Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2019
Document Type
Problem/Project Report
Degree Type
DMA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
School of Music
Committee Chair
Hope Koehler
Committee Co-Chair
William Koehler
Committee Member
William Koehler
Committee Member
Evan MacCarthy
Committee Member
Lynn Hileman
Committee Member
Jack Hammersmith
Abstract
The classical style of singing is taught at music institutions around the world as a mainstream artform. The main languages of classical vocal repertoires are Italian, German, French and English, which means most classical singers need to sing in non-native languages. When people learn a new sound from a foreign language, they often search for reference points within their native language(s), which usually is the reason behind singers performing with incorrect accents or diction.
This research focuses on beginning singers whose native language is either Mandarin Chinese or American English. This research introduces the romanization system and basic pronunciation rule of Mandarin Chinese, and explains the reasons for common diction issues exemplified by Mandarin Chinese singers, singing in any of the four Western languages. On the other hand, American English, as one of the four Western singing languages, is widely used in twentieth- and twenty-first-century vocal repertoires. North American English accents contain sounds that make non-native singing difficult. Meanwhile, certain allophones confuse beginning singers, whose primary language is American English, when they sing in the other three Western languages. A brief recapitulation of American English pronunciation is presented in this research, through which discussions are focused on problematic vowels and consonants, and all nonexistent vowels and consonants, that beginning American singers have to deal with when they sing in the other three Western languages.
This research explores how Mandarin Chinese and American English beginning singers sing in their own languages in order to investigate the impact of native language pronunciation on foreign-language singing, and to identify the common vocal faults and issues of incorrect diction that frequently coincide with cross linguistic singing.
Recommended Citation
Zhao, Ruobing, "How does the pronunciation of native languages affect beginning singers? A research focusing on native Mandarin Chinese and American English speaking singers" (2019). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3857.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3857