Investigating the representation of tonal alternations in context

Abstract

Phonological alternations pose challenges to models of spoken word recognition in how surface information is mapped onto stored representations in the lexicon. In Mandarin, a full Tone3 (213) is reduced to an abridged tone (21) (half-third sandhi) when followed by Tone1, Tone2, or Tone4. In addition, Mandarin Tone3 is replaced by Tone2 when followed by another Tone3 (third-tone sandhi). Two experiments used auditory-auditory priming lexical decision to investigate the alternating representations of Tone3. In Experiment 1, targets consisted of disyllabic words with a half-third or full-third FIRST syllable. These targets were preceded by either a half-third prime, a full-third prime, or a control Tone1 prime. RT data showed facilitation effects for both half-third and full-third prime conditions, with no first syllable by prime type interaction. In Experiment 2, third-tone sandhi targets consisted of disyllabic words with a half-third or full-third SECOND syllable. These targets were preceded by either a half-third prime, a full-third prime, or a control Tone1 prime. The data also showed both half-third and full-third priming effects, without any second syllable by prime type interaction. The results suggest that Mandarin Tone3 is stored as half-third (21) and full-third (213) forms, with both of these tone3 phonological alternations activated.