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Humanities
- ISSN: 2155-7993
- Journal of Modern Education Review
Heritage and Non-Heritage Chinese Students’ Pitch Representation
Yunzhen Liu
(Regent’s Institute of Languages and Culture, Regent’s University London, UK)
Abstract: Absolute pitch (AP), or perfect pitch, is the ability to name or reproduce a tone without reference to an external standard. This study adds to recent research investigating pitch in tone-language speakers, which has found effects for tone type, age, exposure and musical experience on how linguistic pitch is perceived and produced (Deutsch et al., 1999; Deutsch et al., 2004; So, 2006). However, it remains unclear how pitch representation is affected by bilingual language use. We tested the hypotheses that pitch was different for Heritage Chinese learners resident in the UK, compared to Non-heritage Chinese learners; that adults’ representations will be different to children’s; and that length of residence and musical experience would have a significant effect for both adults and children. Our findings echo Deutsch and colleague’s data (1999, 2004) that musical training can aid correct perception and production of pitch. The findings have been applied to our Chinese language teaching, which has been approved effective.
Key words: absolute pitch, tone-language, musical training, Chinese pronunciation, effective
