Prosodic Features Of Information Structure

In the 1960 s, Halliday brought forward the term of information structure, classifying information into new and given according to whether it is possible to access the clues from previous deixis or context. The study of information structure was introduced into China in the 1980 s and soon attained wide attention. However, previous studies at home mainly focused on the theoretical investigation such as the introduction of information structure, its relationship with syntax, discourse analysis or translation, while studies of information structure from prosodic point of view are very few. Moreover, although related studies abroad started earlier and were more mature, they mainly focused on native speakers, with only a few non-native speaker participants, let alone Chinese EFL learners.Based on previous research on pragmatics and phonetics, this paper aims to explore into the prosodic features of information structure by Chinese EFL learners and native English speakers, covering the following aspects:(1) Chinese EFL learners’ prosodic features of information structure;(2) Native English speakers’ prosodic features of information structure;(3) Comparison of prosodic features in information structure between Chinese EFL learners and native English speakers.Participants in this research are 14 English majors(NNS group) from a “211-Project” university and 4 native English speakers(NS group) who study in this university. In the experiment, both groups were required to read aloud a passage. After the experiment, the 14 Chinese participants were asked to take part in a semi-structured interview.The major findings of this study are:1. There exists some difference in timing, pitch and intensity between Chinese EFL learners’ new and given information marking in passage reading. Specifically, they have higher pitch, longer timing and stronger intensity when marking new information, though the difference between new and given information marking is not statistically significant. In other words, Chinese EFL learners cannot make good use of prosodic features to differentiate new and given information, thus to make new information prominent.2. Native English speakers show significant difference in pitch, timing and intensity when marking new and given information in passage reading. To be more specific, they have higher pitch, longer timing and stronger intensity in marking new information than in marking given information. In other words, native English speakers make more comprehensive use of methods to realize prominence of new information by integration of pitch, timing and intensity. That is to say, prosodic features(pitch, timing, intensity) are important means for native English speakers in their realization of new and given information.3. In conveying new information, Chinese EFL learners and native English speakers show significant difference in pitch and intensity, but difference in timing is not significant. To be specific, native English speakers show higher pitch and stronger intensity than Chinese EFL learners when conveying new information, but the distinction of timing between the two groups is not obvious and significant. As to given information, the opposite results are found. Namely, there is significant difference in timing, while in pitch and intensity, the difference is not statistically significant. In other words, compared to Chinese EFL learners, in marking given information, native English speakers have shorter timing, but there’s no significant difference in pitch and intensity between the two groups. This finding implies that on one hand, Chinese EFL learners often fail to give higher pitch and stronger intensity on new information to make them prominent; on the other hand, they cannot weaken given information by shortening its timing to make it less prominent.