Bowen Chen
Dissertation project
Rhythmic Transfer in L3 Phonology: An Acoustic Analysis of %V and nPVI-V in Mandarin Learners of German and Spanish
CV
Work Experience
2023 — 2026 Chinese Language Instructor, Mannheimer Abendakademie, Germany 2023 — 2026 Chinese Language Instructor, Confucius Institute Heidelberg, Germany since 10/2023 Freelance Interpreter (BAMF-registered) Academic Background
since 04/2026 Doctoral Researcher, University of Münster, Germany 10/2022 – 09/2025 M.A. Translation, Communication and Language Technology, Heidelberg University, Germany
09/2013 – 07/2017 B.A. Spanish Philology, Shanghai International Studies University, China
Dissertation project
This doctoral project investigates rhythmic transfer in third language (L3) phonological acquisition from a psycholinguistic and acoustic perspective. It focuses on Mandarin-speaking learners with English as their second language (L2) and examines how they acquire the rhythmic properties of German and Spanish as L3s. Using quantitative measures such as %V and nPVI-V, the study analyzes cross-linguistic influence from both L1 and L2, as well as the role of typological similarity and proficiency. The project aims to contribute to current models of multilingual phonological acquisition and to provide empirical insights for rhythm-based pronunciation teaching.