The Influence of First-Language Transfer and Pedagogical Approaches to Mandarin Chinese Phonetics for Thai University Students

อิทธิพลของการถ่ายโอนภาษาแม่และกลยุทธ์การสอนสัทศาสตร์ภาษาจีนกลางสำหรับผู้เรียนชาวไทยระดับอุดมศึกษา

Abstract

        This academic article investigates the influence of first-language transfer from the Thai phonological system on the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of Thai university students. By integrating contrastive phonological analysis, interlanguage theory, and experimental phonetics, the findings reveal that linguistic familiarity results in both positive transfer for tonal concepts and similar consonant groups, facilitating early-stage learning. Conversely, negative transfer leads to systematic pronunciation errors in phonemes absent in Thai. Students frequently substitute retroflex (zh, ch, sh, r) and palatal (j, q, x) consonants with alveolar sounds, mispronounce unique vowels (ü, er), and exhibit unnatural lengthening of the neutral tone along with inaccuracies in the pitch contours of Tones 1 and 4. Without timely intervention, these persistent errors risk developing into phonological fossilization. Consequently, this article proposes pedagogical implications emphasizing concrete articulatory correction via visual aids, perception training through categorization, and the application of acoustic analysis technology for self-monitoring, aiming to sustainably enhance learners' phonetic accuracy and communicative competence.