Analysis of Phonological Errors in Chinese Learning by South African Learners

Journal: Journal of Higher Education Research DOI: 10.32629/jher.v6i5.4592

Jiayi Duo

Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an 710300, Shaanxi, China

Abstract

This study focuses on adult learners of Chinese at the elementary level in South Africa. Drawing on local teaching practice, it first compares the phonological systems of Chinese with South Africa's core official languages (English, Afrikaans, Zulu). Building on this analysis, the study systematically identifies learners' phonological errors: initial consonant issues like devoicing of voiced consonants, confusion between lingual consonants, and between aspirated and unaspirated consonants; vowel problems including monophthong confusion and unduly prolonged diphthongs; and tone flaws such as excessively inaccurate values. It further explores core causes (e.g., L1 negative transfer, target language overgeneralization) to provide practical insights for optimizing local elementary Chinese phonetics teaching and enhancing quality.

Keywords

South Africa; elementary level; phonological errors

References

[1] ZHAO, Y. X. (1997). Contrast between Chinese and Foreign Language Cultures and Chinese Teaching for Foreign Learners (in Chinese). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press, 59-72, 103-115.
[2] BUTHELEZI, M. (2024). A descriptive analysis of Zulu and Chinese vowels for teaching purposes. Journal of African Language and Cultural Studies, (1), 18-67. https://doi.org/CNKI:SUN:FZYY.0.2024-01-002
[3] LU, J. J. (1984). Interlanguage theory and the analysis of phonological errors in Chinese learning by foreigners (in Chinese). Journal of Language Teaching and Research, (3), 44-56. https://doi.org/CNKI:SUN:YYJX.0.1984-03-007

Copyright © 2025 Jiayi Duo

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License