1887
Volume 23, Issue 1
  • ISSN 1606-822X
  • E-ISSN: 2309-5067

Abstract

Abstract

Neutral tone in Mandarin is generally believed to lack tonal identity and exhibit more variability in its phonetic realization. We examined the tonal target of neutral tone in a prosodic word consisting of a full syllable (S) and one, two, or three neutral-tone syllables. In the experiment, the test words, presented in isolation and embedded in a carrier sentence, were read in two intonation patterns: declarative and interrogative. The results showed: (1) the tonal target of neutral tone is L(ow) at the end of the intonation phrase in declarative intonation and M(id) in question intonation; (2) its phonetic realization is influenced by intonation patterns, the tone of S and the number of neutral-tone syllables in the prosodic word; (3) the influence of the tone of S is more robust in shorter sequences than in longer ones with three neutral-tone syllables; (4) placement of the F0 peak in T2 (LH) and the neutral tone immediately following T3 (L) is susceptible to the number of neutral-tone syllables. It seems clear from our study that while the tonal target of neutral tone is related to prosodic structure, its actual F0 scaling is sensitive to prosodic manipulations such as intonation patterns and prosodic word length. In addition, of neutral tone allows for more freedom in the alignment of the F0 peak, whose temporal coordination with its segmental host is, nevertheless, subject to both phonological and phonetic constraints.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00099.li
2021-12-15
2025-04-27
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/lali.00099.li.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00099.li&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Arvaniti, Amalia & Ladd, D. Robert & Mennen, Ineke
    1998 Stability of tonal alignment: The case of Greek prenuclear accents. Journal of Phonetics26(1). 3–25. 10.1006/jpho.1997.0063
    https://doi.org/10.1006/jpho.1997.0063 [Google Scholar]
  2. Atterer, Michaela & Ladd, D. Robert
    2004 On the phonetics and phonology of “segmental anchoring” of F0: Evidence from German. Journal of Phonetics32(2). 177–197. 10.1016/S0095‑4470(03)00039‑1
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0095-4470(03)00039-1 [Google Scholar]
  3. Cao, Jianfen
    1986 Putonghua qingsheng yinjie texing fenxi [An analysis of properties of neutral tone syllables in Standard Chinese]. Yingyong Shengxue [Journal of Applied Acoustics] 5(4). 1–6.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Chao, Yuen Ren
    1930 A system of tone letters. Le Maître Phonétique45(30). 24–27.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. 1948Mandarin primer: An intensive course in spoken Chinese. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10.4159/harvard.9780674732889
    https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674732889 [Google Scholar]
  6. 1968A grammar of spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Chen, Yiya & Xu, Yi
    2006 Production of weak elements in speech – Evidence from F0 patterns of neutral tone in standard Chinese. Phonetica63. 47–75. 10.1159/000091406
    https://doi.org/10.1159/000091406 [Google Scholar]
  8. Cheng, Chin-chuan
    1973A synchronic phonology of Mandarin Chinese. The Hague: Mouton. 10.1515/9783110866407
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110866407 [Google Scholar]
  9. Cohn, Abigail
    1990Phonetic and phonological rules of nasalization. Los Angeles: University of California. (Doctoral dissertation.)
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Dong, Shaowen
    (ed.) 1958Yuyin changshi [Common sense in phonetics]. Beijing: Culture and Education Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Duanmu, San
    1999 Metrical structure and tone: Evidence from Mandarin and Shanghai. Journal of East Asian Linguistics8(1) 1–38. 10.1023/A:1008353028173
    https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008353028173 [Google Scholar]
  12. Fan, Shanshan & Li, Aijun & Chen, Ao
    2018 Perception of lexical neutral tone among adults and infants. Frontiers in Psychology9. (https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00322) (Accessed2019-01-20.) doi:  10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00322
    https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00322 [Google Scholar]
  13. Gao, Jun & Li, Aijun
    2018 Production of neutral tone on disyllabic words by two-year-old Mandarin-speaking children. InFang, Qiang & Dang, Jianwu & Perrier, Pascal & Wei, Jianguo & Wang, Longbiao & Yan, Nan. (eds.), Studies on speech production (Lecture Notes in Computer Science 10733), 89–98. Cham: Springer. 10.1007/978‑3‑030‑00126‑1_9
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00126-1_9 [Google Scholar]
  14. Hayes, Bruce & Kirchner, Rovert & Steriade, Donca
    (eds.) 2004Phonetically based phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511486401
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486401 [Google Scholar]
  15. Keating, Patricia
    1996 The phonology-phonetics interface. UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics92. 45–60.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Ladd, D. Robert & Faulkner, Dan & Faulkner, Hanneke & Schepman, Astrid
    1999 Constant “segmental anchoring” of F0 movements under changes in speech rate. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America106(3). 1543–1554. 10.1121/1.427151
    https://doi.org/10.1121/1.427151 [Google Scholar]
  17. Ladd, D. Robert & Mennen, Ineke & Schepman, Astrid
    2000 Phonological conditioning of peak alignment in rising pitch accents in Dutch. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America107(5). 2685–2696. 10.1121/1.428654
    https://doi.org/10.1121/1.428654 [Google Scholar]
  18. Li, Aijun
    2017 Putonghua butong xinxijiegou zhong qingsheng de yuyin texing [Phonetic correlates of neutral tone in different information structures]. Dangdai Yuyanxue [Contemporary Linguistics] 19(3). 348–378.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Li, Aijun & Gao, Jun & Jia, Yuan & Wang, Yaru
    2014 Pitch and duration as cues in perception of neutral tone under different contexts in Standard Chinese. In Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association (ed.), Proceedings of 2014 APSIPA Annual Summit and Conference, Siem Reap, city of Angkor Wat, Cambodia, December 9–12, 2014. (www.apsipa.org/proceedings_2014/Data/paper/1037.pdf) (Accessed2019-01-20.) 10.1109/APSIPA.2014.7041529
    https://doi.org/10.1109/APSIPA.2014.7041529 [Google Scholar]
  20. Li, Aijun & Fan, Shanshan
    2015 Correlates of Chinese neutral tone perception in different contexts. In The Scottish Consortium for ICPhS 2015 (ed.), Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. (https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/icphs-proceedings/ICPhS2015/Papers/ICPHS0201.pdf) (Accessed2019-01-20.)
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Li, Zhiqiang
    2003a A perceptual account of asymmetries in tonal alignment. InKadowaki, Makoto & Kawahara Shigeto (eds.), Proceedings of the North East Linguistic Society 33: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 147–166. Amherst: GLSA, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. 2003bThe phonetics and phonology of tone mapping in a constraint-based approach. Cambridge: MIT. (Doctoral dissertation.)
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Lin, Tao
    1962 Xiandai haiyu qingyin he jufa jiegou de guanxi [The relation between neutral tone and syntactic structure in Modern Chinese]. Zhongguo Yuwen [Studies of the Chinese Language] (7). 301–334.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. 1985 Tantao Beijinghua qingyin xingzhi de chubu shiyan [Preliminary experiments in the exploration of the nature of Mandarin neutral tone]. InLin, Tao & Wang, Lijia (eds.), Beijing yuyin shiyanlu [Working papers in experimental phonetics], 1–26. Beijing: Peking University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Lin, Maocan & Yan, Jingzhu
    1980 Beijinghua qingsheng de shengxue xingzhi [Acoustic characteristics of neutral tone in Beijing Mandarin]. Fangyan [Dialect] 1980(3). 166–178.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Lin, Maocan
    2012 Hanyu yudiao shiyan yanjiu [The experimental study of intonation in Mandarin Chinese]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Lu, Jilun & Wang, Jialing
    2005 Guanyu qingsheng de jieding [On defining “qingsheng”]. Dangdai Yuyanxue [Contemporary Linguistics] 2005(2). 107–112.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Manuel, Sharon Y.
    1990 The role of contrast in limiting vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in different languages. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America88(3). 1286–1298. 10.1121/1.399705
    https://doi.org/10.1121/1.399705 [Google Scholar]
  29. Milliken, Stuart
    1989 Why there is no third tone sandhi rule in Standard Mandarin. (Paper presented at theTianjin International Conference on Phonetics and Phonology, Tianjin, 7–10 June 1989.)
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Prieto, Pilar & van Santen, Jan & Hirschberg, Julia
    1995 Tonal alignment patterns in Spanish. Journal of Phonetics23(4). 429–451. 10.1006/jpho.1995.0032
    https://doi.org/10.1006/jpho.1995.0032 [Google Scholar]
  31. Prom-on, Santitham & Liu, Fang & Xu, Yi
    2012 Post-low bouncing in Mandarin Chinese: Acoustic analysis and computational modeling. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America132(1). 421–432. 10.1121/1.4725762
    https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4725762 [Google Scholar]
  32. Silverman, Kim & Pierrehumbert, Janet
    1990 The timing of prenuclear high accents in English. InKingston, John & Beckman, Mary E. (eds.), Papers in the laboratory phonology I: Between the grammar and the physics of speech, 72–106. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511627736.005
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511627736.005 [Google Scholar]
  33. Steele, Shirley A.
    1986 Nuclear accent F0 peak location: Effects of rate, vowel, and number of following syllables. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America80 (Supplement 1). S51. 10.1121/1.2023842
    https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2023842 [Google Scholar]
  34. Sundberg, Johan
    1979 Maximum speed of pitch changes in singers and untrained subjects. Journal of Phonetics7(2). 71–79. 10.1016/S0095‑4470(19)31040‑X
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0095-4470(19)31040-X [Google Scholar]
  35. Sun, Nianhao
    2006 Putonghua shengdiao yu bianjiediao yingao tezheng jiqi shixian guizhe [F0 features of tone and boundary tone and their phonetic realization in Mandarin Chinese]. Beijing: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. (Doctoral dissertation.)
  36. Wang, Jialing
    1997 The representation of the neutral tone in Chinese Putonghua. InWang, Jialing & Smith, Norval (eds.), Studies in Chinese phonology, 157–183. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110822014
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110822014 [Google Scholar]
  37. 2000 Shiyan yuyinxue shengcheng yinxixue yu hanyu qingsheng yingao de yanjiu [Experimental phonetics, generative phonology and the study of the pitch of neutral tone in Chinese]. Dangdai Yuyanxue [Contemporary Linguistics] 2000(4). 227–230.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Wang, Yunjia
    2004 Yingao he shichang zai Putonghua qingsheng zhijue zhong de zuoyong [The effects of pitch and duration on the perception of the neutral tone in standard Chinese]. Shengxue Xuebao [Chinese Journal of Acoustics] 2004(5). 453–461.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Xu, Yi
    2001 Fundamental frequency peak delay in Mandarin. Phonetica58(1–2). 26–52. 10.1159/000028487
    https://doi.org/10.1159/000028487 [Google Scholar]
  40. Yip, Moira Jean
    1980The tonal phonology of Chinese. Cambridge: MIT. (Doctoral dissertation.)
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00099.li
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00099.li
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): intonation patterns; Mandarin Chinese; neutral tone; peak alignment; tonal target
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error