A Description of Prosodic Phrasing in L2 Japanese and a Proposal for Its Teaching Method

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K19981
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: University of Yamanashi
• Principal Investigator: NUNOMURA Takeshi 山梨大学, 学内共同利用施設等, 助教 (40913174)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 日本語教育 / L2日本語 / アクセント句 / 学習者の韻律 / 明示的知識

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research scrutinized the prosodic characteristics of Japanese as a second language (L2), specifically amongst native speakers of Chinese and French, and evaluated the effectiveness of employing explicit knowledge in prosody instruction. The investigation revealed that L2 Japanese prosodic features among learners incorporate two primary elements: (1) features derived from their native language, and (2) features that materialize independent of their native language. Particularly, the latter was characterized by deviations from native speaker norms in the location of pitch peaks in accented phrases and the lack of pitch elevation typically observed at the outset of accented phrases. The findings suggest that presenting these features as explicit knowledge and incorporating them in teaching using prosody visualization software can stimulate introspective correction and significantly enhance prosodic proficiency.

Free Research Field

日本語教育学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、言語学習および教育の分野における社会的意義がある。初めに、L2日本語韻律特徴を明らかにすることは、学習者の気づきと内省を促すための明示的な知識を提供することにつながる。
また、その明示的な知識を用いた韻律指導の有効性についての本研究の調査結果は、その方法論について新たな知見をもたらす可能性がある。明示的な知識の導入と韻律の可視化ソフトウェアの使用の組み合わせにより、学習者の自身の韻律特徴への気づきをが促進することが、韻律改善の促進につながることが期待される。