Thai Tones Produced by Tonal and Non-tonal Language Speakers: An Acoustic Study

Authors

Chommanad Intajamornrak

Publication Date

2017-01-01

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to analyze the acoustic characteristics of Thai tones produced by tonal language speakers, namely Vietnamese and Burmese, and non-tonal language speakers, namely Khmer and Malay, in citation form and connected speech. The test words in citation form and connected speech comprised five tones, which were the Mid tone, the Low tone, the Falling tone, the High tone, and the Rising tone occurring in non-checked and checked syllables. The informants were twenty-four Vietnamese, Burmese, Khmer, and Malay native speakers with high experience in Thai (three speakers for each language) and low experience in Thai (three speakers for each language). The informants' speech was recorded directly on to a computer. The fundamental frequencies (F0) of tones were measured using Praat Version 5.1.43 and then converted to semitones. The results show that the acoustic characteristics of Thai tones produced by Vietnamese, Burmese, Khmer, and Malay native speakers are typologically different. The speakers with high experience in Thai seem to produce Thai tones in nonchecked syllables and checked syllables better compared to those with low experience in Thai in citation form, regardless of typological difference. However, it is found in connected speech that the native tonal language speakers of Vietnamese and Burmese with high experience in Thai can produce better Thai tones, i.e. the acoustic characteristics of the five tones similar to those produced by Thai native speakers, than the Khmer and Malay speakers with high experience in Thai. It can be concluded that experience measured by years of study, frequency of usage, and the objectives of study all influence the ability of second language speakers to correctly form Thai tones. Moreover, speaking a tonal native language does not benefit a speaker attempting to learn another tonal language at the first stage of learning.

First Page

1

Last Page

26

Recommended Citation

Intajamornrak, Chommanad (2017) "Thai Tones Produced by Tonal and Non-tonal Language Speakers: An Acoustic Study," Manusya, Journal of Humanities: Vol. 20: No. 2, Article 1.
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/manusya/vol20/iss2/1