Examining negative transfer in Cantonese learners of English as a foreign language: an optimality theory approach to English syllable acquisition
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Ruinan Zhao
Ruinan Zhao is a lecturer at School of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou Maritime University, Guangzhou, China. Her research interests cover critical discourse analysis, corpus-assisted discourse studies, second language acquisition, phonetics and phonology.
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Qi Gong
Qi Gong is a Professor at the College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University. His research interests cover theoretical linguistics, phonetics/phonology, second language acquisition, and translation. He has published over 60 papers in authoritative linguistic journals both domestically and internationally, led and completed more than ten national and provincial-level research projects, and served as the chief editor for multiple books and translated works. Currently, he holds the positions of a reviewer for prestigious international linguistics journals such as the
Journal of Chinese Linguistics (SSCI/A&HCI), as well as several SSCI and CSSCI academic journals includingForeign Language Teaching andResearch and Studies in Prosodic Grammar .Yunqiao Chen is a lecturer at the Lingnan Normal University. Her research interests cover critical discourse studies and corpus linguistics.
Abstract
The contrasting differences that exist in the English and Cantonese phonological systems result in divergent articulatory production between them. This article aims to investigate the negative transfer of Cantonese EFL learners in acquiring English consonant clusters and the constraint rankings of Cantonese and English syllable systems by comparing syllable structures and analyzing experimental statistics. The objective is to elucidate the reasons behind their negative transfer in English syllable acquisition. The research results demonstrated that Cantonese EFL learners found it easier to acquire consonant clusters in the onset position compared to the coda position. Additionally, an increase in consonants in the coda position posed greater difficulties for Cantonese EFL learners. The results also indicated that participants encountered the most problems with deletion, followed by substitution and epenthesis. The OT analysis reveals that the different rankings of faithfulness and markedness constraints in Cantonese and English led to transfer errors.
Funding source: Guangzhou Maritime University Guangzhou Jiaotong University (in preparation) Talent Introduction Scientific Research Startup Project
Award Identifier / Grant number: K42024026
About the authors
Ruinan Zhao is a lecturer at School of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou Maritime University, Guangzhou, China. Her research interests cover critical discourse analysis, corpus-assisted discourse studies, second language acquisition, phonetics and phonology.
Qi Gong is a Professor at the College of Foreign Studies, Jinan University. His research interests cover theoretical linguistics, phonetics/phonology, second language acquisition, and translation. He has published over 60 papers in authoritative linguistic journals both domestically and internationally, led and completed more than ten national and provincial-level research projects, and served as the chief editor for multiple books and translated works. Currently, he holds the positions of a reviewer for prestigious international linguistics journals such as the Journal of Chinese Linguistics (SSCI/A&HCI), as well as several SSCI and CSSCI academic journals including Foreign Language Teaching and Research and Studies in Prosodic Grammar.
Yunqiao Chen is a lecturer at the Lingnan Normal University. Her research interests cover critical discourse studies and corpus linguistics.
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Research ethics: An informed consent was obtained by all participants prior to the experiment.
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Author contributions: The author(s) have (has) accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Ruinan Zhao is responsible for the conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft. Qi Gong is responsible for the conceptualization, project administration, resourses, supervision, and draft revision. Yunqiao Chen is responsible for data curation, writing (reviewing and editing), investigation.
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Competing interests: The author(s) state(s) no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: Guangzhou Maritime University Guangzhou Jiaotong University (in preparation) Talent Introduction Scientific Research Startup Project, Project number: K42024026.
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Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.
Appendix 1: Reading materials
Task 1: Read the following words ONCE, with pauses in between each word.
| Wordlist | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. cry | 2. studio | 3. roofs |
| 4. street | 5. fifths | 6. thousandths[’θaʊznθs] |
| 7. tincts | 8. jinxed | 9. squeeze |
| 10. months | 11. speak | 12. lamp |
| 13. delved | 14. preempts | 15. scream |
| 16. dwell | 17. twelfths | 18. risks |
| 19. through | 20. flames | 21. tempts |
| 22. shriek | 23. oaths | 24. whilst |
| 25. wives | 26. spread | 27. price |
| 28. nymfths[’nimfθs] | 29. split | 30. mulcts |
| 31. triumphs | 32. bangs[’bæŋz] | |
Task 2: Read the following sentences ONCE ONLY.
Mr. Brown pushed against the rock.
Five-sixths of them were robbed.
My grandma attempts to read French texts.
They asked the dentists to check the stew.
I glimpsed at the stranger through the screen.
Please look at the book at length and correct the mistake.
The stupid kid contempts me and splashes soup on my white clothing.
The sound helps to squash your thoughts and gives you hints and tips.
They wrote all taxed items and exempts by themselves in a spring.
The weather is splendid, you can blow bubbles and watch lamps at the square.
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