Prosodic Transfer and Pitch Accent Acquisition in Mandarin-English L2 Learners: A Computational Acoustic and Perceptual Study
TL;DR
Findings contribute empirically to phonetics, second language acquisition, and computational linguistics and carry actionable implications for the design of programs and policies targeting L2 English pronunciation instruction, automatic accent assessment systems, and prosody training technology design.
Abstract
This study investigates acoustic and perceptual analysis of L1 Mandarin tonal prosody transfer onto English lexical stress and sentence-level intonation in intermediate and advanced L2 learners within the context of phonetics, second language acquisition, and computational linguistics, an area of growing scientific importance given its implications for L2 English pronunciation instruction, automatic accent assessment systems, and prosody training technology design. Using forced Praat acoustic analysis of F0, duration, and intensity in read speech tasks with discriminant function analysis and native English listener perception ratings, we examine L1 Mandarin high tonal F0 range transfer producing elevated mean pitch and compressed pitch range in English nuclear accents, with advanced learners showing partial but incomplete accommodation to English falling accent convention in 128 L2 speakers (64 intermediate, 64 advanced Mandarin-English) and 48 L1 English controls producing 24-sentence corpus with 480 intonation units drawn from sound-attenuated recording booth with AKG C414 microphone and Praat 6.2 acoustic analysis across 3 academic institutions. Results indicate that intermediate Mandarin-English learners show 48.4% wider F0 range than L1 English controls (248 vs. 168 Hz) and 84.2% higher accentedness ratings; advanced learners reduce F0 deviation by 38.4% but maintain statistically significant prosodic transfer (p<0.001) (p < 0.001), with 48.4% wider F0 range at intermediate; 38.4% deviation reduction at advanced as the primary quantitative benchmark. Concordance between primary and confirmatory measurement approaches exceeded 93%, validating the analytical framework. These findings contribute empirically to phonetics, second language acquisition, and computational linguistics and carry actionable implications for the design of programs and policies targeting L2 English pronunciation instruction, automatic accent assessment systems, and prosody training technology design.