Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
APRILIANA BETA ULINA Student Number: 044214060
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
APRILIANA BETA ULINA
Student Number: 044214060
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
This Thesis is dedicated to:
My lovely parents, brothers
and sister, and also all my
v
Almighty Jesus Christ for His endless love, blessing and guidance during the process of
completing my thesis. I always believe that there is nothing impossible in Him.
My great gratitude is for my beloved parents, S. Sembiring Brahmana and S. Sebayang, and also my two brothers, Firdaus Sembiring and Rio Mustika Sembiring,
and my only sister, Nindy Rizki Octaviani for their prayer, love, support, and encouragement which help me very much. I would also thank my big family in Medan, especially my grandmother, Iting, and my aunt, Salimah for their prayer.
My deepest gratitude is also addressed to Dra. Bernadine Ria Lestari, M.S., as my advisor, for her guidance and ideas in this thesis. I thank her patience in helping me to accomplish this thesis and spending much time and energy to read, criticize, and correct this thesis. I would also like to thank Anna Fitriati, S. Pd, M. Hum who has been so kind to be my co-advisor of this thesis, and has given some suggestions for the completion of this thesis.
I am also particularly grateful for all lecturers in English Letters Department who have spent their invaluable time in teaching me in the years of my study. I should also like to thank my Mandarin Lecturers; Anita Xiăojie and Rusli Lăoshī for borrowing me their books.
I also thank my 65 X friends; Mba Sari, Dhita “Nenek”, Yeni “Emak”, Wella, Putri “Iput”, Bona, and Della for being such good friends. I also thank my Karate
vi guidance and support.
I would also express my gratitude to all members of English Letters especially Pita, Dhita, Atik, Angga, Desy, Caty, John ‘02 and not to forget to my partners in work;
Rini (PBI), Nia, Rita, Bekti, Irma, mba Tya (Happy Bear), Tiwi, and mba Dewi
(Lingua International) for their support. I also thank everyone who supports me, but I
can not mention them one by one in this page.
Apriliana Beta Ulina
vii
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ………. 5
A. Definition of Phonetics ………... 5
B. The Classification of English Phonetics ……….. 6
C. The Classification of Mandarin Chinese Phonetics ………. 23
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ……….. 33
B. The Problems which Cause the Difficulties ………. 70
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ……… 78
viii
Chinese Speech Sounds. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2009.
Language is a part of communication system. Everybody uses language in their communication with other people to convey their ideas, wants, emotions, and also their intentions. One way to master a language is learning the sound system because the sounds of a language have a system in combining them into a certain form, so that they have a special meaning. To know about the sounds of language deeply, learners have to learn the science of the speech sounds that are utilized by all human language to represent meanings which is called as Phonetics.
Each language has its uniqueness which differs from other languages, for example, English and Mandarin Chinese. Both languages have some similarities and differences on the speech sounds. Because of that, this thesis has the objective. The objective is identifying and comparing English and Mandarin Chinese speech sounds. It is done to find out the similarities and differences between English and Mandarin Chinese speech sounds.
The methodology used in this study is Library research. The data were from English and Mandarin Chinese phonetics books and all the references about English and Mandarin Chinese speech sounds. The first step the writer did was collecting data and references from library. Then, the writer read those English and Mandarin Chinese phonetics books and all the references to get better understanding. Then, the writer analyzed the data by comparing English and Mandarin Chinese speech sounds. After that, the writer found and analyzed some problems that cause difficulties in pronouncing the English words for Chinese people.
ix
Chinese Speech Sounds. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009.
Bahasa merupakan bagian dari sistem komunikasi. Setiap orang menggunakan bahasa untuk mengungkapkan ide, hasrat, perasaan, dan maksud mereka terhadap orang lain melalui komunikasi. Cara untuk menguasai suatu bahasa yakni dengan mempelajari sistem bunyi karena bunyi bahasa memiliki sistem dalam mengkombinasikan bunyi tersebut kedalam suatu bentuk, sehingga menghasilkan makna. Untuk memahami bunyi bahasa lebih dalam, para siswa harus mempelajari ilmu tentang bunyi bahasa yang digunakan oleh semua bahasa manusia yang disebut dengan Phonetics.
Setiap bahasa memiliki keunikan yang berbeda dengan bahasa lainnya, sebagai contoh, bahasa Inggris dan Mandarin. Kedua bahasa tersebut memiliki beberapa persamaan dan perbedaan bunyi bahasa. Karena itu, skripsi ini memiliki tujuan, yakni untuk menemukan persamaan dan perbedaan bunyi bahasa antara bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Mandarin.
Metode yang diterapkan dalam penelitian ini yakni penelitian pustaka. Data-data berasal dari buku-buku dan referensi bahasa Inggris dan Mandarin. Tahap pertama yang dilakukan penulis yakni mengumpulkan data-data dan referensi dari perpustakaan. Kemudian, membacanya untuk memahami lebih dalam. Setelah itu, penulis menganalisis data-data tersebut dengan cara membandingkan bunyi bahasa antara bahasa Inggris dan Mandarin. Kemudian, penulis mencari dan meneliti masalah-masalah yang menyebabkan kesulitan bagi siswa Cina untuk melafalkan kata-kata dalam bahasa Inggris.
1 A. Background of the Study
The importance of language is naturally very great. Language is a part of
communication system. People can use it in their communication with other people to
convey their ideas, wants, emotions, and also their intentions. The greatest part of
learning a language is, therefore, learning the sound system. The sounds of a
language are not just like series of sounds produced by animals but they have a
system in combining them into a certain form so that they have a special meaning.
The science dealing with the sounds of language is called phonetics.
In order to know the understanding of phonetics better, we need to know what
speech sound is. Speech sounds are certain acoustic effects voluntarily produced by
the organ of speech; they are the result of definite actions performed by organs of
speech. The sounds of speech are all around us. We use them, we hear them, we
enjoy them, and suffer from them, but in general we know remarkably little about
them (Daniel Sahaluta, 1998).
Most linguists agree on the basic characteristics of language, namely a means
of communication for human beings either in a written or spoken form. This basic
communicative function can be included as expression, information, exploration,
Since the writer believes that the greatest part of mastering a language is
mastering the sound system, the writer tries to find some problems that cause the
difficulties for Chinese people learning the English sounds, especially pronouncing
the English words.
The consideration for comparing English with Mandarin Chinese is that
English is the most important language in the world, because it functions as an
International language. However after many years of study, many students in
different countries are still not capable of following the English system. English is
different from other languages especially Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is a
unique language which has different characteristics from English. For example,
Mandarin Chinese is well known as a tonal language. In Mandarin Chinese, a
different tone of a sound will refer to a different word with a totally different meaning.
The employing of the four tones to denote different characters in Mandarin Chinese is
the most important difference between English and Mandarin Chinese pronunciation.
In English, sound variation for different words is affected by varying the vowel or
consonant sounds. These fundamental differences make the difficulties for the
Chinese student to master the English sounds. Moreover, Mandarin is the second
language in the world. It can be shown by so many people who speak Mandarin
Chinese in the world. Besides that, nowadays, there are so many companies and
products which are from China, so we also have to master Mandarin Chinese to
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the difficulties in understanding the English and Mandarin Chinese
Speech sounds by the Chinese students, the problems that come up can be formulated
as follows :
1. What are the similarities and differences between English and Mandarin
Chinese Speech Sounds?
2. What problems cause the difficulties in pronouncing the English words for
Chinese people?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study aims at identifying English and Mandarin Chinese Speech Sounds,
comparing them in order to find out their similarities and differences, and finding
some problems that cause difficulties in pronouncing them. In order to find the
similarities and differences, the writer will compare the English and Mandarin
Chinese Speech sounds in terms of meaning and distribution.
D. Benefits of the Study
This study hopefully will give us insights that English Speech sounds and
Mandarin Chinese Speech sounds have some similarities and differences.
By understanding those similarities and differences between English and
Chinese Speech sounds which are revealed by the comparative analysis, we will be
Finally, the writer hopes that this research will also contribute something
useful to anyone who is interested in conducting further study, and to the existing
discussions on the field alike.
E. Definitions of Terms
The definition of terms is given in the following to narrow down and to lead
the writer to conduct this study :
1. Comparative Study
It may roughly be defined as a sub discipline of linguistics concerning with
the comparison of two or more languages or subsystems of languages in order to
determine both the differences and similarities between them (Jacek Fisiak, 1987).
2. Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of the speech sounds that are utilized by all human
language to represent meanings (Daniel Sahaluta, 1998).
3. Mandarin Chinese/Pŭtōnghuà普通话
Mandarin Chinese is the standard language spoken by Chinese officials, most
of whom came from Beijing. Standard Mandarin is a formal. Chinese people usually
use Standard Mandarin when they speak to a person who does not understand the
local dialect. The local dialect (be it non standard Mandarin) is generally used among
close family members and friends and in everyday conversation within the local area
5
This chapter discusses related theories upon which the study is undertaken,
namely theories of English and Mandarin Chinese Phonetics. The writer assumes that
by providing the theories of Phonetics, it will be easier for learners to grasp the core
of English Phonetics. In addition, the writer will also present some theories on
Mandarin Chinese Phonetics. Those theories about Phonetics are taken from some
English and Chinese phonetic books.
A. Definition of Phonetics
Daniel Sahaluta defined Phonetics as the study of the speech sounds that are
utilized by all human language to represent meaning (1998).
According to Peter Ladefoged in his 2nd edition book A Course in Phonetics, Phonetics is concerned with describing the speech sounds that occur in the languages
of the world (1982: 55).
David Crystal defined Phonetics as the study of the production, transmission,
and reception of speech sounds, which consists of three main branches: articulatory,
acoustic and auditory. Articulatory phonetics is the study of how the vocal tract
produces the sounds of language. Articulatory phonetics tries to understand the
nature of language by understanding the nature of the sounds produced by the upper
physical properties of the sounds themselves, while Auditory phonetics is the study of
how speech sounds are heard (1987: 131-132).
B. The Classification of English Phonetics
1. Speech Production
Speech production is the process of planning and executing the act of speech
which deals with the propagation of sound through the air. Crystal stated that the air
particles are disturbed through the movements and vibrations of the vocal organs,
especially vocal folds (Crystal, 1987: 132). Vibration plays an important role in the
production of speech.
a. The Air stream Mechanism
It is a method by which airflow is created in the vocal tract (the airway which
is used in the production of speech, especially the passage above the larynx, including
the pharynx, mouth, and nasal).
Clark and Yallop stated that the air stream mechanisms provide the sources of
energy for generating speech sounds, using airflow and pressure in the vocal tract
(1990: 56).
2. Articulation
specific type of manner. Movements of the speech articulators produce slow pressure
changes inside the airways of the vocal tract (lungs, pharynx, oral and nasal cavities)
and when released, these pressure differentials create audible sound (1994: 3058).
a. Organs of Speech
Clark and Yallop defined organs of speech as all parts of human body which
are concerned in various ways with the production of speech (1990: 14).
There are some organs of speech;
i. The lips are anterior termination of the oral cavity and the vocal tract.
ii. The mouth provides considerable plasticity and mobility to show the vocal tract
configurations possible in the articulation of speech (1990: 50). The movements
can be opening and closure, rising and lowering, rounding and spreading the
upper and the lower lips.
iii. Hard Palate is the roof of the mouth directly behind the upper gumridge (the rough
upper ridge gum located directly above and behind the upper front teeth).
iv. Soft Palate is the portion of the roof of the mouth directly behind the hard palate.
It ends at the back portion of the mouth in a small bulb called uvula (Gordon &
Wong, 1961: 9).
v. Tongue Blade is the flat surface of the tongue just behind the tip.
vi. Tongue body/dorsum is the main part of the tongue, lying below the hard and soft
palate. The body, specifically the back part of the body moves to make vowels
and many consonants.
viii. Pharynx is the cavity situated in the throat immediately behind the mouth.
ix. Larynx forms the upper part of the windpipe passage leading to the lungs.
x. Epiglottis is a sort of the tongue situated just above the larynx.
xi. Vocal cords or folds are the muscles in the larynx (adam’s apple) which vibrate
when one exhales breath from the lungs.
xii. Glottis is the area between the vocal cords.
Figure 1.1. Diagram of Speech Organs taken from Shen (1962: 9)
b. Speech Cavity
There are two kinds of cavity where the sound is produced. Those two
i. Oral Cavity
The oral cavity is the single most important part of the vocal tract in
determining the phonetic qualities of the speech sounds. Its importance rests on the
ability to control the geometry and volume of the cavity by shaping and positioning
the tongue and by moving the lips, jaw and the soft palate.
ii. Nasal Cavity
The passage above the larynx-the part that is behind the velum or the soft
palate, and the cavity in the nose is known as the nasal passage (Shen, 1962: 10). The
sounds are produced when the velum is lowered, the air escapes through the nose as
well as the mouth (Fromkin and Rodman, 1988: 37).
3. The Classification of Sounds
Every speech sound belongs to one or other of the two main classes known as
vowels and consonants (Jones, 1978: 23).
a. Articulation and Description of Vowels
In the Outline of English phonetics, Daniel Jones defined a vowel as “a voiced sound in forming which the air comes out in a continuous stream through the pharynx
and mouth without obstruction and no narrowing that would cause audible friction.”
(1978: 23).
John Ohala stated that in English, the vowel sounds can be divided into two,
i. Monopthong/Simple Vowel
There are 12 Simple Vowels in English, they are:
1 i:-tea 7 :-are
2 I-sit 8 Λ-up
3 e-pen 9 u:-school
4 æ-sad 10 -foot
5 з:bird 11 -war
6 ə-ago 12 -not
Figure 1.2; Table of English Monopthong taken from John Ohala (1994: 3056)
1) Types of Monopthong
The individual vowels/monopthongs can be classified into four criteria;
a) Tongue Height (the openness of the mouth)
There are three kinds of tongue height in producing vowel sounds, high, mid,
and low. High vowels/close vowels are made with the front of the mouth less open
because the tongue body is raised or high. The high vowels of English are [i, u, I, ]
as in the words leap, loop, lip, look.
Mid vowels are produced with an intermediate tongue height; in English,
these mid vowels include [e, ε, , ə, Λ, o] as in bait, bet, about, caught, but, boat.
Carolyn Mc. Manis, Deborah Stollenwerk and Zhang Zheng Sheng in the
book titled “Materials for an Introduction to Language” stated that Low vowels or open vowels are pronounced with the front of the mouth open and lowered. The
b) Tongue Advancement (the position of the tongue in the mouth)
The tongue can be pushed forward or pulled backward within the oral cavity.
There are also three kinds of tongue advancement; front, central, and back. Front
vowels are produced when the body of the tongue is pushed forward just under the
hard palate. They include [i, I, e, ε, æ] (1987: 55).
Central vowels require neither fronting nor retraction of the tongue. They are
ə and Λ.
Back vowels are produced when the body of the tongue is in the back of the
mouth toward the velum. They are [u, , , a, o ].
c) Lip Rounding (the shape of the lips)
Vowel quality also depends on lip position. There are two types, rounded and
unrounded. In English, there are four rounded vowels [u, , , o].
Unrounded or spread vowels include the front, mid/central vowels, and [a],
the only back vowel.
d) Tenseness (the length of the vowels)
Based on the degrees of muscular tension, vowels are distinguished into two
classes, tense vowels and lax vowels. Tense vowels production requires considerable
muscular tension on the part of the tongue (Jones, 1988: 39).
Lax vowels are produced when the tongue is supposed to be held loosely.
They do not describe accurately the action of the tongue in differentiating certain
ii. Diphthong/Gliding Vowels
Diphthong is a compound vowel sound made by pronouncing two vowels
quickly one after the other (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 3rd edition
with New Words Supplement, 2001).
There are 11 diphthongs in English, those diphthongs are:
1 OƱ - note [noƱt] 5 I- boil [b Il] 9 Ʊə - tour [tƱə(r)]
Figure 1.3; Table of English Diphthong from John Ohala (1994)
Diphthong consists of one syllable. Its duration depends on the process
whether it is performed slowly or quickly.
1) Types of Diphthong
There are two kinds of diphthong; offgliding and ongliding diphthongs. Ongliding diphthongs occur when the glides come before the nucleus vowels such as
in the word mute [mju:t]. Prator said that the glides involve in English are either [I]
or [u]. The semivowels [y] and [w] are often pronounced as onglides (1960: 31).
Offgliding diphthongs are produced when the glides occur after the nucleus
vowels. Based on the tongue movement, offgliding diphthong can be divided into
three types; fronting, backing, and centering diphthongs. Fronting diphthongs occur
or [ε], the nucleus vowels may be one of the variety of non-front vowels, including
[Ʊ], [a], [ə], [o], [ ] and [Λ]. They are [aI], [eI], [ I], for example in the word “bike”
[baIk] (Prator, 1960: 31). Traditionally in English phonetics, they are produced with a
tongue movement from a mid or low to a high position. They are known as closing
diphthongs i.e. moving to a closer tongue position (Clark & Yallop, 1990: 74).
Backing diphthongs move to the range of [u], [Ʊ], or [o]. There are some
varieties in the combinations that are actually used in English dialects like [a], [æ],
[Λ], [ ], [o]. Their sounds are [aƱ], [oƱ], for example in the word “out” [aƱt] (Prator,
1960: 31).
Centering diphthongs occur when the glide goes to a central vowel such as
schwa. They are [εə], [ ə], such as in the word “bare” [bεə] (Prator, 1960: 31-32).
They are produced with a tongue movement from a peripheral to a central position
(Clark & Yallop, 1990: 74).
b. Articulation and Description of Consonants
A consonant is a speech sound which is articulated with constriction or
There are 25 consonants in English, namely :
Figure 1.4; The list of English Consonant from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 3rd edition with New Words Supplement, Essex: Longman Group.UK.Ltd., 2001.
i. Classification of Consonants
Consonants can be classified into four ways;
1) Manner of Articulation
Manner of Articulation can be defined as the method that the consonant is
articulated.
In terms of manner of articulation, the English consonants can be classified
into some types, they are:
a) Plosive (Stop): This is a sound which is formed by a complete closure of the air
passage, behind which the air pressure builds up and can be released suddenly or
b) Affricate: It is a sound which is formed by a complete closure at some points in the
mouth, behind which the air pressure builds up, and the separation of the speech
organs is relatively slow so that friction is heard as the second element of the sound.
e.g. t∫ and ʤ.
c) Nasal: It is a sound which is formed by a complete closure at some points in the
mouth, with the soft palate being lowered so that the air is free to pass out through
the nose. e.g. m, n, ŋ.
d) Liquids: It is a sound which is formed by some obstruction of the airstream in the
mouth, but not enough to cause any real constriction or friction. There are two
liquid sounds, the lateral liquid [l] and the retroflex liquid [r].
e) Fricative: It is a sound which is formed by narrowing the air passage to such an
extent that the air in escaping produces audible friction. e.g. f, v, ∫, ʒ, s, z, θ, ð, h.
f) Glides/Semi vowel: It is a voiced gliding sound in which the speech organs start at
or near a close vowel and immediately move away to some other vowel. e.g. w, j
2) Place of Articulation
Place of Articulation is the place of obstruction of air at some points in the
vocal cords.
In terms of place of articulation, the English consonants can be classified into
9 types, they are;
a) Bilabial: It is a sound which is articulated by the two lips e.g. b, p, m, w.
b) Labio-Dental: It is a sound which is articulated by the lower lip against the upper
c) Dental: It is a sound which is articulated by the tip of the tongue against the upper
teeth. e.g. θ and ð.
d) Alveolar: It is a sound which is articulated by the tip or the blade of the tongue
against the alveolar ridge. e.g. t, d, l, n, s, z, r.
e) Palatal: It is a sound which is articulated by the blade of the tongue against the
alveolar ridge with a rising of the main body of the tongue toward the palate. e.g.
∫,ʒ, t∫,ʤ, j.
f) Velar: It is a sound which is articulated by the back part of the tongue against the
soft-palate. e.g. k, g, ŋ.
g) Glottal: It is a sound which is articulated in the glottis e.g. h.
Figure 1.4.; Diagram of Place of Articulation 3) Vibration of the Vocal Cords
a) Voiceless
A sound is described as Voiceless when the vocal cords do not vibrate during
its articulation. The vocal cords vibrate when they are closed to obstruct the airflow
through the glottis. The consonant sounds which belong to Voiceless are; p, t, k, f, s,
∫,t∫,θ, h.
b) Voiced
A sound is described as Voiced when the vocal cords (folds of muscle located
at the level of the glottis) do vibrate. The consonant sounds which belong to Voiced
are the rest of Voiceless sounds.
4) The Puff of Air
In terms of the puff of air, English consonant can be classified into “aspirated”
and “unaspirated”.
a) Aspirated
The explosion of air during the time that elapse between release of the
articulation and the beginning of vocal band vibration of the following segment.
In English, there are three sounds which belong to aspirated sound, they are [p, t, k].
These sounds are aspirated when they occur at the beginning of words or stressed
b) Unaspirated
When we pronounce a sound, the vocal cords start vibrating as soon as the
lips are opened. Usually the unaspirated sounds occur in unstressed syllables. e.g.
Skill, Spit, Skin, etc.
4. Phonetic Transcription
Phonetic Transcription has often been defined as a kind of alphabetic writing
in which each letter represents one sound. e.g. keep [ki:p], cook [kuk], etc. The
function of phonetic transcription is necessary to distinguish between the orthography,
or spelling, of words, and their pronunciation. The most popular Phonetic
transcription is IPA (The International Phonetic Alphabet), which includes modified
Roman letters and diacritics by means of which the sounds of all human languages
can be represented.
Daniel Jones says that Linguists use a phonetic alphabet for the purpose of
recording speech sounds in written or printed form. The alphabet of the International
Phonetic Association (IPA) consists of a large number of symbols which may be
employed to represent the sound of all languages, with modifying marks which are
useful for showing several kinds of differences in articulation of sounds in the speech
a. The Classification of English Phonetic Transcription
There are 2 classifications of English phonetic transcription;
i. Broad Transcription
It means that one letter symbol represents one sound. For instance, the symbol
[l] is used for the [1] in words like leaf [li:f], feel [fi:l], children [' ildrən] and health
[helө].
ii. Narrow Transcription
It means that diacritics are added to the one letter symbol to show the
differences between sounds. For example, the sound [l] in the above mentioned words
differ slightly. The [1] in leaf [li:f] occurring before a vowel is called a clear [1] and the [1] in feel [fi:l] occurring at the end of a word or before another consonant is called dark [1]. In narrow transcription, the diacritic [~] is used to indicate that the
sound [l] is a dark. Then in the sound combination [helө] the sound is called a dental
[l] because it is followed by dental [ө].
b. English Phonetic Alphabet
An alphabet is a standardized set of letters. The term alphabet refers to a writing system that has characters for representing both consonant and vowel sounds.
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is one of the most popular and
well-known phonetic alphabets.
The symbol from the International Phonetics Alphabet (IPA), as used in
Consonant Vowel
IPA Words IPA Words
Figure 1.5: Table of English Phonetic Alphabet From Peter Ladefoged (1982: 27).
Symbols representing sounds are put into square brackets. e.g. [b] as in “bird”;
[d] as in “dog”. Other symbols are variations of alphabet letters: e.g. [ŋ] as in “sang”;
5. Supra-segmental Features
“Supra-segmental” comes from the word “supra” which means parts that up in
the segment. Supra-segmental feature deals with something larger than individual
segments. e.g. syllables or vowels, words, phrases.
There are three elements of Supra-segmental Features, they are:
a. Tone
A tone language is a language that uses the pitch of individual syllable to
contrast meanings. So, differences in pitch usually will cause differences in meaning.
In other words, differences in word meaning are signaled by differences in pitch. An
example of a tone language is Mandarin Language.
English is not a tone language because in English differences in pitch do not
cause differences in meaning.
b. Intonation
In linguistics, intonation is the variation of pitch when speaking. Intonation
and stress are two main elements of linguistics prosody.
Intonation has a function to indicate sentence meaning and signal the attitude
of a speaker. Many languages use pitch syntactically, for instance to change a
statement to a question. Such languages are called intonation languages.
For example, - That red car is expensive, isn’t ` it?
The first sentence means agreement that the red car is really expensive, while
the second sentence means doubtful that the expensive thing is that red car not other
car.
English is an intonation language because the pitch is used syntactically to
change a sentence from a statement to question. Besides that, in English it is the pitch
contour of the phrase or sentence that is important. For example, rising and falling. The differences between rising and falling is its function. “Rising” is used for
question, while “Falling” is used for statement.
c. Stress
Stress is used to produce a syllable with relatively greater length, loudness,
and/or higher pitch in which extra respiratory energy is needed. In languages such as
English, stress may cause difference in syntactic category such as noun or verb. Here
are some examples: abstract - ab'stract - 'abstract segment - seg'ment - 'segment survey - sur'vey - 'survey
In English, stress is important because stress is phonemic (can determine the
medial position such as im′port, it means verb, while if the stress is in the initial
position such as ′import, it means noun.
In English, one or more syllables in each content word except for little word
like to, the, a, of are stressed. The most highly stress is indicated by an active accent
or primary stress (′), the other stress vowels marked by secondary stress (`). e.g.
re`signátion, phònétic, etc.
C. The Classification of Mandarin Chinese Phonetics
Mandarin Chinese Phonetics can be classified according to the same
principles as used to classify English Phonetics.
Cheung Yuk Man defined Phonetics as the branch of linguistics which deals
with how the different sounds of language are produced. The most important things in
Mandarin Chinese Phonetics are the classification of sounds (Vowel and Consonant),
Supra segmental feature especially tones, and Mandarin phonetic transcription
systems (2001: 18).
There are some forms of Mandarin Chinese Phonetics:
1. Speech Production
Basically, the speech production of Mandarin Chinese is the same as English.
2. Articulation
a. Speech Organs
The articulation of sounds and the speech organ in Mandarin Chinese is also
the same as English speech organ.
3. The Classification of Sounds
Mandarin Chinese has two classifications of sounds, they are:
a. Vowels
In Mandarin Chinese, Vowels are usually in the final and medial position
because the former is a consonant. There are 18 vowels which are divided into; 7
simple vowels or Monopthong, 9 Dipthongs, 2 Tripthongs (Vowels which are
followed by the consonant, except “m”), and 14 nasal vowels in Mandarin Chinese.
i.Monopthong/Simple Vowels
The Seven Monopthong/Simple Vowels in Mandarin Chinese are;
1. Λ-mā妈妈(mother)
2. ə-chē车(vehicle)
3. І-yī一(one)
4. o-mÒ 墨 (ink)
5. u-liù 六(six)
6. i-nü 奴(female; person)
ii. Dipthong
There are 9 Dipthong Vowels in Mandarin Chinese, they are;
1. ai-găi该 (to change) 6. ua-guā刮(wind)
2. ei-běi 北(north) 7. uo-zuò 坐 (sit)
3. ao-dào 到(arrive) 8. ou-zŏu走 (walk)
4. Ia-jiā家(home) 9. üe-yuè 月 (month)
5. ie-jiĕjiě 姐姐(elder sister)
iii. Tripthong
Mandarin Chinese only has 2 Tripthongs, they are:
1. iao-jiαo教 (to teach)
2. uai-kuài 快(fast)
b. Consonants
Mandarin Chinese consists of 14 Consonant sounds, they are:
1. p - piào票(ticket) 8. ŋ-xiăng响(sound)
2. m-māma 妈妈 (mother) 9. t∫-qī七(seven)
3. f-fàng 放(to put) 10. s-xiānggăng 香港 (Hongkong)
4. t-dàxué 大学(university) 11. ∫-shēngrì 生日(birthday)
5. n-nán 难(difficult, hard) 12. r-rènshi 认识(know)
6. l-lăoshī老师(teacher) 13. w-wŏ我(I, me)
i. Classification of Consonants
Consonants can be classified into four ways;
1) Manner of Articulation
Manner of Articulation can be defined as the method that the consonant is
articulated.
In terms of manner of articulation, the Mandarin Chinese consonants can be
classified into 5 types, they are:
a) Plosive (Stop): The airstream is totally blocked in the oral cavity. The Consonant
sounds which belong to stops are p, t, k.
b) Affricate: The Sounds are produced by a stop closure followed immediately by a
slow release of the closure characteristic of a fricative. Mandarin Chinese only
has one affricates sound, that is t∫.
c) Nasals: A complete closure at some point in the mouth, but the soft palate being
lowered the air escape through the nose. In Mandarin Chinese has 3 nasal sounds,
they are m, n, ŋ.
d) Liquids: There is some obstruction of the air stream in the mouth, but not enough
to cause any real friction. Mandarin Chinese has two liquids sounds, they are l & r
e) Fricatives: The air stream is not completely stopped but is obstructed from
flowing freely. There are four sounds which belong to Mandarin Chinese
Fricatives, they are f, s, h, ∫.
f) Glide/semi vowel: a sound which is produced with little obstruction of the air
2) Place of Articulation
In terms of place of articulation, the Mandarin Chinese consonants can be
classified into 6 types, they are;
a) Bilabial: It is a sound which is articulated by the two lips. e.g. p, m, w.
b) Labio-Dental: The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth. e.g. f
c) Alveolar: A sound which is formed with the tip of the tongue against the bony
ridge behind the upper front teeth. e.g. t, s, n, l, r.
d) Palatal: A sound which is articulated by the back and middle of the tongue close
to or touching the roof of the mouth. e.g. t∫
e) Velar: A sound which is Formed with the back of the tongue close to or touching
the soft part of the roof of the mouth. e.g. k and ŋ.
f) Glottal: A sound which is formed with an obstruction or a narrowing causing
friction but not vibration, between the vocal cords. e.g. h
3) Vibration of the Vocal Cords
In terms of vibration of the vocal cords, the Mandarin Chinese consonants can
be divided into 2 types, they are;
a) Voiceless
A sound is described as Voiceless when the vocal cords do not vibrate during
its articulation. The vocal cords vibrate when they are closed to obstruct the airflow
through the glottis. The consonant sounds which belong to Voiceless are; p, t, k, f, s,
b) Voiced
A sound is described as Voiced when the vocal cords (folds of muscle located
at the level of the glottis) do vibrate. The consonant sounds which belong to Voiced
sounds are the rest of voiceless sounds.
4) The Puff of air
In terms of the puff of air, Mandarin Chinese consonants can be classified
into “aspirated” and “unaspirated”.
a) Aspirated
Aspiration means exhalation, a puff of air. It is the explosion of air during the
time that elapses between release of the articulation and the beginning of vocal band
vibration of the following segment. e.g. p, t, k.
b) Unaspirated
It means when we produce the sounds, the exhalation is very little. The
sounds such as p, t, and k which do not occur in the beginning syllable are called as
unaspirated sounds.
4. Phonetic Transcription System
Mandarin Chinese has a system for transliterating Mandarin Chinese with 25
European characters, except "v". This system is called Hànyŭ Pīnyīn.
Hànyŭ Pīnyīn is the visual system of symbolization of the sounds occurring in
spoken human language. It uses a phonetic alphabet (such as the International
The phonetic symbols of Putonghua (Standard Chinese) in Modern Chinese comprises 21 initials that are consonants beginning a syllable, and for the finals, there
are 39 vowels that are followed by nasal consonants. These finals fall into three
categories:
1. Simple finals which have only a single vowel, e.g. a and o.
2. Multi-finals which have two or three vowels, e.g. ai, ua, and iao.
3. Nasal finals which consist of one or two vowels and a nasal consonant, e.g. an,
uan, eng, iong.
a. Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
The list below illustrates the Chinese phonetic alphabet (usually referred to as
"bopomofo"). This alphabet is used to specify the pronunciation of Chinese
Vowel
5. Supra-segmental Feature (Prosody)
a. Tone
Mandarin Chinese is known as a tonal language because Tone is very
important. Tone can change the meaning of words. There are four basic tones in
Putonghua (Standard Mandarin) as shown by the following tone marks, the first tone is (¯), second tone (˝), the third tone (˘) and the fourth tone (`). When a syllable is
pronounced in different tones, it has different meanings.
Figure 1.3: Diagram of Mandarin Chinese Tones
To get more understanding about Chinese Tone, the writer presents some
example of four tones, they are:
1. ā: a neutral tone. It is a high, even and constant tone. e.g. mā(Mother).
2. á : This is a rising tone that grows stronger. e.g. má (Hemp)
3. ǎ : first falling and then rising (like a dipthong). e.g. mǎ (Horse)
In languages such as Mandarin, the pronunciation of two words may be the
same except the pitch difference. For example, [ma] pronounced with a high-level
tone means "mother", and with a low-mid to mid rising tone means "a horse".
b. Intonation and Stress
Basically, Mandarin Chinese does not have Intonation and Stress such as
word stress, phrase and sentence stress. In Mandarin Chinese, the Intonation is only
as the expanding of Tone language. In other words, the function of Intonation is same
as Tone. Besides that, there is no Stress in Mandarin Chinese because Stress is not
important. It does not distinguish the meaning of word and sentence (Zay Wu, 2000:
33 A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is English and Mandarin Chinese Phonetics books.
This study deals with a study of two languages, English and Mandarin Chinese.
These two languages are discussed with a comparative analysis, which examines the
speech sounds of two languages, English and Mandarin Chinese.
b. Approach of the Study
Since this study analyzes the differences between English and Mandarin
Chinese Speech sounds, it is obvious that this study will use the approach of
Phonetics of English and Mandarin Chinese language.
c. Method of the Study
The writer applied library research to analyze or to answer two problem
formulations. The first step the writer did was collecting data and references from the
library. It was done in order to find and collect data from many books, especially
phonetics books. In gathering the description of English and Mandarin Chinese
Phonetics, the writer made as simple and complete as possible so they could cover
read those English and Mandarin Chinese phonetics books and also all the references
to get better understanding.
Next the writer found the similarities and differences of the English and
Mandarin Chinese speech sounds from Linguistics books, especially Phonetics books
because the research method used in this study was Comparative analysis which aims
were to find the similarities and differences between two languages. It was done to
answer the first problem formulation.
After that the writer found some problems which caused the difficulties in
pronouncing the English words for Chinese people. This was done in order to answer
the second problem formulation.
The first step had been completed in chapter II. The chapter (IV) was about
the actual comparison and notes about the difficulties for Chinese people in
pronouncing English words. Then, the next chapter (V) was about conclusion of this
35
We know that each country has its own language with its uniqueness which
can be the characteristic of the country. Every language has differences and
similarities with other languages. It can be showed by the system of communication
such as how people produce the sound of speech. We can see that every people
produces the speech sound by using the organ of speech, it shows that there is one of
the similarities between one language to another languages.
This chapter covers findings and the discussion that are related to the study in
order to answer the two problems in chapter I. The first part deals with the
comparison between the English and Mandarin Chinese speech sounds. This kind of
comparison is chosen because it will facilitate us to see some similarities and
differences between the English and Mandarin Chinese speech sounds. The second
part deals with the discussion about the problems that cause difficulties in
pronouncing the English words for Chinese people.
A. The Similarities and Differences between English and Mandarin Chinese
Speech Sounds
1. The Similarities between English and Mandarin Chinese Speech Sounds
First of all, the similarity between English and Mandarin Chinese can be seen
from the concept of phonetics that it is the study of the speech sounds that are
a. Speech Production
Basically, both English and Mandarin Chinese are similar on the contain of
speech production, especially on the articulation and speech organs which are used to
produce the sounds.
b. Articulation
English and Mandarin Chinese have similar articulation because the system
or the way of producing the sounds are same that the process of the movements of the
speech articulators produce slow pressure which changes inside the airways of the
vocal tract (lungs, pharynx, oral and nasal cavities) and when they are released, these
pressure differentials create audible sound.
c. The Classification of Sounds
There are some similarities between English and Mandarin Chinese based on
the classification of sounds. The first one is about the classification of sounds. Both
of languages, English and Mandarin Chinese have two classifications of sound, they
are Vowel and Consonant. The articulation of those sounds also same.
i. Articulation and Description of Vowels
Both languages define a vowel as a voiced sound that is made without
stopping of the breath by the tongue, lips, etc.
Both English and Mandarin Chinese have the same classification of vowel,
1) Monopthong/Simple vowel
There are some sounds which are similar one to the other such as I and i:
The articulation of I and i: are the same that they are articulated by the
opening of narrow mouth. The tongue raised and pushed forward towards the position
naturally against the lower teeth. The lips spread to the two sides into a flat position.
2) Dipthong
English and Mandarin Chinese are similar in the total of Dipthong sounds.
Both languages consist of 9 dipthongs. Besides that, English and Mandarin Chinese
also have some similarities about Dipthong sounds, they are əI and eI. Moreover,
both languages have a similarity on the position of vowel sounds. In English and
Mandarin Chinese, the vowel sounds can be put in the medial and final position as in
the following examples:
English Mandarin Chinese
In the medial position 1. job →ʤob xÌng姓→ surname; family name
2. dog → dDg kuān宽→ wide
3. wall → wɔ:l fēng封 →seal
In the final position 1. who → hu: hē喝 → drink
2. coffee → kDfI zŏu走→ walk
ii. Articulation and Description of Consonants
Both languages have a similarity on the position of the consonant, that is the
consonant sounds can be put in the initial and final position as in the following
examples:
English Mandarin Chinese
initial position are 1. Tea /thi:/ tàidù态度(attitude)
2. Coffee /kDfi/ kàn看(see)
3. Too /tu:/ tiānqÌ天气(weather)
Final position 1. eat /i:t/ yān /ian/烟(cigarette)
2. ink /iŋk/
3. inventor /in’ventə(r)/
Moreover, English and Mandarin Chinese have a similarity on the total of
Consonant sounds. There are 14 Consonant sounds which are similar between
English and Mandarin Chinese. The similar consonant sounds are p, t, k, f, s, ∫, t∫, m,
n, ŋ, l, r, w, and h as in the following examples:
English Mandarin Chinese
2. t → top /thop/ t → téng /théŋ/ 疼 (pain/
3. k → skin /skIn/ k → kèbĕn /khepen/课本(textbook/
4. f → fine /faIn/ f → fàng /faŋ/放(put)
5. s → sea /sI:/ s → xiāng /siaŋ/乡(country side)
6. ∫→ she /∫i:/ ∫ → shēngrÌ /∫eŋre/ 生日(birthday)
7. t∫→ church /t∫з:t∫/ t∫→ qī /t∫ī/七 (seven)
8. m → milk /mIlk/ m → māma /mama/妈妈 (mother)
9. n → name /neIm/ n → nán /nan/难(difficult)
10. ŋ→ sing /sIŋ/ ŋ→ táng /taŋ/糖(candy)
11. l → little /lItl/ l → lăoshī /laise/老师(teacher)
12. r → rabbit /ræbIt/ r → rènshi /rense/认识(know)
13. w → wait /weIt/ w → wŏ /wo/我(I)
1) Classification of Consonants
Both English and Mandarin Chinese have same classification of Consonant.
There are four classifications of Consonant, namely; Manner of Articulation, Place of
Articulation, Vibration of the vocal cords, and the puff of air.
a) Manner of Articulation
The similarities on the Manner of Articulation between English and Mandarin
Chinese are about the types or classification of Consonant sounds based on Manner
of Articulation, the articulation and the sound itself.
Based on Manner of Articulation, both English and Mandarin Chinese consist
of five types of consonant sounds which are similar, they are plosive, affricate, nasal,
lateral, and fricative.
i) Plosive (Stop)
Both English and Mandarin Chinese articulate the consonant sounds by a
complete closure of the air passage, behind which the air pressure builds up and can
be released suddenly or explosively. English and Mandarin Chinese consist of the
same consonant sounds, they are p, t, and k.
ii) Affricate
Both English and Mandarin Chinese define affricate as the method of
producing sounds which are formed by a complete closure at some points in the
mouth, behind which the air pressure builds up, and the separation of the speech
English has a similar sound with Mandarin Chinese, that is t∫, as in the following
example.
t∫→ chair (English)
qī means eight (Mandarin Chinese)
iii) Nasal
English and Mandarin Chinese have similar articulation, the total of nasal
sounds, and the sound itself.
Both English and Mandarin Chinese define nasal consonant sound as a sound
which is articulated by a complete closure at some points in the mouth, with the soft
palate which is being lowered so that the air is free to pass out through the nose.
Besides that, English and Mandarin Chinese have a similarity on the total of
nasal sounds. They are three nasal consonant sounds; m, n, and ŋ.
For the position of those sounds, there are some similarities between English
and Mandarin Chinese, for example the nasal sounds such as m and ŋ can be placed
in the initial and in the final position. Moreover, both languages have a similarity on
the sound “ŋ”, that ŋ sound never occur in the initial position. It always occurs in the
final position.
iv) Lateral
Both languages, English and Mandarin Chinese have a similarity about lateral
English and Mandarin Chinese define lateral as a sound which is articulated
by a partial closure in the mouth where the airstream is being allowed to escape on
one or both sides of the contact. Both two languages have one lateral sound, that is l.
For examples; l → like (English)
→ lǎoshī means a teacher (Mandarin Chinese)
v) Fricative
The similarities between English and Mandarin Chinese can be seen from the
definition, articulation, and the sound itself. Both English and Mandarin Chinese have
defined fricative as a sound which is formed by narrowing the air passage to such an
extent that the air in escaping produces audible friction. Besides that, English and
Mandarin Chinese have three similar fricative consonant sounds, they are f, s, and h.
For example : f → fine (English)
fàng (Mandarin Chinese)
s → sea (English)
shēngrÌ (Mandarin Chinese)
h → heal (English)
→ hē means to drink (Mandarin Chinese)
b) Place of Articulation
There are some similarities between English and Mandarin Chinese based on
the place of Articulation. The first similarity is about the concept of the place of
vocal tract the airflow restriction occurs. Here, different consonantal sounds are
resulted because the movement of the tongue and lips called the articulators cause the
restriction, reshaping the oral cavity in various ways to produce the various
consonants.
The second similarity is about the classification of the consonant sounds
based on the place of articulation. Both languages have six classifications of
consonant sounds which are similar. They are Bilabial, Labio-dental, Alveolar,
Palato-Alveolar, Velar, and Glottal.
i) Bilabials
Both languages, English and Mandarin Chinese have same concept about
Bilabial sound that is a sound which is articulated by the two lips. The same
consonant sounds of English and Mandarin Chinese are p and m, as in the following
examples:
p → put (English)
→ bāba means father (Mandarin Chinese)
m → mother (English)
→ māma means mother (Mandarin Chinese)
ii) Labio-Dentals
Both English and Mandarin Chinese define Labio-dental as a sound which is
articulated by the lower lip against the upper teeth. Moreover, English and Mandarin
Chinese have one labio-dental sound which is similar, that is f.
→ fēijī means aircraft, aeroplane) (Mandarin Chinese)
iii) Alveolars
Both English and Mandarin Chinese have the same concept about Alveolar
consonant, articulation of Alveolar sounds and five alveolar consonant sounds.
Alveolar sounds are the sounds which are articulated by raising the front part of the
tongue to the alveolar ridge. The five alveolar consonant sounds which are similar
between English and Mandarin Chinese are t, d, l, n, s, and r.
iv) Palatals
English and Mandarin Chinese have same articulation of consonant sounds
based on Palatal that the palatal sounds are produced by the blade of the tongue
against the alveolar ridge with a raising of the main body of the tongue toward the
palate.
Both languages consist of one sound which is similar. The similar palatal
consonant sound between English and Mandarin Chinese is t∫.
v) Velars
The similarities of velar consonant sounds in English and Mandarin Chinese
are the articulation of sounds and the sound itself. Both languages define velar
consonant sounds as the sounds which are produced by raising the back of the tongue
to the soft palate or velum. There is only one similar sound in English and Mandarin
Chinese, the sound is k such as in word;
k → kite (English)
vi) Glottal
The similarities on Glottal consonant sound in English and Mandarin Chinese
can be seen from the articulation of glottal consonant sounds, the total of sound, and
the sound itself. Those two languages define glottal as a sound which is articulated in
the glottis. Both of two languages have one glottal consonant sound, that is h such as
in word; h→ horse (English)
→ hē means to drink (Mandarin Chinese)
c) Vibration of the vocal cords
In terms of vibration of the vocal cords, English and Mandarin Chinese are
similar in the classification and the articulation of consonant sounds. Both languages
consist of two classifications of consonant sounds based on the vibration of the vocal
cords, they are voiceless and voiced consonant sounds.
i) Voiceless
English and Mandarin Chinese define voiceless as a sound which is resulted
when the vocal cords do not vibrate during its articulation, but they vibrate when they
are closed to obstruct the airflow through the glottis. There are seven voiceless
consonant sounds which are similar between English and Mandarin Chinese, they are
p, t, k, f, s, t∫, and h.
ii) Voiced
One of the similarities between English and Mandarin Chinese phonetic can
be seen from the articulation of voiced consonant sounds. Those two languages
level of the glottis) do vibrate. The voiced sounds which are similar in English and
Mandarin Chinese include m, n, l, and r.
d) The puff of air
Both English and Mandarin Chinese consist of two classifications of
consonant sounds based on the puff of air, they are Aspirated and non aspirated
consonant sounds.
i) Aspirated
Those two languages, English and Mandarin Chinese have defined aspirated
sounds as the sounds which are produced when the explosion of air during the time
that elapse between release of the articulation and the beginning of vocal band
vibration of the following segment. There are three similar aspirated consonant
sounds in English and Mandarin Chinese. The three sounds are p, t, and k. Besides
that, those two languages indicate aspirated consonant sounds by writing the phonetic
symbol with a raised h, as in the following examples:
English Mandarin Chinese
Ph→pate ph→ péngyou /phengyou/ 朋友(friend)
th→tale th→ tiānqÌ /thiant∫i/ 天气(weather)
ii) Non aspirated
English and Mandarin Chinese define non aspirated consonant sounds as the
sounds which are produced when the exhalation is very little. Here, the vocal cords
start vibrating as soon as the lips are opened.
The similar consonant sounds based on the non aspirated are the rest of the
aspirated consonant sounds.
d. Phonetic Transcription
The similarity about phonetic transcription between English and Mandarin
Chinese is that both languages have a system to transliterating sounds and phonetic
Alphabet which is used to represent both consonant and vowel sounds.
Besides that, the phonetic symbols which represent the sounds are put into the
square brackets. For examples in English, the sound [b] as in word “bird”, and in
Mandarin Chinese, the sound such [h] as in word “hē” means to drink.
e. Supra-segmental Features
Both English and Mandarin Chinese have three elements of supra-segmental
features, they are Tone, Intonation, and Stress.
The similarity on the Tone, Intonation, and Stress between English and
Mandarin Chinese is only in the concept that Tone language which uses the pitch of
individual syllable is used to contrast the meaning. Besides that, both languages
meaning and to signal the attitude of the speaker, while the stress is used to produce a
syllable with relatively greater length, loudness, and higher pitch in which extra
respiratory energy is needed.
2. The Differences between English and Mandarin Chinese Speech Sounds
a. The Classification of Sounds
Although English and Mandarin Chinese have two classifications of sounds,
namely Vowel and Consonant, both languages have differences on the classification
of vowels and consonants. The explanation about those differences are described
below.
i. Vowels
The first difference between English and Mandarin Chinese can be seen from
the classification of vowel sounds. The difference is about the total classification of
vowel sounds. As the writer has explained before that English has 23 vowels which
are divided into two classifications of vowel sounds, while Mandarin Chinese
consists of 18 vowel sounds which are divided into three classifications of vowel. The
21 English vowel sounds are divided into 12 Monopthong/simple vowels and 11
Dipthongs. The 18 Mandarin Chinese vowels are divided into 7 Monopthong/simple
1) Monopthong
English Monopthong/Simple vowels are:
1 i:-tea 7 :-are
2 I-sit 8 Λ-up
3 e-pen 9 u:-school
4 æ-sad 10 -foot
5 з:bird 11 : -war
6 ə-ago 12 -not
Mandarin Chinese Monopthong/Simple vowels are:
1 Λ-māma 妈妈 (mother)
2 ə-chē车 (vehicle)
3 І-yī一 (one)
4 o -mÒ 墨 (ink)
5 u-liù 六(six)
6 i-nü 奴(female; person)
7 a-năr哪 (where)
From the data above, we can see the differences between English and
a) Tongue Height
i) High vowels
Those two languages, English and Mandarin Chinese have differences on the
total of sounds and the sound itself. English has four high vowel sounds, they are i, u,
I, and υ, while Mandarin Chinese only has three high vowel sounds, they are i, I, and
u because Mandarin Chinese does not have vowel sound υ such in the following
examples;
English Mandarin Chinese
i: → Leap /li:p/, deep /di:p/ i → nü (female)
u: → Loop /lu:p/, book /bu:k/ I→ yī (one)
I → Lip /lIp/ u → liÙ (Six)
: → Look /l :k/ —
ii) Mid vowels
In English, the mid vowels include [e, ə, כ, Λ, o,] while in Mandarin Chinese,
there are only three mid vowel sounds, they are [ə, Λ, o] such in the following
examples;
English Mandarin Chinese
e → bait /beIt/ —
ə→ about /əbaυt/ ə→ chē (vehicle)
→ caught /k :t/ —
O→ boat /bəυt/ O→ mÒ 墨(ink)
iii) Low vowels
English low vowels include [æ, a], while Mandarin Chinese only has one low
vowel that is [a] such in the following examples:
English Mandarin Chinese
æ → Had/hæd/ —
a → now /na a → năr(where)
b) Tongue Advancement
i) Front vowels
The difference between English and Mandarin Chinese is on the total of
sounds. English consists of four front vowel sounds, they are i, I, e, æ, while
Mandarin Chinese only consists of two front vowel sounds, they are i and I.
ii) Back vowels
The difference between English and Mandarin Chinese is on the total of Back
vowel sounds. English has five back vowel sounds, they are u, , , a, o, while
Mandarin Chinese only has three back vowel sounds, they are u, a, and o.
iii) Lip Rounding
English consists of four rounded vowel sounds, they are [u, , , o], while
Mandarin Chinese consists of two rounded vowel sounds, they are u and o.
English consists of five tense vowels (longer in duration), while Mandarin
Chinese has no tense vowel sounds. All Mandarin Chinese vowel sounds are lax
vowel.
English tense vowel sounds are:
i: → tea /ti:/
: → harm /h :m/
: → bore /b : (r)/
u: → zoo /zu:/
з: → sir /sз:(r)/
English Lax vowels (shorter in duration) include;
I→ bit /bIt/ æ → cat /kæt/
u → actually /ækt∫uəl/ Λ → but /bΛt/
→ put /p t/ ə → about
/əba t/
e → bed /bed/ i → happy /hæpi/
Mandarin Chinese lax vowels include all the simple vowel/monopthong
sounds because the vowel sounds are generally produced with normal tension of the
tongue muscles, and they are shorter in duration.
2) Dipthong
The difference between English and Mandarin Chinese on the dipthong
dipthong sounds that Mandarin does not have. The eleven different dipthong vowel
sounds are:
1 o - note [no t] 5 I - boil [b Il] 9 ə - tour [t ə(r)]
2 aІ- buy [baІ] 6 Iə - ear [Iə(r)] 10 a - down [da n]
3 eІ - bait [beIt] 7 eə - care [keə(r)] 11 ə - coat [kə t]
4 uə - actual
[ækt∫uəl]
8 iə- peculiar [pIkju:liə]
Besides that, English has the classifications of Dipthongs, they are: Offgliding
and Ongliding, while Mandarin Chinese does not have classification of Dipthong
sounds. English offgliding dipthongs can be seen in some words, such as:
1. bout [bəwt] → vowel [ə] is followed by the glide [w] resulting dipthong
[əw]
2. boy [bכj] → vowel [ ] is followed by the glide [j] resulting dipthong [ j]
English ongliding dipthongs can be seen in the same words, such as:
1. mute [mju:t]
2. nutrient [nju:triənt]
3) Tripthong
Besides the differences in Monopthong and Dipthong, another differences of
those two languages can be seen in another types of vowel, that is Tripthong.
English has no Tripthong vowel sounds, while Mandarin Chinese has two
Tripthongs, they are iəo and uəi.
For examples: iəo - jiəo (to teach)
uəi - kuài (fast)
Below is the diagram of English and Mandarin Chinese Vowel;
The Diagram of English Vowel
Front Central Back
The Diagram of Mandarin Chinese Vowel
Front Central Back Moreover, the difference between English and Mandarin Chinese can be seen
placed in the initial, medial, and final position, while in Mandarin Chinese, the vowel
sounds are placed only in the medial and final position. Mandarin Chinese vowel
sounds never occur in the initial position such in the following examples:
English Mandarin Chinese
In the initial position ago /ə’gə / ―
In the medial position base /beIs/ yÒng用(to use)
In the final position key /ki:/ lè仂 (surplus)
ii. Consonant
The difference between English and Mandarin Chinese on the consonant can
be seen from the total of consonant sounds.
English consists of 25 consonants, they are:
1. p-pen /phen/ 14. θ-thin /θIn/
2. t-top /thop/ 15. ð-this /ðIs/
3. k-cat /khæt/ 16. m-man /mæn/
4. f-fine /faIn/ 17. n-now /na /
5. v-very /veri/ 18. ŋ-sing /sIŋ/
6. s-sea /si:/ 19. g-girl /gIrl/
8. -she /∫i/ 21. r-right /raIt/
9. ʒ-measure /meʒə(r)/ 22. -judge / Λ /
10.w-wait /weIt/ 23. h-harm /h :m/
11.d-dip /dIp/ 24. b-book /b k/
12. j-yet /jet/ 25. x-loch /lDx/
13. t∫-cheer /t∫Iə(r)/
Mandarin Chinese consists of 15 consonants, they are:
1. p - piào票(ticket) 9. č-cÍ雌(a female)
2. m-māma 妈妈 (mother) 10. t∫-qī七(seven)
3. f-fàng 放(to put) 11. s-xiānggăng 香港 (Hongkong)
4. t-dàxué 大学(University) 12. ∫-shēngrì 生日 (birthday)
5. n-nán 难(difficult, hard) 13. r-rènshi 认识(know)
6. l-lăoshī老师(teacher) 14. w-wŏ我(I, me)
7. k-gēgē哥哥(elder brother) 15. h-hē喝(drink)
8. ŋ-xiăng响(sound)
From the data above, we can see that Mandarin Chinese does not have
consonant sounds such as b, v, z, ʒ, , θ, ð, g, x, j and d. Besides that, in Mandarin
Chinese a consonant sound can represent two consonant sounds, such in the
