Abstract:This paper mainly studies the negative transfer of Wu dialect on English pronunciation learning. Wu dialect is one of the basic dialects of Mandarin Chinese, and also one of the oldest Chinese dialects. It is considerably different from English in terms of pronunciation, and the influence on English learners in Wu dialect area is very obvious. Students in Wu dialect area almost cannot distinguish “l” from “n” clearly, so they cannot master the accurate pronunciation of English, making the listeners misunderstand to affect their communication. This paper is aimed to propose some measures for the students to learn English pronunciation correctly and practice through multiple methods to improve their pronunciation abilities.

Key words: Wu dialect; English pronunciation; negative transfer; coping strategies

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Theory of Language Transfer1

  2.1 Related Basic Concept 

2.2 Negative Transfer

3. Wu Dialect and Its Effects on English Pronunciation3

  3.1 Wu Dialect and Its Phonetic Features

  3.2 Performances of Negative Transfer on English

    3.2.1 Confusing [n] with [l], and [f] with [h]

    3.2.2 Confusing Front Nasal with Back Nasal, and Flat Tongues with Cacuminals

    3.2.3 The Missing of Head Vowel [v] 

    3.2.4 The Missing of Initial Consonant [r] 

    3.2.5 The Incomplete Pronouncing of the Small Opening Long Vowels or Double Vowels 

  3.3 Negative Effects on English Pronunciation Learning

    3.3.1 The Failure of Pronouncing English Phonemes Accurately

    3.3.2 Making Listeners Misunderstand

4. Practical Responsive Methods in Learning6

  4.1 Learning English Pronunciation Systemically

  4.2 Enhancing the Sense of Language Experience

  4.3 Creating an Environment of Speaking English

5. Summary8

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgements..11