Tone Sandhi Rules Research Articles

Discovering the Prosodic Domain of Aceh Hakka Tone Sandhi

The research investigated the tonal system of the Hakka dialect spoken in the Aceh province of Indonesia. The aim of the research was twofold. First, it retranscribed the dialect’s tonal inventory and provided a comparison with Meixian Hakka and the inventory found in Chen’s (2007) research. Second, it analyzed the Shang Tone Sandhi Rule (STSR) of the dialect and its prosodic domain. The data were collected with a careful design based on the number of syllables, different prosodic structures, and a variety of tonal combinations. The data were collected from two informants, who were female Hakka native speakers that originated from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The research used mainly an impressionistic approach with some support from Praat Version 6.2.14 to evaluate the pitch of the tones. As for the research’s transcription, the researchers opt for the simpler yet phonologically distinct three-level height system (H, M, L) rather than the five-pitch category of Chao. The research identifies that there are six tonal values in this dialect. The tonal alternation rule, i.e., STSR, operates in a multisyllabic domain, and only the tone at the end of a domain is intact from tonal alternation. The STSR is not sensitive to the syntactic domain c-command relation of the Direct Reference Hypothesis. It also behaves differently compared to the Guangxing dialect Yangping Tone Sandhi Rule. As for prosody, the hierarchical domain of the rule in Aceh Hakka is bounded within the Utterance (U), which is different from the Yinping tone sandhi domain in Meinong Hakka, in which tone sandhi is blocked by the I domain (intonational phrase domain). Therefore, the researchers postulate that the domain for Aceh Hakka Shang tone sandhi lies in the Utterance (U).

The effects of perceptual training on speech production of Mandarin sandhi tones by tonal and non-tonal speakers

This study examined the effects of perceptual training on the acquisition of sandhi tones by both tonal (Cantonese) and non-tonal (English) speakers. In the pre- and post-training tasks, participants were presented with two monosyllables in each trial and were asked to produce them as disyllables. During perceptual training, they heard trials of disyllabic words with and without sandhi rule applications and were trained to identify the two types of disyllabic words. Based on functional data analyses, Cantonese speakers improved in building up more detailed and native-like allotone representations and in turn exhibited more native-like speech production in many cases. However, American learners showed improvement mainly in the offset f0 values or the turning point, indicating that they might have failed to pay attention to the shape of the entire tonal contour during perceptual training. For tonal speakers, the improvement of allotone production occurred on both real and wug words, indicating that the perceptual training may lead to more accurate production of tone sandhi rules regardless of syllable types. American learners, however, might need more training to further modify the allotone representation to perform more accurate sandhi tone application, especially in wug words. Finally, phonetic bias did not correctly predict the success of allotone acquisition since other factors such as the acoustic cues used in processing allotones during perceptual training might have affected the learning results.

The Second-Language Productivity of Two Mandarin Tone Sandhi Patterns

This study investigates whether the phonetic motivation of two Mandarin tone sandhi patterns influences second-language (L2) learners’ productivity in novel words. Research has suggested that the Mandarin third tone sandhi (T3 sandhi) and Half-T3 sandhi might pose different learning challenges for L2 learners, but there is no evidence that phonetic motivation influences L2 learners’ productive application of the tone sandhi rules. This study re-examines L2 learners’ productive application of the two sandhi patterns and further tests whether their productivity patterns change with increasing Mandarin proficiency. Native Mandarin speakers and Korean-speaking learners of Mandarin with high and low proficiency levels completed a wug production experiment that included both real and novel Mandarin disyllabic words. The results of a comparison of real and novel words showed a low productivity of the T3 sandhi among the L2 learners, but no such pattern was found for the Half-T3 sandhi. The differences in the productivity of the two sandhi patterns for L2 learners did not change with increasing Mandarin proficiency, although there was a difference in the production of novel words involving the T3 sandhi, which may be explained by improved metalinguistic knowledge. These results indicated the relevance of phonetic motivation to L2 productivity of the tone sandhi patterns in Mandarin.

Statistical Modeling of Application Completeness of Two Tone Sandhi Rules

Statistical Modeling of Application Completeness of Two Tone Sandhi Rules

Statistical Modeling of Application Completeness of Two Tone Sandhi Rules / 两组变调规则应用程度的统计建模

This study examines the application of two Mandarin tone sandhi rules on real and wug words varying in degrees of phonological and semantic dependency. Using two statistical methods, we examined the surface f0 contours and underlying pitch targets. For the third tone sandhi, a lexical effect was discovered on the relationship between “word-likeness” of stimuli and completeness of rule application. The degree of application for the half-third sandhi tone, however, was less consistent. This study offers new insights in the debate between categorical and gradient views of sandhi rules. We propose three hypothesized situations and argue that the Mandarin tone sandhi rule application involves computation of sandhi forms, though it becomes more incomplete on wug words containing more illegitimate morphemes. Finally, between the two rules, the application of the third tone sandhi rule is less phonetically motivated and more biased in wug words, exhibiting differences between real words and wug words.

Mechanisms of tone sandhi rule application by tonal and non-tonal non-native speakers

This study is the first comprehensive acoustic study to examine the acquisition of two Mandarin tone sandhi rules: the third tone sandhi and the more phonetically motivated, half-third sandhi rule by both tonal (Cantonese) and non-tonal (American English) speakers using a Wug Test. Participants were asked to form disyllables from two monosyllabic morphemes. To test for the operation of the lexical versus the computation mechanisms in sandhi rule application, both real and various types of wug (nonsense) morphemes were included. Functional data analysis revealed that Cantonese and American speakers apply the two rules similarly on both real words and wug words, suggesting that the sandhi forms are stored as part of the representation of the abstract Tone 3 (T3) category, and computation of allophonic variants is likely to be involved during production. However, in their computation of tone sandhi rules, L2 learners showed less detailed and less accurate production of tonal contours compared to native speakers, due, perhaps, to less detailed phonological representations of allophonic variants. In general, Cantonese speakers performed better than American speakers. Perceptual mapping between Mandarin sandhi T3 to existing Cantonese tone categories may be responsible for the observed pitch contours among Cantonese speakers. Finally, no phonetic bias was found in the application of the two sandhi rules among these groups of L2 learners, which is likely due to more variability in L2’s speech, obscuring any differences that may exist.

The phonological word in the Ningbo dialect

AbstractThis paper examines the domain of the prosodic word in the Ningbo dialect. The goal of this paper is to provide a critical review of the studies on the prosodic word (PW) in various languages of the world, and to investigate the phonological phenomena within the domain formed by morpho-syntactic words in the Ningbo dialect as well as discussing the role that the prosodic word plays in the phonological rule application in the Ningbo dialect.This paper provides a complete survey on various types of morpho-syntactic formation in the Ningbo dialect as well as examining the application of phonological phenomena with reference to the different types of morpho-syntactic words. It will show that the lexical tone sandhi rule (LTS) applies within the domain formed by the major types of morpho-syntactic words in Ningbo dialect. However, pure phonological information may also affect the application of LTS.

A Computational Account of Tone Sandhi Interaction

This paper presents a computational account of three tone sandhi rules in Tianjin Chinese that have received a lot of attention in the literature due to the seemingly complex way in which they interact. Two of the rules apply right-to-left while the third applies left-to-right, making it difficult for both rule- and constraint-based formalisms to account for the interaction in a unified way. In the computational framework advocated for in this paper, the apparent difference in directionality of the three rules amounts to a subtle difference in computational classification: the left-to-right rule has the property of input strict locality (ISL) while the right-to-left rules share the property of output strict locality (OSL). However, the fact that the direction of rules with the ISL property doesn’t actually matter, a unified account becomes possible in that all three rules can be modeled as a single input-output strictly local function.

Analyzing Nanjing Tones and Sandhi: Statistical Modelling Methods

In this study, we used growth curve analysis to model the surface f0 contours of the sandhi tones, and we also modelled the underlying pitch target of sandhi tones and their corresponding citation tones in Nanjing Chinese. The underlying pitch targets of reported sandhi tones showed neutralization with reported base tones in most cases, but the surface f0 contours of each pair were not neutralized. Our results provided acoustic evidence for the debate over the existence of some tone sandhi rules in Nanjing Chinese based on impressionistic data. Finally, transcription modification of some monosyllabic Nanjing Chinese tones was recommended based on the transformation of the results of the statistical modelling of the acoustic data.

Effects of perceptual training in Mandarin tone sandhi production

It is well-established that the production of non-native lexical tone poses a great challenge to adult L2 learners (Hao,2012; Chang and Yao, 2016; Mok et al., 2018). The production of tonal patterns on disyllabic words is more challenging for non-native speakers because additional computational and/or lexical mechanisms are involved in correctly applying the tone sandhi rules in languages like Mandarin (Chen et al., 2017). Previous speech training studies have shown that perceptual training could improve both perception and production of non-native tones in isolation (Wang et al., 1999, 2003; Wayland and Li, 2008). The current study aims to further examine if perceptual training promotes learning of tonal patterns on disyllabic words by examining the production of two Mandarin Tone sandhi rules—the third tone sandhi and half-third tone sandhi by Cantonese learners. Native Cantonese speakers were trained with an identification task and a same/different discrimination task with both real and wug words. Their pre- and post-training production was compared with native speakers’ production, and it showed that perceptual training can lead to more successful learning of Mandarin tone sandhi rules based on acoustic and statistical analyses of tonal contours.

A unified approach to Tianjin trisyllabic tone sandhi: Metrical conditions and tonal complexity

Tianjin (Chinese) exhibits complex interactions among its disyllabic tone sandhi rules, leading to both left-to-right and right-to-left rule applications in trisyllabic sequences (cf. Chen 1986, X. Wang 2003). Which directionality to adopt for each particular trisyllabic sequence is arbitrary and cannot be accounted for by any known principles. Based on data from a recent acoustic study, our phonological analysis demonstrates that the seemingly ungoverned directionality is only apparent and that Tianjin tone sandhi rules apply only from left to right when both metrical and tonal complexity conditions are satisfied, thereby providing a unified account.

No More Conflicting Directionality:Metrical Conditions on Tianjin Chinese Trisyllabic Tone Sandhi

Abstract Tianjin Chinese (hereafter Tianjin) exhibits complex interactions among its disyllabic tone sandhi rules, leading to both left-to-right and right-to-left rule applications in trisyllabic sequences (e.g. Chen 1986, X. Wang 2003, Lin 2008). Which directionality to adopt for each particular sequence is arbitrary and cannot be accounted for by any known principles. In addition, some disyllabic tone sandhi rules do not always apply in trisyllabic sequences. Based on the results of a multi-speaker acoustic study, we propose that both issues can be attributed to interactions of metrical structures, sandhi rules, and tonal complexity. We claim that Tianjin tone sandhi applies when both metrical and tonal complexity conditions are satisfied, thereby removing the need for conflicting directionality.

Effects of Suprasegmental Phonological Alternations on Early Word Recognition: Evidence from Tone Sandhi.

Early language acquisition is potentially complicated by the presence of many sources of variability in the speech signal. A frequent example of variability is phonological alternations, which can lead to context-driven changes in the realization of a word. The aim of the current study was to investigate effects of a highly frequent yet scarcely researched type of suprasegmental phonological alternation – tone Sandhi – on early spoken word recognition. The tone Sandhi rule investigated herein involves a tone change of the first syllable in a disyllabic unit. In accordance with third tone Sandhi, when two dipping tone syllables are juxtaposed in connected speech, the first syllable is dissimilated to a high rising tone. For example, ‘flour mill’ (unaltered pre-Sandhi form [(214) (214)]) undergoes tonal alternation resulting in the altered post-Sandhi form [(35) (214)]. In the current study, preschoolers’ sensitivity to the effects of tone Sandhi when processing familiar words was investigated via a preferential looking paradigm. Words varied in their phonological form: one set of words was labeled with a phonological alternation due to Sandhi (Post Sandhi), one set of words was labeled with an unaltered Sandhi form (Pre Sandhi), one set consisted of non Sandhi words (Correct Pronunciation, and one set were labeled with a tonal alternation not associated with Sandhi rules (Mispronunciation). Post-Sandhi forms and correct pronunciations were associated with visual referents with comparable strength, with only a subtle processing cost observed for post-Sandhi forms in the time course of lexical selection. Likewise, pre-Sandhi forms and true mispronunciations were rejected as labels for visual references with comparable strength, with only subtle differences observed in the time course of lexical selection. Findings are discussed in terms of their impact on prevailing theories of lexical representation.

Process-Related Durative Phrases as Numeral-Classifier Phrases in Chinese

This paper argues that pre-nominal durative phrases should be analyzed as numeral-classifiers in Chinese. New evidence is provided from Taiwanese tone sandhi rules and the de-insertion rule in Mandarin. It is shown that the numeral-classifier analysis of the pre-nominal durative phrase is able to solve the tension among previous analyses, and may provide a unified account for the syntax-semantic mismatch of the durative phrase.

Language Specificity in Speech Perception: Perception of Mandarin Tones by Native and Nonnative Listeners

The results reported in this paper indicate that native speakers of Mandarin Chinese rate the perceptual similarities among the lexical tones of Mandarin differently than do native speakers of American English. Mandarin listeners were sensitive to tone contour while English listeners attended to pitch levels. Chinese listeners also rated tones that are neutralized by phonological tone sandhi rules in Mandarin as more similar to each other than did English speakers – indicating a role of phonology in determining perceptual salience. In two further experiments, we found that some of these differences were eliminated when the listening task focused listeners’ attention on the auditory properties of the stimuli, but, interestingly, a degree of language specificity remained even in the most purely psychophysical listening tasks with speech stimuli.

Acoustic analysis of the tones and tone sandhi in Hakka Chinese.

This paper analyzes F0 contours of (i) the six citations tones of Hakka Chinese which consist of four long tones that occur on open syllables and closed syllables with a nasal and two short tones on checked syllables and (ii) tone contours on 36 bisyllabic compounds, representing possible permutations of the six citation tones, and 120 commonly used trisyllabic compounds. Based on the F0 data, (i) tone values are assigned to the citation tones and (ii) tone patterns on the bisyllabic and trisyllabic compounds are defined. Tone sandhi rules are formulated, summing up the phonological changes in the citation tones when juxtaposed. Phonetic tonal co-articulations are also examined. The F0 data show that the citation tones may be represented in terms of tone letter as [53 31 33 11] (long) and [5 32] (short). Major tone sandhis include [33] becoming [35] and [53] becoming [55] before [11], [31], or [53]; and before another [31], [31] becomes [33]. Process such as [53 53 53 53] becoming [5 5 5 53] illustrates simultaneous application of tone sandhi to only tones on the non-compound-final syllables, and [5 33 11 53 31] do not undergo tone sandhi before [5] or [33].

Classifier loss and frozen tone in spoken Beijing Mandarin: the yi+ge phono-syntactic conspiracy

A phono-syntactic conspiracy is proposed to account for a recent language change in spoken Beijing Mandarin Chinese, which involves the loss of the general classifier through sound erosion caused by frequency of usage in discourse. The result of the change is a classifier-free numeral NP yi35+N ‘one+noun’, in which the tone of the numeral is frozen because it no longer follows Mandarin tone sandhi rules. Further, the frozen tone on the numeral has assumed a syntactic function as an indicator of a specific NP pattern in the language. Results of an experimental study demonstrate that the newly developed syntactic tone has its impact on native Mandarin speakers in their processing of written discourse as well. The study promotes the view that language changes may not always be conditioned by cognitive pressure. Instead, it can be triggered by everyday language usage. The study proposes to take discourse analysis as an important or even fundamental means for the study of human language.

A statistics-based pitch contour model for Mandarin speech

A statistics-based syllable pitch contour model for Mandarin speech is proposed. This approach takes the mean and the shape of a syllable log-pitch contour as two basic modeling units and considers several affecting factors that contribute to their variations. The affecting factors include the speaker, prosodic state (which essentially represents the high-level linguistic components of F0 and will be explained more clearly in Sec. I), tone, and initial and final syllable classes. The parameters of the two modeling units were automatically estimated using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. Experimental results showed that the root mean squared errors (RMSEs) obtained in the closed and open tests in the reconstructed pitch period were 0.362 and 0.373 ms, respectively. This model provides a way to separate the effects of several major factors. All of the inferred values of the affecting factors were in close agreement with our prior linguistic knowledge. It also gives a quantitative and more complete description of the coarticulation effect of neighboring tones rather than conventional qualitative descriptions of the tone sandhi rules. In addition, the model can provide useful cues to determine the prosodic phrase boundaries, including those occurring at intersyllable locations, with or without punctuation marks.

IP-raising, Tone Sandhi and the Creation of S-final Particles: Evidence for Cyclic Spell-Out

This paper examines how information provided by tone sandhi provides potential insights into processes of movement. The paper focuses on the Taiwanese element kong (Mandarin shuo) 'say' which is grammaticalizing as a complementizer-type particle in an unexpected sentence-final position. Evidence from tone sandhi phenomena indicates that this results from an operation of IP-raising in which the clausal complement of kong is raised to its left after the application of tone sandhi rules. The active grammaticalization patterning offers both a clear insight into the creation of clause/sentence-final particles in SVO languages and also provides strong evidence for the idea of 'cyclic Spell-Out'. It is also argued that a derivational rather than a purely representational model of grammar is required to accommodate the patterns found.

Issues in the acquisition of the Sesotho tonal system

This paper examines the acquisition of the grammatical tone system of Sesotho, a southern Bantu language where tone sandhi is rich, and where surface and underlying representations are often quite distinct. Results of the longitudinal case study show that rule-assigned tone on subject markers is generally marked appropriately by age two. In contrast, underlying tonal representations on verb roots are learned gradually over time, showing an early Default High tone pattern. The study also finds that, while some tone sandhi rules are in the process of being acquired between 2;6 and 3;0, problems in the mapping between tonal representations and segments persist. The paper raises methodological and theoretical issues not only for the acquisition of tonal systems, but for the acquisition of phonology in general.