Tonal System Research Articles

Unraveling the influence of essential climatic factors on the number of tones through an extensive database of languages in China

Abstract Recent research has provided supportive evidence for the role of humidity in the evolution of tones. However, there remain numerous challenges in delving deeper into the intricate relationship between the tone system and climatic factors: precisely tracking and identifying potentially relevant climate factors at appropriate temporal and spatial scales, while effectively controlling the potential interference caused by geographical proximity and language inheritance. Based on a substantial database of 1,525 language varieties in China and 41 years of monthly climate data, this study has delved into the correlation between multiple climate factors and number of tones, examined the mediating role of voice quality in this process, and further analyzed the interrelationship between climate factors and pitch variations. The findings reveal that climate factors influencing voice quality and the number of tones are diverse, with specific humidity, precipitation, and average temperature playing pivotal roles. After controlling the influence of language inheritance and geographical proximity, the chain of climate → voice quality → number of tones remains significant in China. Specifically, people living in a humid and warm environment tend to exhibit better voice quality. Meanwhile, regions with higher specific humidity and precipitation tend to have a richer and more diverse range of tone types. These findings enrich the theoretical framework of the interaction between language and the environment and provide robust empirical support for understanding the natural mechanisms of language evolution.

Production of Mandarin and Fuzhou lexical tones in six- to seven-year-old Mandarin-Fuzhou bilingual children

AbstractThis study investigated the production of Mandarin and Fuzhou lexical tones by Mandarin-Fuzhou bilingual children. Forty children aged 6;11 to 7;6 and two groups of adults (Mandarin speakers and Fuzhou speakers) were asked to produce pre-selected familiar monosyllabic words. Adult judges' perceptual judgments and acoustic analysis showed that: (1) overall, these children's production performance of Mandarin tones was similar to adults', with very high accuracy; (2) children did not reach adult-like production competence in Fuzhou tones by age 7;6; and (3) there was an imbalance in children's development of the seven lexical tones in Fuzhou. Children's late and unbalanced development of Fuzhou tones could be ascribed to their unbalanced Mandarin-Fuzhou exposure, and it is argued that children might transfer the characteristics of the Mandarin tonal system to their production of Fuzhou tones.

Creatine Improves Total Sleep Duration Following Resistance Training Days versus Non-Resistance Training Days among Naturally Menstruating Females.

Females historically experience sleep disturbances and overall poor sleep compared to males. Creatine has been proposed to impact sleep; however, the effects are not well known. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of creatine supplementation on sleep among naturally menstruating females. Twenty-one participants completed a double-blind, randomized controlled trial in which they consumed 5 g creatine + 5 g maltodextrin or placebo, 10 g maltodextrin, daily for 6 weeks. Participants completed resistance training 2x/week using the TONAL® (Tonal Systems Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA) at-home gym. Pre- and post-testing assessed body composition, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), dietary intake, and muscular strength. Sleep was assessed nightly using an ŌURA® (Oulu, Finland) ring. Compared to the placebo group, those consuming creatine experienced significant increases in total sleep on training days (p = 0.013). No significant changes in chronic sleep and PSQI (pre-post) were observed. There was a significant increase in TONAL® strength score over time (p < 0.001), with no between-group differences. Participants reduced their total calorie (kcal) (p = 0.039), protein (g/kg) (p = 0.009), carbohydrate (g/kg) (p = 0.023), and fat (g) (p = 0.036) intake over time. Creatine supplementation increases sleep duration on resistance training days in naturally menstruating females.

A educação indígena e a educação Musical

This work exposes a discourse presented in the Master’s Dissertation that investigates MUSICAL ART AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL IN THE VITALIZATION OF THE STUDY OF THE MOTHER TONGUE OF THE KOKAMA INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL I IN THE COMMUNITY OF SAPOTAL IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF TABATINGA. Music is part of the indigenous life of several indigenous peoples in what is now Brazil, it is part of everything, work, birth, harvesting, rituals and other moments of indigenous life. Music is a human experience. It does not derive from the physical properties of sound, but rather from man’s relationship with sound. Following Penna’s analyses, music is a social and historical phenomenon. Take as an example European music that consolidated the tonal system, creating from its experiences formal codes that Western music obeyed for three centuries. In your system the smallest distance is the perception of smaller intervals. But other people have a different system. The result is when we listen to the music of other peoples, it represents us and to us the music of indigenous peoples may seem strange and in the same way our music seems strange to them. It is clear in the discourse that there is a rupture in mystical concepts regarding music, as it is a production of transcendental origin. In fact, musical sensitivity is not the result of an innate gift, but rather, of acquired stimulus, the result of experience in a given society.

Lhowa Phonology: A Typological Perspective

Lhowa exhibits a large inventory of forty-one consonant phonemes. In terms of points of articulation, it contains seven types of consonants, viz., labial, dental, alveolar, retroflex, palatal, velar and glottal. In terms of manner of articulation, it presents seven types of consonants, viz., stops, nasals, affricates, fricatives, trills, laterals and approximants. In terms of voicing, there are two types of consonant phonemes, viz., voiceless and voiced. Lhowa has voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, voiced murmured and voiceless murmured sounds. It exhibits a distinct consonant distribution. Lhowa has eight basic and two fronted vowels. There are four diphthongs. Lhowa displays a moderately complex syllable structure. It presents a canonical structure of the syllable in which V is obligatory and other constituents, (Ci, initial consonant), (X, voiced palatal approximant), and (Cf, final consonant) are optional. Lhowa permits only five types of syllable patterns. Each syllable is intrinsically high or low. It exhibits simple tone system. The high vs. low tone is distinguished only on the first syllable of a word. In Lhowa, like in Lhasa Tibetan, compound words demonstrate four types of tone melodies, viz., HH, LH, LL and HL.

Pitch changes as the marker of a phrase edge in standard Lithuanian

In many languages, pitch changes at phrase edges are often described as significant cues of juncture. The aim of this study is to analyse pitch changes at the beginning and end of declarative phrases in standard Lithuanian. The study consists of two parts: 1) a pilot study analysing whether the F0 difference is a reliable measure to determine the F0 rise/fall at the end of declarative phrasesand whether such a difference depends on the speaker’s sex; 2) an annotated speech corpus analysis on the tendencies of pitch changes at phrase edges. The pilot study showed that in phrases with a rising F0 at the end, the F0 mean of the last stressed syllable is significantly lower than F0 at the end of a phrase. In phrases with a falling F0, the F0 mean of the last stressed syllable is significantly higher than the F0 at the end of a phrase. The F0 difference is a reliable measure to determine the F0 rise or fall at the end of a phrase, and all the abovementioned tendencies were found in both male and female speakers’ recordings. The annotated speech corpus analysis revealed that both intonational and intermediate phrases usually begin and end in a low tone. Hence, the high and rising or falling tones at the beginning or end of a phrase are the marked members of the phrase edge tone system, and they can help identify phrase junctures. However, it is important to pay attention to other acoustic features such as pauses and intensity, as well as grammatical and semantic aspects.

An investigation of acoustic cues to tonal registers and voicing in Donglei Kama).

The Kam language has experienced historical tonal splits, resulting in the development of a complex tonal system. However, there is still limited knowledge regarding the acoustic characteristics associated with aspiration-based tone splitting. This study aims to investigate the acoustic cues related to the tonal registers and laryngeal configurations in Donglei Kam, a dialect of Southern Kam. Sixteen native speakers of Donglei Kam participated, producing lexical tones. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine the acoustic distinctions between tonal registers, using measurements of voice onset time, spectral tilt, noise, and energy. The results indicated that Donglei Kam retained a two-way contrast of aspiration, albeit with a trend toward gradual loss. Additionally, a breathy voice was detected in the Ciyin tonal register, characterized by elevated spectral tilt values and spectral noise throughout the vowels. Moreover, machine learning classifiers effectively identified tonal registers using voice-quality data, suggesting that the phonation contrast between breathy and modal voice could contribute to the tonal split alongside pitch contrast. In summary, these findings enhance our understanding of the acoustic implementation of breathiness in Kam and offer valuable insights into the role of laryngeal contrast in tonal splits.

A Typology of Tonal Exponence

This paper presents a typology of tonal exponence. Couched within an ive Word-and-Paradigm approach to morphology, the present study builds on previous studies on exponence typology and morphological organization by extending it to the study of tone. About half the languages of the world have tone systems, and tone is an important dimension in the morphologies of numerous languages. Tone is therefore a necessary part of a comprehensive typology of exponence. This paper shows that like segmental exponents, tonal exponents may be involved in a diversity of form-function mappings, but they also pose unique challenges due to their autosegmental nature. This study aims to advance our understanding of the role of tone in the organization of morphological systems by addressing deviations from form-function isomorphism, polyfunctionality, morphomic distributions, paradigmatic layers, and inflectional class organization. It is argued that the attested diversity of form-function mappings constitutes an empirical argument for a paradigm-based view of morphology, where the attested diversity is taken at face value and the range of encoding strategies are treated as equivalent, as opposed to choosing form-function isomorphism as the theoretical ‘ideal’.

Investigating the variation of intonation contours in Northern Vietnamese tones

Intonation is an instrument for structuring discourse and emphasizing different types of information. In German, for example, pitch is used to highlight focus, while in Vietnamese, different pitch contours distinguish lexical tones. As of yet, the interplay between intonation and lexical tone in relation to information structure has not been sufficiently investigated across languages. Vietnamese has six lexical tones and is particularly interesting for investigating the influence of different intonation strategies on the realization of tones. Here, we present a production study with 70 Northern Vietnamese speakers. The participants read six sentences under two conditions. In each sentence, a word occurring in the final position of the sentence and carrying one of the six tones was pronounced in two different discourse contexts. Acoustic analyses of the intonation contours showed that Vietnamese speakers realized the words with significant differences in pitch at the onset. Yet, the strategies for raising or lowering the pitch varied depending on the tone. Our results show the use of prosodic cues in a complex tone system across a large number of speakers. In addition, the study can serve as a starting point for educational programs that include training on intonation patterns in specific contexts.

Multi-class identification of tonal contrasts in Chokri using supervised machine learning algorithms

This study examines and explores the effectiveness of various Machine Learning Algorithms (MLAs) in identifying intricate tonal contrasts in Chokri (ISO 639-3), an under-documented and endangered Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan language family spoken in Nagaland, India. Seven different supervised MLAs, viz., [Logistic Regression (LR), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Naive Bayes (NB)], and one neural network (NN)-based algorithms [Artificial Neural Network (ANN)] are implemented to explore five-way tonal contrasts in Chokri. Acoustic correlates of tonal contrasts, encompassing fundamental frequency fluctuations, viz., f0 height and f0 direction, are examined. Contrary to the prevailing notion of NN supremacy, this study underscores the impressive accuracy achieved by the RF. Additionally, it reveals that combining f0 height and directionality enhances tonal contrast recognition for female speakers, while f0 directionality alone suffices for male speakers. The findings demonstrate MLAs’ potential to attain accuracy rates of 84–87% for females and 95–97% for males, showcasing their applicability in deciphering the intricate tonal systems of Chokri. The proposed methodology can be extended to predict multi-class problems in diverse fields such as image processing, speech classification, medical diagnosis, computer vision, and social network analysis.

Akan tone encoding across musical modalities

Akan tone encoding across musical modalities

A Study on the Tone Perception of Mandarin by Native Speakers of Shaoxing Dialect

This article studies how native speakers of Shaoxing dialect perceive Mandarin tones, and whether there is a perceptual correspondence between the tone system of Shaoxing dialect and Mandarin tone system. Ten participants from the Shaoxing dialect area were selected to create six pairs of Mandarin tone opposition groups, with a total of 60 Mandarin perception samples. The perception experiment was conducted using E-Prime software. The subjects determine which tone in the dialect is similar to the Mandarin tone they hear, and then input the similar tone category. Finally, statistical analysis is conducted to calculate the similarity of tone classes between two tone systems and establish a tone perception model. The corresponding relationship between the perceived Mandarin tones by 10 native speakers of Shaoxing dialect and their own dialect tone system indicates that the Gaoping 55 tone in Mandarin is perceived as the Shaoxing dialect 33 tone, and the Mandarin tortuous 214 tone is perceived as the Shaoxing dialect 35 tone. There is a similar correspondence between the perception of tones in different tone systems, which has reference value for phonetic teaching.

Regional differences in the production of tones in standard mandarin

This study investigates the intricate patterns of tonal variations in monosyllabic words across distinct regional accents of Standard Mandarin, with a focus on Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing. Due to the differing tonal systems of the local Chinese dialects in the three cities, speakers from these areas may exhibit distinct patterns in their production of tones in Standard Mandarin, influenced by their native Chinese dialects. Therefore, to capture the nuances of tonal differences, the study extracts the time-normalized f0 values of four tones (i.e., level, rising, dipping, and falling tones) from monosyllabic words in a Mandarin Chinese speech corpus. The overall f0 contours of the four tones within and across the three regional accents are modeled using growth curve analysis. We expect to find that regional accents of Standard Mandarin exhibit significant tonal variations such that the tone shapes of speakers from Shanghai and Guangzhou may significantly deviate from those of Beijing speakers. Specifically, there are variations in contour shape and temporal dynamics, particularly in the quadratic term for dipping tones and the slopes of rising and falling tones. These findings can provide valuable insights into the intricate characteristics of regional tonal variations in Standard Mandarin.

Tones shape notes: The realization of lexical tones in Chaozhou songs

In tone languages where pitch is used to distinguish word meanings, questions arise about how tonal pitch is preserved in singing. While most studies focus on tone-melody matching by examining pitch changes between tones/notes, the pitch change of tones realized within individual notes is less investigated. This article explores how singers realized tones when singing in Chaozhou, a Southern Chinese language with a complex tonal system. It used a Chaozhou song containing 10 tonal patterns to collect data from 34 Chaozhou singers. Results show that tones are realized to varying degrees when sung, and pitch range, pitch level, and neighboring pitch of tones appear to be influential factors. Vocal training affected the realization of falling tones /53/ and /42/ by reducing the pitch fall and also affected rising tone /23/ with a larger pitch change being found for non-professional singers than for professionals. However, the singers’ experience of singing in Chaozhou did not greatly affect the tone realization. An effect of the metrical structure was only found for tones /53/ and /42/. In addition, tone sandhi affects tones /53/ and /21/. The analysis also hints at the potential effect of melodic intervals on the pitch change of tones when sung.

Patterned Sensory Enhancement, a Music Rehabilitation Therapy for Elderly Patients with Neuromotor Deficit during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study.

(1) Background: The Patterned Sensory Enhancement (PSE) technique refers to a music-based rehabilitation therapy strategy used in neurological pathologies. (2) Methods: This study aims at developing a music-drill protocol for recovery in elderly patients with neuromuscular degenerative pathologies. Each music drill is based on a number of specific music-composition parameters. The conclusions represent suggestions for further enhancing the PSE technique through collaborations between the rehabilitation team and the musicians involved due to the importance of the music stimuli used as a therapy. (3) Results: The music-composition parameters used in this study relate to the existence of music homogeneity factors such as the key signature and rhythm; the importance of the major scale and the tonal system in general; the obvious music suggestions of movement, repetition or absence of movement; the importance of rhythm; the introduction of musical instruments in order to harmonize the music material as much as possible; the connection between PSE music along with patients' musical taste and the musical recording as a therapy during patient outcare; (4) Conclusions: The therapy efficiency was observed by measurements taken before and after the therapeutic intervention by means of a Takei dynamometer. The present study asserts that for a patient undergoing the PSE technique, the researcher should compose personalized music material adapted to each patient's peculiarities.

"Grain Gamelan": Adaptation of One More Grain Band's Songs to Gamelan Pelog Slendro

"Grain Gamelan": Adaptation of One More Grain Band's Songs to Gamelan Pelog Slendro. Based on a recording project initiated by the label "Yantra" through one of the musicians of the group "one more grain", Daniel Patrick Quinn, the author was asked to adapt songs from their group to gamelan instruments. The songs use Western instruments that use a very different tonal system from gamelan. The phenomenon of the difference in tone system between Western instruments and gamelan is still a dilemma, especially when music creators have the idea to combine the two types of instruments. The purpose of this writing is to reveal the artistic process of working on One More Grain Band songs adapted to gamelan with the pelog slendro tone system. The method used is practice-led research/practice-based research by doing exploration, simulation, and practice. Artistically, the songs of one more grain band have repetitive patterns with a tendency to use only one chord and each pattern played has changes that can be interpreted openly by the musician. Both of these have the same principles as traditional gamelan music. In the composing process, an approach was found using a mixed 10-tone system of pelog and slendro tunings of Javanese gamelan tumbuk nem. Through the use of DAW, the adaptation process can be well organized and measured to produce audio simulations and notations that are ready to be played by musicians directly. In the process of practicing with the musicians, various communication and interpretation problems were encountered in adapting this work. Based on the results achieved, the adaptation of "One More Grain" songs to gamelan has new nuances and perspectives that can enrich the repertoire of gamelan music globally.

Woodwind Instruments in al-Fārābī’s Kitāb al-Mūsīqī al-Kabīr

Al‑Fārābī (d. 950 CE), the so-called ‘Second Master’ (Aristotle being the First Master), is known for his influential works on philosophy, especially his commentaries on Aristotle, as well as for his works on logic, physics and metaphysics, ethics, and politics. It was on behalf of al‑Karḫī, Caliph ar‑Rāḍī’s (r. 934–940 CE) wazīr, that al‑Fārābī wrote his Grand Book on Music, explaining musical concepts such as rhythm and melody to the wazīr. As a logician and practicing musician, he combined and improved upon different sources, such as Greek musical theory, as well as on the Arabic authors and musicians al‑Kindī (d. after 870 CE) and Isḥāq al‑Mawṣilī (d. 850 CE). In this paper, I discuss several issues related to woodwind instruments mentioned in al‑Fārābī’s Grand Book on Music. Al‑Fārābī expounds on their interconnections with the tonal production of other instruments, specifying their tone system in terms of finger positions on the fretboard of the ʿūd. Further questions address the relation between theory and practice, as well as some considerations about the modes that seem to be common on woodwinds.

«Модальность» как основа композиционной техники фортепианной прелюдии Клода Дебюсси «Паруса»

The article is devoted to the interpretation of "modality" as a compositional technique that embodies an emotional component. The study establishes that the principles of modality, in many ways, contradict the tonal system. It concludes that pure modality is encountered very rarely, as it usually complements other techniques. A unique example in this regard is Claude Debussy's piano piece "Voiles" (1909) from his first book of preludes (1910). The innovative value of Debussy's musical discoveries is hard to overestimate. The novelty of his music is associated, in part, with moving away from the traditional harmonic framework. In this sense, Debussy continues the discoveries of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881).

Intonation Patterns of Chinese EFL Learners and Their Correlation with Holistic Prosody Ratings

Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners often face challenges when acquiring intonation skills. This study employed AM theory as the theoretical framework and utilized the Tone and Break Indices (ToBI) labeling system to analyze 29 recordings of first-year English major female students enrolled at a university in China. The aim is to examine the intonation patterns exhibited by these learners and explore their correlation with prosody ratings. The findings revealed that H*, L+H*, and L* were the most commonly observed pitch accent types among Chinese EFL learners. Furthermore, the L tone predominated in phrase accents and boundary tones, while the prevalent intonation pattern in intonation phrase boundaries was identified as the L-L% pattern. The study also identified negative correlations between the proportion of L* and the proportion of L-, as well as between prosody ratings and phrase accent density, and between prosody ratings and the proportion of L*. These findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge on intonation acquisition and hold significant implications for language pedagogy.

AN APPROACH TO TEACHING MODES

Modes have historically been at the centre of music until the end of the Renaissance period, and were ignored for a while with the tonal system in the Baroque period and afterwards. However, in the contemporary period, with the search for new music, they started to gain popularity again and continued to be used as major and minor tonalities. Modes, which have their own unique interval structure, have a different sound scale and feeling compared to major and minor tonalities. For this reason, it takes some time for students who have tonal sensation and practice habits to learn and understand the modes. In many written sources, the concept of mode is explained by associating it with the major scale degrees. This way of expression increases the possibility of making mistakes because it is an indirect way. In this study, it is aimed to present a different approach to the teaching of modes, and examples of the way to be followed are given.&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/soc/0051/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;