American, French and Chinese English Vowels: Perception by Chinese Listeners

Chinese listeners were asked to identify English vowels produced by American, French and Chinese speakers. The most difficult vowels to identify were /e/, /u:/ and /Λ/, as well as the diphthongs /eə/ and /əʊ/. Most difficult for the Chinese listeners were the vowels produced by the American and French speakers, whereas they were best at identifying the vowels produced by the Chinese speakers. Female Chinese listeners achieved higher accuracy rates than male ones.