Pairwise T-Test: Identification of Tonal Relations

Abstract

This study established an empirical-analytical model to specify tonal relations in Asian tonal languages. Applying this model on the examination of field data from 21 speakers of Zhangzhou Southern Min derived a linguistically phonetic F0 system for its eight-way tonal contrasts in citation. The result represented this Southern Min dialect as an independent variety from the scientific perspective while making it comparable with other tonal varieties and languages for typological and universal purposes. The description has gone beyond the inconsistency and inadequacy of those earlier studies based on auditory impressions and has laid out a solid and objective foundation for further theoretical exploration in this dialect. It also contributed a scientific framework to examining the tonal property in other tonal languages in the hope of broadening and deepening our understanding of the typology of tone as an important linguistic phenomenon in Asia.