Abstract: Wu dialect is one of the seven Chinese dialects with 3000 years of rich history. There are about 100 million people who speak Wu dialect. Its phonetics, tones, contexts are greatly different from those of Mandarin, and its vocabulary and grammar are particular as well. Therefore, more attention should be paid to those whose mother tongue is Wu dialect as it has exerted great influences on their English-learning. This article compares the pronunciation in Wu dialect and English phonetics, analyzes the positive transfer and negative transfer of Wu dialect on English learners in Wu district, aiming to give suggestions to teachers and students about how to learn English phonetics.

Key words: Wu dialect; English phonetics; Positive transfer; Negative transfer

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Features of Wu dialect pronunciation and English phonetics. 2

2.1 features of Wu dialect pronunciation

   2.1.1 Initials

   2.1.2 Finals

   2.1.3 Tone

2.2 English phonetics

   2.2.1 Vowels

   2.2.2 Consonants

   2.2.3 Intonation

3. Effects of Wu dialect on learning English phonetics .5

3.1 Positive transfer of Wu dialect on English phonetics

3.2 Negative transfer of Wu dialect on English phonetics 

4. Suggestions on English teaching and learning in Wu districts .6

  4.1 Suggestions to teachers

  4.2 Suggestions to students

5. Conclusion 9

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgements11