Contrastive Analysis On Intonation Rhythm Between Chinese-english

In linguistics, research on the phonetics usually is in the following three aspects:(1) descriptions of the pronunciation;(2) physical characteristics;(3) auditory responses. Linguists have tried various kinds of methods to describe, analyze and study the Chinese and English phonetics respectively, and have obtained some research fruits. However, most of the studies are limited within the respective dissertating on the Chinese tone and English intonation. There are also some relevant comparative studies on the Chinese phonetics, but the two basic conceptions of tone and intonation were always mixed up together, even to the extent that these studies all made a wrong direct comparative analysis between the Chinese tone and English intonation.This paper presented a comparative study of Chinese and English rhythm, tone and intonation by illustrating the relevant concepts and factors clearly, together with some typical explanatory examples. The findings of this paper showed that:(1)Chinese is a typical tone language, while tone in English does not present much influence;(2)Intonation exists both in Chinese and English and these two languages share some similarities in basic intonation types and functions, while to a large extent, their difference is more prominent. This paper aims to raise language learners’ awareness of the distinctive features of these two languages, for example, the vital role of tone played in Chinese while the important position of stress and intonation in English, either learners of Chinese or English. Tone and intonation are not only phonetic features of languages, but also useful in conveying various meanings, which enriches a language’s implications. All this will definitely facilitate the process of communication and avoid misunderstandings.