| English rhythm is one of the most difficult features for nonnative speakers to learn. However, the two languages, Chinese and English, are believed to be different from each other rhythmically. Therefore, there may exist some difficulties for the Chinese EFL learners to learn English rhythm. The present study aims to explore the differences in English rhythm patterns between the reading-aloud production produced by the English native speakers and by the Chinese EFL learners.With the aim, the present study employs an empirical method. The recorded data used in the research are the readings of four native speakers and of the ninety-two first-year graduate students majoring in English. According to Nunn's (2000)"Rating scale of pronunciation & intonation", fifteen EFL learners as high-achievement group (HA group) and fifteen EFL learners as low-achievement group (LA group) are chosen from the graduates by their reading performance. Their recorded data are carefully labeled on the TextGrid Window of Praat in six tiers. In the measurement of the rhythm patterns, the research is mainly based on Rumus et al.'s (1999) measurements, and the related variables of rhythm are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively after having been transferred into Microsoft Office Excel 2003.Compared with the natives'rhythm pattern, there are some characteristics of rhythm patterns in EFL learners'reading-aloud production.Firstly, it is found that in oral reading, the HA group are found to be close to the stress-timing while the LA group close to the syllable-timing, that is, the LA group adopted a non-native rhythm, which was more like the syllable-timed rhythm as in Chinese. It also shows the characteristics of the rhythm of the HA group are very close to the characteristics of native speakers, indicating that they have succeeded in acquiring a near-native rhythm, that is, a stress-timed rhythm, in the temporal variables investigated, which shows justifiably that appropriate rhythm are indeed learnable in spite of the first language transfer.Secondly, prominence is an important variable of rhythm. The native speakers use the phonetic feature of length, as lengthening to realize the prominence and reduction to make syllables non-prominent; and the HA group have a same tendency but not as natural as the native speakers, while the LA group use lengthening and reduction inappropriately or even incorrectly.Thirdly, pauses have great influence on rhythm. There are too many and long pauses, which are improper or incorrect, within an IP or a word in the readings of the LA group, while fewer and shorter in HA group, and there are no such pauses in native speakers.Fourthly, in terms of added sounds, the frequency of the LA group is much higher than the other two groups, while that of the HA group is also obviously high compared with the native speakers. And as to the variable of length, the average length of added sounds of the LA group is longer than that of the HA group. Added sounds cause the increase in the syllables, which can influence the rhythm. Lastly, as for speech and speaking rate, both the native languages and the HA group of EFL learners are relatively fluent in speaking English, significantly faster in both speech rate and speaking rate than LA group of EFL learners. A relatively slower speech rate and speaking rate of the LA group of EFL learners has an effect on their syllable-timed English.These findings present to us not only the status quo of Chinese EFL learners'acquisition of rhythm patterns, but more importantly, based on the findings of the present study, implications can be drawn from both the theoretical and pedagogical perspectives, such as, emphasis not only on sound segment but also on rhythm. |
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