The [Q] Sound in American English

This study offers a set of acoustic data showing that the [Q] sound in American English is pronounced in a specific area of vowel space different from the area in which Mandarin speakers pronounce the same vowel. Americans use a much lower part of their oral cavity to pronounce [Q] and this lower part of the oral cavity is not commonly used by most Mandarin speakers in Taiwan. In addition, data show that Americans pronounce the [Q] sound more as a diphthong than as a single segment while Mandarin-speaking subjects pronounce it more as a single segment. Computer software like the Multi-speech Signal Analysis Workstation provides not only the data one needs for modeling the contrastive vowel space but also the real-time analyses that help an English learner to locate the appropriate position for a specific sound. Knowing these differences proves helpful to those who want to improve their pronunciation of the [Q] sound in American English. The results of this study may also provide a substantial strategy for teachers who have difficulty in finding a good way to teach the [Q] sound in American English. This study has a very specific goal: to diagnose the pronunciation of a group of 10 students who passed the competitive English proficiency test given by the Ministr