as certain similarities they share. So phonetics is the key point to learn a language. As far as phonetics is concerned， Chinese influences students’ English pronunciations rather easily， finally resulting in some common pronunciation errors. However， phonetics is the foundation of this big project in the process of learning English. So， this paper will list several obvious pronunciation mistakes made by students on the basis of the theory of language transfer in the purpose of eliminating negative transfer to promote the students’ pronunciation.
2. The Introduction of transfer
This part mainly introduces the concept and the classification of transfer.
2.1 The concept of transfer
D.P. Ausubel （1968）， a famous educational psychologist， put forward the concept of “transfer”， which is a cognitive activity and a process of individual taking initiative.
In the field of second language acquisition， language transfer is a phenomenon that learners unconsciously or consciously use the rules of the first language to attend to the information of the target language. An American linguist， Lado （1957） declared that learners usually rely on the first language they have mastered， with a tendency of transferring language patterns， meanings and cultures associated with first language to second language acquisition. Rod Ellis （1999） considered that the phonetic transfer of Chinese to English mainly performs in the habitual ways of pronunciation and the position of articulation， which usually occur when both the first language and the second language have something in common in certain aspects.
2.2 The classification of transfer
Transfer is composed of positive transfer and negative transfer. Positive transfer happens when the learner’s previous knowledge facilitates his new one， while negative transfer refers to the hindrance of the previous knowledge exerting on the new learning.
Language positive transfer is that the similarities， owned by both the first language and the second language， promote the second language acquisition. Oppositely， negative transfer is the differences between first language and second language that can interfere with the progress of second language acquisition. It is concluded that the production of errors in the second language acquisition attributes to the interference of the first language knowledge. Hence， interference is more likely to take place when there are some similarities between the first and second language than where is total difference （Ellis， 1999）.
Similarly， the identical feature in phonetics between Chinese and English， enhancing pronunciation with each other， is referred to positive transfer. Negative transfer in phonetic is concerned with the way in which Chinese phonetics prevents or inhibits the learning of English phonetics.
3. The organs of speech
Speaking of speech sound， it must involve human organs， which is a physical condition of pronunciation. Therefore， learners should have a good command of the structure of the speech organs. It includes the following 5 main parts （Zhou， 2002）. 1）. The breathing organs： the lungs and the wind pipe. 2）. The voice organs： the larynx， the vocal cords and the glottis. 3）. The organs of articulation： the hard and soft palates， the uvula， the gum， the teeth， the lips and the tongue. 4）. The organ of nasalization： the nose. 5）. The resonance chamber or resonator： the pharyngeal cavity， the nasal cavity and the mouth cavity.
4. The problems and solutions：
This part will display several main problems and solutions to each of them.
4.1 Problems
In order to investigate the phonetic problems existing among students， the test table is made only about the monophthongs in English.
After testing， there are several prominent problems among 52 students. It is found that 1） compared with short vowels， it’s not easier for students to read long vowels. 2） most of them cannot articulate [?]， and [u：] accurately. 4.2 Solutions
Referring to short vowels and long vowels， only [i：] is taken to explain. As for [?]， and [u：] ， they will be described separately.
4.2.1 [i：]
Description： Long， close and front. The front of the tongue is raised to a height slightly below and behind the cardinal [i]. Meanwhile， the lips are spread with a tense tongue and the side rims make a firm contact with the upper molars （Zhang， 2004）.
Error analysis： Most of students replace [i：] by “i” in Chinese. When pronouncing [i：]， the lips are loosely spread with a relaxed tongue and the side rims make a light contact with the upper molar.
Advice to students： In order to correct this mistake， the front part of the tongue should be kept a little lower than [i]. In addition， student should notice the duration of [i：] with the tongue tense and the lips spread.
4.2.2 [?]
Description： Short， open and front. The front of the tongue is raised to a position slightly above the open position. The lips are neutrally open and wider apart than for [e]. Simultaneously， the tongue is tense with the side rims making a very slight contact with the upper molars （Zhang， 2004）.
Error analysis： Many students tend to transfer [?] into a nasalized “an” in Chinese. The soft palate lowers and the air passes through the nose cavity and the oral cavity both.
Advice to students： In order to correct this mistake， the soft palate should be raised and let the air pass through the oral cavity only.
4.2.3 [u：]
Description： Long， close， and back. The back of the tongue should rise nearly to the close position. No firm contact makes between the tongue and the upper molars. The tense lips are close to be round and protruded. （Zhang， 2004）.
Error analysis： Students change [u：] with “u” in Chinese easily. The tip of the tongue makes a contact with the lower teeth. The lips are less round and protruded.
Advice to students： In order to prevent this mistake， the lips must be round， tense and protruded. And the duration of the [u：] should be longer than “u” in Chinese.
5. The suggestions on teaching English phonetics
Charles Fries （1945）， an applied linguist， point out that compare the language to be learned with the native language of the learner based on scientific description of the language to be learned. Taking contrastive analysis to English phonetics learning， teachers should make comparisons about similar phonetics between English and Chinese or among English phonetics on the solid foundation of systematically studying phonetics in English and in Chinese. With the aid of teachers， it is relatively easier for students to distinguish their differences than do it by themselves. Therefore， the first step is to show the structure of the oral cavity and the location of each. And then the teacher should explain the manner of articulation and the position of the tongue of all phonetics. If students follow these rules strictly， it is absolutely possible for them to articulate all sounds accurately. Behaviorism considers that language learning is the result of habit formation. Students are expected to learn through oral drills rather than through an analysis of the target language， which is known as “Audiolingualism” （Schmitt， 2008）. If teacher can help students eradicate the formed habit of articulating Chinese phonetics by designing the proper exercises， it will not produce negative phonetics transfer. Practice makes perfect.
6. Conclusion
Professor A.C Gimson （1989） held the view that “to speak any language a person must know nearly 100% of its phonetics， while only 50%-90% of its grammar and 1% of the vocabulary may be sufficient”. So， phonetics is the foundation to learn English， just like each brick of a building， which plays small but important roles. In accordance with the theory of negative transfer， the paper displays several mistakes and puts forward the suggestions improving student’s pronunciation by comparing several different points between English and Chinese in phonetics. It is obvious that this paper has an unavoidably tremendous limitation， which is fail to contrast the phonetic discrepancies between English and Chinese and only a limited number of examples are given. Therefore the information is far from enough for doing research. However， it provides us primary knowledge about learning English phonetics. Owing to the limited information， further theoretical and practical research must be done to make a contribution to the negative transfer of Chinese phonetic to English phonetic learning.
References：
[1]Ausubel，D.Educational Psychology：A Cognitive View.New York：Holt，Rinehart and Winston，1968.
[2]Ellis，R.Understanding Second Language Acquisition.Shanghai：Foreign Language Education Press，1999.
[3]Fries，C.Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language.University of Michigan Press，Ann Arbor.1945.
[4]Gimson，A.C.An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English（3rd edition）[M].London：Edward Arnold.1989.4.
[5]Lado，R.Linguistics Across Cultures：Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers.Ann Arbor：University of Michigan Press，1957.
[6]Schmitt，N.An Introduction to Applied Linguistics.Beijing：Beijing World Publishing Corporation，2008.
[7]Yule，G.The Study of Language.Cambridge University Press
【Key words】negative transfer； English monophthongs； Chinese single final
1. Introduction
English and Chinese are divided into two different language families， with English belonging to Germanic language and Chinese to Sino-Tibetan. They possess lots of discrepancies in aspects of phonetics， grammars and cultures as well as certain similarities they share. So phonetics is the key point to learn a language. As far as phonetics is concerned， Chinese influences students’ English pronunciations rather easily， finally resulting in some common pronunciation errors. However， phonetics is the foundation of this big project in the process of learning English. So， this paper will list several obvious pronunciation mistakes made by students on the basis of the theory of language transfer in the purpose of eliminating negative transfer to promote the students’ pronunciation.
2. The Introduction of transfer
This part mainly introduces the concept and the classification of transfer.
2.1 The concept of transfer
D.P. Ausubel （1968）， a famous educational psychologist， put forward the concept of “transfer”， which is a cognitive activity and a process of individual taking initiative.
In the field of second language acquisition， language transfer is a phenomenon that learners unconsciously or consciously use the rules of the first language to attend to the information of the target language. An American linguist， Lado （1957） declared that learners usually rely on the first language they have mastered， with a tendency of transferring language patterns， meanings and cultures associated with first language to second language acquisition. Rod Ellis （1999） considered that the phonetic transfer of Chinese to English mainly performs in the habitual ways of pronunciation and the position of articulation， which usually occur when both the first language and the second language have something in common in certain aspects.
2.2 The classification of transfer
Transfer is composed of positive transfer and negative transfer. Positive transfer happens when the learner’s previous knowledge facilitates his new one， while negative transfer refers to the hindrance of the previous knowledge exerting on the new learning.
Language positive transfer is that the similarities， owned by both the first language and the second language， promote the second language acquisition. Oppositely， negative transfer is the differences between first language and second language that can interfere with the progress of second language acquisition. It is concluded that the production of errors in the second language acquisition attributes to the interference of the first language knowledge. Hence， interference is more likely to take place when there are some similarities between the first and second language than where is total difference （Ellis， 1999）.
Similarly， the identical feature in phonetics between Chinese and English， enhancing pronunciation with each other， is referred to positive transfer. Negative transfer in phonetic is concerned with the way in which Chinese phonetics prevents or inhibits the learning of English phonetics.
3. The organs of speech
Speaking of speech sound， it must involve human organs， which is a physical condition of pronunciation. Therefore， learners should have a good command of the structure of the speech organs. It includes the following 5 main parts （Zhou， 2002）. 1）. The breathing organs： the lungs and the wind pipe. 2）. The voice organs： the larynx， the vocal cords and the glottis. 3）. The organs of articulation： the hard and soft palates， the uvula， the gum， the teeth， the lips and the tongue. 4）. The organ of nasalization： the nose. 5）. The resonance chamber or resonator： the pharyngeal cavity， the nasal cavity and the mouth cavity.
4. The problems and solutions：
This part will display several main problems and solutions to each of them.
4.1 Problems
In order to investigate the phonetic problems existing among students， the test table is made only about the monophthongs in English.
After testing， there are several prominent problems among 52 students. It is found that 1） compared with short vowels， it’s not easier for students to read long vowels. 2） most of them cannot articulate [?]， and [u：] accurately. 4.2 Solutions
Referring to short vowels and long vowels， only [i：] is taken to explain. As for [?]， and [u：] ， they will be described separately.
4.2.1 [i：]
Description： Long， close and front. The front of the tongue is raised to a height slightly below and behind the cardinal [i]. Meanwhile， the lips are spread with a tense tongue and the side rims make a firm contact with the upper molars （Zhang， 2004）.
Error analysis： Most of students replace [i：] by “i” in Chinese. When pronouncing [i：]， the lips are loosely spread with a relaxed tongue and the side rims make a light contact with the upper molar.
Advice to students： In order to correct this mistake， the front part of the tongue should be kept a little lower than [i]. In addition， student should notice the duration of [i：] with the tongue tense and the lips spread.
4.2.2 [?]
Description： Short， open and front. The front of the tongue is raised to a position slightly above the open position. The lips are neutrally open and wider apart than for [e]. Simultaneously， the tongue is tense with the side rims making a very slight contact with the upper molars （Zhang， 2004）.
Error analysis： Many students tend to transfer [?] into a nasalized “an” in Chinese. The soft palate lowers and the air passes through the nose cavity and the oral cavity both.
Advice to students： In order to correct this mistake， the soft palate should be raised and let the air pass through the oral cavity only.
4.2.3 [u：]
Description： Long， close， and back. The back of the tongue should rise nearly to the close position. No firm contact makes between the tongue and the upper molars. The tense lips are close to be round and protruded. （Zhang， 2004）.
Error analysis： Students change [u：] with “u” in Chinese easily. The tip of the tongue makes a contact with the lower teeth. The lips are less round and protruded.
Advice to students： In order to prevent this mistake， the lips must be round， tense and protruded. And the duration of the [u：] should be longer than “u” in Chinese.
5. The suggestions on teaching English phonetics
Charles Fries （1945）， an applied linguist， point out that compare the language to be learned with the native language of the learner based on scientific description of the language to be learned. Taking contrastive analysis to English phonetics learning， teachers should make comparisons about similar phonetics between English and Chinese or among English phonetics on the solid foundation of systematically studying phonetics in English and in Chinese. With the aid of teachers， it is relatively easier for students to distinguish their differences than do it by themselves. Therefore， the first step is to show the structure of the oral cavity and the location of each. And then the teacher should explain the manner of articulation and the position of the tongue of all phonetics. If students follow these rules strictly， it is absolutely possible for them to articulate all sounds accurately. Behaviorism considers that language learning is the result of habit formation. Students are expected to learn through oral drills rather than through an analysis of the target language， which is known as “Audiolingualism” （Schmitt， 2008）. If teacher can help students eradicate the formed habit of articulating Chinese phonetics by designing the proper exercises， it will not produce negative phonetics transfer. Practice makes perfect.
6. Conclusion
Professor A.C Gimson （1989） held the view that “to speak any language a person must know nearly 100% of its phonetics， while only 50%-90% of its grammar and 1% of the vocabulary may be sufficient”. So， phonetics is the foundation to learn English， just like each brick of a building， which plays small but important roles. In accordance with the theory of negative transfer， the paper displays several mistakes and puts forward the suggestions improving student’s pronunciation by comparing several different points between English and Chinese in phonetics. It is obvious that this paper has an unavoidably tremendous limitation， which is fail to contrast the phonetic discrepancies between English and Chinese and only a limited number of examples are given. Therefore the information is far from enough for doing research. However， it provides us primary knowledge about learning English phonetics. Owing to the limited information， further theoretical and practical research must be done to make a contribution to the negative transfer of Chinese phonetic to English phonetic learning.
References：
[1]Ausubel，D.Educational Psychology：A Cognitive View.New York：Holt，Rinehart and Winston，1968.
[2]Ellis，R.Understanding Second Language Acquisition.Shanghai：Foreign Language Education Press，1999.
[3]Fries，C.Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language.University of Michigan Press，Ann Arbor.1945.
[4]Gimson，A.C.An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English（3rd edition）[M].London：Edward Arnold.1989.4.
[5]Lado，R.Linguistics Across Cultures：Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers.Ann Arbor：University of Michigan Press，1957.
[6]Schmitt，N.An Introduction to Applied Linguistics.Beijing：Beijing World Publishing Corporation，2008.
[7]Yule，G.The Study of Language.Cambridge University Press