Creaky phonation in Tianjin: Phonetic or phonological?

Abstract

Tianjin Mandarin has four lexical tones: 1, low; 2, high; 3, rising; and 4, falling. Low and rising tones in stressed position sometimes sound creaky, so that these tones differ from the other two in phonation type as well as f0. Acoustic analysis indicates that tone 1 shows occasional use of fry limited to very low f0 values. In contrast, rising tone 3 uses creak systematically, regardless of f0 value. This suggests that for tone 1, the auditory effect is an incidental, phonetic, consequence of low f0, whereas, for tone 3, it is part of the phonological specification of the tone. This claim is tested further by examination of tone 3's positional variants (high, low level, and low rising). If tone 3 is found to be creaky even in its higher pitched variants, then the creak cannot be a phonetic result of low f0. Furthermore, if the creak of only tone 3 is systematic, then a supposed neutralization of tone 1 and 3 before tone 1 is incomplete: the f0 may be neutralized, but the distinction is still carried by the phonation type.