A comparative study of perception of tone 2 and tone 3 in Mandarin by native speakers and Japanese learners

Abstract

This paper investigated Mandarin Tone 2-Tone 3 perceptual space in isolated syllables and disyllables of native speakers and Japanese learners. In two experiments, we examined the listeners' use of pitch height and the position of turning point as cues of tone identity. The result showed that, in isolated syllables, Chinese perceived these two tones in categorical fashion. Pitch height was more important than the turning point as a cue. Within a certain range of pitch height, there was a complementary relationship between these two variables. The perceptual result of Japanese subjects did not show apparent categorical pattern. In disyllables, for Chinese subjects, the contextual influence on the boundary position in Tone 2-half Tone 3 continuum was not significant, but the boundary position in pitch height and turning point Tone 2-Tone 3 continuum shifted significantly in different tonal context. Comparing to Chinese subjects, Japanese subjects' perceptual ranges of Tone 3 in isolated syllables and disyllables were narrower, and it's more difficult for them to identify these two tones in disyllables.