Lin Youran, Pollock Karen E, Li Fangfang
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2025 Feb 4;68(2):435-455. doi: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00150. Epub 2025 Jan 13.
This study investigates how Mandarin-English bilingual students in Canada produce Mandarin tones and how this is influenced by factors such as tone complexity, cross-linguistic influences, and speech input.
Participants were 82 students enrolled in a Chinese bilingual program in Western Canada. Students were recruited from Grades 1, 3, and 5 and divided into two groups based on their home language backgrounds: The heritage language group had early and strong input in Mandarin, and the second language (L2) group received mostly English input at home. Single-word tone productions were audio-recorded and transcribed by Mandarin-native listeners for match (accuracy) and pattern analyses. Acoustic measurements were extracted to provide phonetic details.
First, Tone3 (dipping tone) was challenging across groups due to its complexity. Second, L2 students' productions were more influenced by English as a nontonal language and showed signs of categorical confusion. Third, increased tone match rates were related to both home input and school input, but bilingual students did not reach more than 90% of match rates in Grade 5. Instead, L2 students produced phonetic features less accurately in higher grades. This was attributed to reduced pronunciation instruction and limited home input.
Bilingual students' speech development in a minority language indicates unique influences of home and school input but also the universal influences of tone complexity. This study provides evidence for bilingual speech theories in the suprasegmental domain and has implications for the pedagogy of a minority language in the context of bilingual education.
本研究调查了加拿大的中英双语学生如何发出汉语声调，以及声调复杂性、跨语言影响和语音输入等因素如何对其产生影响。
参与者为加拿大西部一所中文双语项目中的82名学生。这些学生分别来自一年级、三年级和五年级，并根据其家庭语言背景分为两组：传承语组在汉语方面有早期且强烈的输入，第二语言（L2）组在家中主要接受英语输入。由以汉语为母语的听众对单字声调发音进行录音和转录，以进行匹配（准确性）和模式分析。提取声学测量数据以提供语音细节。
首先，由于其复杂性，第三声（降调）对所有组来说都具有挑战性。其次，第二语言学生的发音受作为非声调语言的英语影响更大，并表现出范畴混淆的迹象。第三，声调匹配率的提高与家庭输入和学校输入都有关，但双语学生在五年级时的匹配率未超过90%。相反，第二语言学生在高年级时语音特征的发音准确性较低。这归因于发音指导的减少和家庭输入的有限。
双语学生在少数族裔语言中的语音发展既显示出家庭和学校输入的独特影响，也显示出声调复杂性的普遍影响。本研究为超音段领域的双语语音理论提供了证据，并对双语教育背景下少数族裔语言的教学法具有启示意义。
