Effects of Synthesized Inflectional Tones on the Perception of Mandarin Third Tone by Native Chinese Speakers and Korean L2 Learners

Abstract

This study investigated how Chinese Tone 3 (T3) was perceived by native speakers and L2 learners. In the current experiment, participants included 20 Chinese speakers and 20 advanced-level Korean L2 learners. The stimuli were 13 flectional tones with different ending pitch values (categorized as 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215), synthesized by Praat. Results indicated that the tone with a pitch value of 211 was most commonly perceived as T3, while other tones were mostly perceived as T2 (mid-rising tone). Both native Chinese speakers and the Korean L2 learners with over five years of Chinese learning tended to perceive 211 as T3, suggesting their sensitivity to pitch changes and contour cues. In addition, the Korean L2 learners relied more on the ending pitch value, with higher values leading to an increased perception of T2. The findings suggest the effects of perceptual mechanisms and instructional methods in L2 acquisition of Chinese tones.