The pronunciation of English by speakers from China
David Deterding | National Institute of Education, Singapore
Despite the large number of speakers of English in China, little previous work has been done to describe their pronunciation. Thirteen young speakers from north-east, east and central China were recorded reading a passage and participating in a short interview, and their pronunciation is analyzed. The most salient features of their speech include the use of an epenthetic vowel after word-final plosives especially before another word beginning with a consonant, avoidance of reduced vowels especially in function words, heavy nasalization of vowels preceding a final nasal consonant, substitution of [s] for /θ/ and [z] or [d] for /ð/, use of [x] for /h/, and emphasis on sentence-final pronouns. It is suggested that some of these features may become established as part of a unique variety of English that is emerging in China.
Keywords: pronunciation, Chinese English, new varieties of English, epenthetic vowels, reduced vowels, nasalized vowels, rhythm
Published online: 06 July 2006
https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.27.2.04det
https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.27.2.04det
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