英语专业大学生对RP英语元音感知的实证研究

Perception of RP English Vowels by Chinese College English Majors

88名英语专业大学生对20个RP英语元音的感知实验表明:受试的元音感知正确率总体上达75%,其中后元音最高(80%),中元音最低(70%);在单项元音感知上,正确率最高的是/i/(96%)、/u/(90%)和/I/(89%),最低的是/e/(55%)、//(57%)、//(60%)和/e/(64%);受试的元音感知能力与他们的英语总体水平和口语水平显著相关,且男女受试间存在显著差异。上述发现对高校英语语音教学和口语教学有一定启示。

This study reports an experimental study of the perception of 20 RP English vowels by 88 Chinese college English majors.The results show that the average correct perception rate of the vowels is 75% with back vowels ranking top(80%) and the central vowels bottom(70%).The best perceived vowels are /i:/(96%),/u:/(90%) and/I/(89%) while the least perceived are /e/(55%),/∧/(57%),/ε/(60%) and //(64%).There are significant correlation between the subjects' perception of English vowels and their gender,oral competence and overall English proficiency.These findings have implications for the teaching of English phonetics in China.