Comparative Analysis of Intensity between Native Speakers and Japanese Speakers of English

Intensity has been reported as a reliable acoustical correlate of stress accent for English language, but not of pitch accent for Japanese language. This difference between English and Japanese languages is presumed to shape the characteristics of intensity in English spoken by Japanese (Japanese English, henceforth). Based on this presumption, the intensity of words in sentence utterances for Japanese English is compared to that for native speakers’ English (native English, henceforth). Statistical analysis shows that nouns for Japanese English are produced with less intensity, whereas most function words are with more intensity than those for native English. A correlation is recognized between the above results and the proficiency in Japanese English. Index Terms: power patterns, amplitude, prominence