Chinglish

[LanDi Liu]

I associate [iN] with Hispanic speakers.  My Chinese students don't
consistently use [i] all the time (although that would be logical
because Chinese has no [I]); they seem to mix up the two sounds
without discretion.  There may be a system to it -- I'll have to
listen and think more about that specific aspect of Chinglish.

But I spend a lot of time correcting their [i] being too low or their
[I] being too high.

I definitely say [IN].

The nasal resonance thing is interesting.  Can anyone describe how to
spot that in a spectogram? Or point to a reference that describes how?

Randy

On Fri, Aug 29, 2008 at 12:56 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Chinglish
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I certainly agree that there are [I] speakers, but I identify with [i]
> for English, too. I used to teach my ESL students to say [ink],
> telling them that we don't say [Ink]. Obviously some do. FWIW BB
>
> On Aug 28, 2008, at 9:45 AM, Terry Irons wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> BTW, I had the discussion in class today with a student who argues
>> that
>> he says English with an [i] not an [I].  I tried to get him to use the
>> words "scene" and "sin" to support my view.  He remains a bit
>> confused,
>> but I have to acknowledge that his pronunciation, while not the same
>> as
>> the vowel in "scene" is in fact closer to the vowel in "scene" than it
>> is to the vowel in "sin."
>>
>
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--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China
My Manchu studies blog:
http://www.bjshengr.com/manchu

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