Dialectal variations on the realization of high tonal targets for focused and non-focused syllables in Taiwan Mandarin.

Abstract

This study investigated how focus and non‐focus were realized across sentential positions for different dialects of Taiwan Mandarin. Ten male subjects from the northern and central regions of Taiwan participated in this study and were asked to read Mandarin high‐falling tones in focus and non‐focus positions placed sentence initially, medially, and finally. Results showed that F0 maxima for focused syllables were higher than non‐focused syllables across sentential positions and dialects. Furthermore, the northern dialect had higher F0 maxima for both focused and non‐focused syllables than the central dialect. A significant interaction among dialects, focus status, and sentential positions was found. For northern speakers, differences in F0 maxima for focused and non‐focused syllables were greatest in sentence‐final positions and smallest in sentence‐initial positions. However, for central speakers, the magnitude of F0 maxima differences between focused and non‐focused syllables were similar across sentential positions. Reasons for the tonal variations and different declination patterns of the two dialects were discussed.