Prosodic Features Of English Parataxis Sentences By Chinese EFL Learners

English parataxis sentence is composed of two or more clauses with no connectives in-between.Most studies on English parataxis sentences have centred on the translation techniques.Few have focused on the prosodic features of English parataxis sentences.With no connectives in English parataxis sentences,prosody may become more important in connecting clauses and conveying sentence meanings.If speakers use wrong prosodic patterns,listeners may misunderstand the sentence meaning and have difficulties in communication.Therefore,based on the Autosegmental-Metrical Theory,this paper will make a comparative analysis of the prosodic features of English parataxis sentences between Chinese EFL learners and English native speakers to provide a reliable basis for more effective English teaching in China.The experiment has investigated the prosodic features of English parataxis sentences by 20 Chinese EFL learners.The standard recordings for comparison are extracted from the American TV series Friends.The experiment has also invited another 2 English native speakers to participate whose recordings are used as model for comparison.The paper has analyzed such acoustic parameters as edge tone patterns,pre-boundary lengthening,pitch resets,pauses and stress positions.Research findings are as follows:(1)English native speakers tend to use H-H%,H-L% and LH% patterns at the clause boundaries to suggest that the sentence is not yet finished,while Chinese EFL learners prefer to employ the L-L% pattern.Only in parallel construction sentences will Chinese EFL learners increase the use of H-H% and HL% patterns.(2)Both English native speakers and Chinese EFL learners have preboundary lengthening,and the average duration of pre-boundary syllables change as edge tone patterns change.(3)English native speakers have more negative pitch resets because of the use of H%,while Chinese EFL learners tend to have more positive pitch resets due to the overuse of L%.(4)Most pauses of English native speakers and Chinese EFL learners are big silent pauses,that is,the duration is over 100 ms,and the boundary tone has a more important function of indicating clause boundaries rather than pauses within a clause.(5)The overuse of L-L% pattern makes Chinese EFL learners' English parataxis sentences sound fragmented and incoherent,which may influence the judgment of the syntactic structures of English parataxis sentences.The prosodic features and prosodic patterns of English parataxis sentences by Chinese EFL learners have not only enriched the research scope of AM theory,but are also helpful in natural language processing and second language teaching in China.