Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 12:17:18 BST

From: wcli[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]vax.ox.ac.uk

Subject: Q: English/Mandarin loanword phonology



Dear all,



I am looking for references on English/Mandarin and Mandarin/English

loanword phonology, in particular, how speakers of northern varieties

of Chinese accommodate English "j" and "ch" (as in "jam" and

"cheese"), and how speakers of English (or other European languages)

accommodate the Chinese retroflex and alveopalatal consonants in the

phonological system of their mother tongue.



I would be grateful if anyone could point me to work already done on

the subject, or if you are a native speaker of northern Chinese,

whether you use the Mandarin retroflex consonants for English "j" and

"ch", or if you know of any Mandarin speakers who do, and how common

you think it is, or if you are a native speaker of English (or any

other European language) learning Mandarin Chinese, whether you use

the sounds "j" and "ch" to replace the Mandarin retroflex initials,

or if you have heard this done by other learners of Mandarin, and how

common you think it is.



Thanks!



Wenchao Li

Lady Margaret Hall

Oxford University