Vowel and Consonant Lessening: A Study of Articulating Reductions and Their Relations to Genders

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Title:	Vowel and Consonant Lessening: A Study of Articulating Reductions and Their Relations to Genders
Authors:	Lin, Grace Hui Chin;Chien, Paul Shih Chieh
Contributors:	通識教育中心
Keywords:	Foreign Countries;English (Second Language);Articulation (Speech);Language Fluency;Second Language Learning;Speech Skills;Gender Differences;College Students;Correlation;Student Surveys;Questionnaires;Phonetics;Vowels;Statistical Analysis;Chinese;Global Approach;North American English;Error Analysis (Language);Pidgins
Date:	2011-11-05
Issue Date:	2012-02-24 13:41:57 (UTC+8)
Abstract:	Using English as a global communicating tool makes Taiwanese people have to speak in English in diverse international situations. However, consonants and vowels in English are not all effortless for them to articulate. This phonological reduction study explores concepts about phonological (articulating system) approximation. From Taiwanese folks' perspectives, it analyzes phonological type, rate, and their associations with 2 genders. This quantitative research discovers Taiwanese people's vocalization problems and their facilitating solutions by articulating lessening. In other words, this study explains how English emerging as a global language can be adapted and fluently articulated by Taiwanese. It was conducted at National Changhwa University of Education from 2010 fall to 2011 spring, investigating Taiwanese university students' phonological lessening systems. It reveals how they face the phonetics challenges during interactions and give speeches by ways of phonological lessening. Taiwanese folks' lessening patterns belong to simplified pronouncing methods, being evolved through Mandarin, Hakka, and Holo phonetic patterns. This genre of facilitated articulation can be also titled as transformed or approximate methods of articulating formula. In this investigation, 59 students according to their individual articulating experiences provided their perceptions, based on their observations in their own English articulation systems. Statistics graphs analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) display 4 consonants and 4 vowels that have been reduced and adapted. Moreover, the gender factor was taken into consideration, revealing male's and female's dissimilar difficulties in pronunciation. More specifically, this empirical study investigated the correlation between elements of gender and phonological reduction. Through statistical analysis, 8 intricate vowels and consonants are compared and contrasted based on Taiwanese students' perfections and difficulty-confessions in articulating them. Simplified phonetic patterns with Taiwanese accents involved into the articulating lessening system in Taiwanese students' English utterances were provided by the instructor. Based on 2 variables of female gender and male gender, the study discovered the lessening sequences in 8 phonetics. The significance of this study is its contribution to giving confidence to English speakers in Taiwan. Although they are non-native speakers, they still can resolve the pronunciation difficulty and talk with fluency by their created phonological reduction system. Appended are: (1) Survey (Instrument); and (2) Vowel diversities. (Contains 1 table and 2 graphs.
Relation:	Online Submission, Paper presented at the International Conference on Computer Assisted Language Learning in 2011 (National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan, Nov. 5, 2011)
Appears in Collections:	[General Education Center] Journal articles

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