Acquisition of English Pitch Contours in Serbian Speakers of English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18485/bells.2020.12.4Keywords:
English intonation phrase, pitch contour, pitch modulation, Serbian EFL learners, L2 prosodic errorsAbstract
This paper deals with the production of English intonation phrases (IPs) and the common deviations in pitch contours in a group of sixty-eight L2 speakers of English. Five English nuclear types with varying prenuclear patterns are explored (High-Fall (HF), Low-Fall (LF), Low-Rise (LR), Fall-Rise (FR) and Rise-Fall (RF)) and evaluated auditorily. Acoustic analysis identified the common errors in L2 English intonation contours and accounted for some of the underlying reasons. Serbian speakers of English devoid English intonation phrases of their characteristic extensive pitch modulations that define the L1 English intonation. This is manifested as the following: flattening of the high head or high prehead (LF, LR), levelling of the rising tail (LR, FR), and difficulty producing multiple pitch dives and pitch climbs in a single intonation phrase. Pitch modulations are easier to produce on a single syllable than on a string of syllables (FR).
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