Effects of Stress and Position on the Phonetic Realization of English /s/ Produced by English and Japanese Speakers

概要

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This study examines how native speakers of American English and Japanese EFL learners differ in the phonetic realization of English fricative /s/ in the onset of a syllable, depending on stress assignment and position in a word, as well as on focus placement. The experimental results show that the onset /s/ of a stressed syllable is consistently weaker and shorter in English words produced by Japanese learners than native speakers, whereas the duration and intensity of the following vowel (nucleus) does not show a marked difference between the two groups of speakers. These findings suggest that Japanese EFL learners may not realize that the onset as well as the nucleus of a stressed syllable is subject to the manifestation of stress in English. It is also suggested that Japanese learners may not be accustomed to the idea that English stress is phonetically realized by using not only pitch but also duration and intensity. It is hoped that better education about prosodic aspects of English may improve English pronunciation of Japanese learners of English.
社団法人大学英語教育学会の論文
2009-03-23