Abstract

"Acoustic phonetics" is the method of dealing with the speech measurement and providing a record of speakers' pronunciation in terms of intensity, frequency and the articulatory properties. This study focuses on utilising native speaker's vowel patterns for comparing the measurment obtained from Mandarin Chinese speakers, in order to employ the quantitative evidence for the absence or presence of certain features. The analysis of acoustic phonetics enhances our understanding and perception of the fundamental components of speech sounds. The comparison between the Chinese subjects' production of English vowels and Chinese vowels indicates that the problems of inaccurate pronunciation results from L1 interference. Based on the findings of this acoustic study, some pedagogical implications are suggested.