Mandarin Tones in Selected Sentence Environments: An Acoustic Study

Abstract

This study investigated the acoustic correlates of the four lexical tones of Mandarin Chinese in isolated words and variations in these parameters in relation to sentence environment, syllable vowel, and preceding consonants. A corpus of 476 words contrasting the four tones in selected segmental and grammatical environments was recorded by five Pekinese speakers. Oscillograms were prepared for the tested items. After segmenting the oscillograms, the syllable nuclei of the test items were measured for duration and for fundamental frequency at three points: beginning, mid, and end, plus any inflection points. Intensity values were compared for three selected vowels. Mean values were calculated for duration and fundamental frequency, and compared for the different environments, vowels, and preceding consonants involved. Results show that the acoustic parameters investigated for tones in isolated words are similar to those described in previous studies. Differences associated with the variables of sentence environment, syllable vowel, and preceding consonant indicate that all of these factors affect the realization of the tone, although the four tones maintain their characteristic basic differences. Results of the present study were discussed and compared with some of the previous findings. Some future investigations were suggested.