The Suprasegmental Features of English Impromptu Speeches By L2 Learners

田方

Abstract：Suprasegmental features such as pause， speed， tempo and stress， play an important role in successful impromptu speeches by L2 learners. In this paper， speed and pause of the experimental and comparison groups are compared. The results show that more fluent a speaker is， more fast he speaks， the less chances of inappropriate pauses he will have in the impromptu speech.

Key words：English impromptu speech； suprasegental features； speed； pause

中圖分类号：H319 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1672-1578（2016）05-0006-02

1 Introduction

The accuracy and fluencyof oral production， in ESL learners， are realized not only by the verbal expressions， but also by the ways of the individual and the interactive influence of suprasegmental features such as pause， speed， tempo and stress as well.As is defined by Crystal， suprasegmental feature is a term used to refer to variations in pitch， loudness， tempo and rhythm[1]. Although linguists may not reach an agreement on what are exactly included in suprasegmental features， both speed and pause are always the first perception criteria of an ESL speakers oral production proficiency.

Speed is usually defined as the rate of speaking[1]， which is the basis of language tempo[2]. During the process of a speech， our impression on speed is often described as fast or slow， or sometimes normal[3]. More exactly， the number of words per second can be applied to describe the speed objectively.

Pause is much more complicated referring to its various classifications. Longman dictionary defined the kinds of pause as silent pause and filled pause. According to the speakers pause consciousness， pause can be generally divided to two kinds， which are the natural pause and the unnatural pause[4].For the natural pause， it includes the grammatical pause with obvious punctuation marks and the physical pause that is determined by the speakers breath.For the unnatural pause， there are the rhyming pause， the pause of intonation groups and the pause according to the degree of the difficulty.Yang Meng and Mu Fengying note that pause is an essential standard to evaluate the fluency of a second language

speaker[5].

Impromptu speech，a more natural form of oral production，reflects the speakers thinking swiftness and linguistic competence.Both speed and pause play a role in a successful speech. Therefore， both will be chosen as targets in this paper. Meanwhile， assuming that both speed and pause are closely related to linguistic competence， which means more linguistically competent a speaker is， faster he will speak， less inappropriate pauses he will have， the impromptu speeches of the speakers from the “FLTRP Cup” English Public Speaking Contest as the comparativegroup and the speech training learners as the experimental group will be used to compare the targets.

2 Experiment

In order to investigate the relationship between both

speed and pause and the language proficiency， six speakers from the public speaking class are chosen as the experimental group， and six speakers from the “FLTRP Cup” English Public Speech Contest in 2012 and 2013are chosen as the comparative group. These speakers are excellent English learners， representing the highest level in English speeches among Chinese college students.

Videos of all the testees were transformed in to audios in “.wav”， with scripts which then were analyzed by PRAAT for later comparison and analysis.

Both speed and pauses were tagged and measured. Speed is measured in words per minute.Pause appropriatenessis shown inversely in the counts of improper pause which refers to a situation when a speaker says a word or a phrase incorrectly， then stops for a while and goes back to rephrase. Improper pauses are tagged and counted.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 Speed Comparison

Here average speed of comparative group is 157 words.

Therefore， speaking at a much faster speed， the comparative group shows better language proficiency and performance in speeches.

3.2 Pause Comparison

Improper pauses from both the experimental and comparative groups are shown in Table 3.

Obviously， experimental group speakers have more improper pauses comparison than group speakers. Moreover， the sound “er” is quite common in speeches of comparison group speakers， which shows lack of preparation， confidence and certainty about their speeches.

4 Conclusion

By comparing both speed and pause between “FLTRP Cup” contestants and public speaking learners， this paper concludes that more fluent speaker speaks at a faster speed with less improper pauses in speeches， thus conveying more accurate information， displaying a better linguistic competence and realizing a better communicative purpose in public speeches.

References：

[1] Crystal D. Prosodic Systems and Intonation in English[M]. Cambridge University Press， 1969.

[2] 曹劍芬.语速特征及其变化[J].中国社会科学院语言所语言研究报告，2003.

[3] 童玲红. 从语言功能角度谈英语的韵律特征[J].上海师范大学硕士学位论文，2008.

[4] 卢岩.说服型英语演讲语篇停顿技巧的语音学分析[J].牡丹江大学学报，2013（3）：55-61.

[5] 杨萌，穆凤英.影响英语学习者口语流利性的停顿研究述评[J].临沂大学学报，2011（6）.