An Acoustic Analysis of Tonal and Prosodic Errors in Disyllabic Mandarin Words by Vietnamese Elementary Learners

Abstract

This study investigates tonal and prosodic errors in disyllabic Mandarin words produced by Vietnamese elementary learners using acoustic experimental methods. Data were collected from six elementary students, comprising 238 isolated words and two passages of connected speech. Utilizing Praat for fundamental frequency (F0) and duration analysis, the results indicate that learners face the greatest difficulty with Tone 4 and Tone 4 + Tone 4 combinations, with the error rate in connected speech reaching 62.82%. Regarding prosody, negative transfer from the Vietnamese "short-front, long-back" (tiền đoản hậu trường) pattern causes distortions in the duration structure of Chinese. This research provides an empirical evidence to support the improvement of Chinese phonetics instruction in Vietnam.