The Effects of Noise and Gender on Chinese - English Rhythms Produced by Native Chinese Speakers

In order to further characterize the first and second language rhythms of Chinese EFL learners, this study examines the effects of noise and gender on their Chinese and English rhythms. Chinese college students were invited to record Chinese and English speeches in both quiet and noise environments, and the recorded speeches were cut into intervals and annotated. Rhythms were measured through six rhythm metrics %V, ∆C, varco_V, varco_C, nPVI_V and rPVI_C. It was found that both Chinese and English rhythms became more syllable-timed (or less stress-timed) when produced in noise. Under both listening conditions, Chinese speeches produced by males were more syllable-timed than those produced by females, whereas there was no significant difference in English rhythm metrics between males and females, which may be attributed to the similar mastery of second language rhythm by both genders.