Influences Of Language Mode On The Production Of English Vowels By Shanghai-mandarin Bidialectals

This study was inspired by the theoretical gap that neither the revised Speech Learning Model nor the Language Mode theory addresses how different dialects of a native language influence bilinguals’ processing of L2 speech.Motivated by this concern,this study investigated how native dialects affect production of L2 speech sounds under the influence of language mode.Specifically,it examined influences of language mode on English vowel production by Shanghai-Mandarin bidialectals with English as their foreign language.Two research questions were addressed:1.Is Shanghai-Mandarin bidialectals’ production of English vowels in Shanghai dialect mode different from that in Mandarin mode?2.Does language mode mediate the effects of the dialects on English vowel production?There were altogether 23 participants(10 males,13 females)whose foreign language is English and native languages are Shanghai Chinese and Mandarin.The experiment consists of two sessions both conducted in the same sound-proof recording room specially designed for phonetic research.The first session was in Shanghai mode and one month later was the second session in Mandarin mode.The participants were manipulated into the target language mode(via casual talk and carrier sentence reading in the target dialect).For both sessions,the stimuli for vowel production were the same.Bilinguals’ language proficiency and perceptual acuity may also play a role in their speech production,and hence were also tested in the study.The results were as follows:1.The Shanghai-Mandarin bidialectals produced English vowels more similarly to native American English speakers in terms of formant realization(F1 and F2)and duration in Shanghai mode than in Mandarin mode.2.Language mode mediates the effects of native dialects on foreign vowel production,because in Shanghai mode,the positive effects of Shanghai Chinese on the bidialectals’ English vowel production were reinforced while the effects of Mandarin were weakened.On the other hand,the reverse was true in Mandarin mode.Therefore,the claims of the Language Mode theory on how language modes of different languages influence speech production can be also applied to the effects of L1 dialectal language modes on L2 speech production.The theory of SLM-r about L1-L2 speech interaction can also explain the effects of different L1 dialects on L2 speech processing.Implications for future research on language mode,language proficiency,perceptual acuity,L2 speech learning and teaching were also discussed.