2008/08/06

Lin, H.-B. & Repp., B. H. (1989). Cues to the perception of Taiwanese tones. Language and Speech, 32(1), 25–44.

Presentation: Angela

Summary: Chris

This paper investigated how Taiwanese tones were distinguished from one another by factors such as F₀ height, F₀ movement and duration. Results showed that the tonal contrast between the high-level tones vs. mid-level tones and the tonal contrast between the high-falling tones vs. mid-falling tones were achieved by the differences of F₀ height. As for tones with dissimilar contours (i.e. high-falling tones vs. low-rising tones), the tonal distinction was primarily cued by F₀ movements. The contribution of syllable duration, which served as a secondary cue for tonal distinction, was relatively minor. The syllable duration of falling tones was shorter than non-falling tones. The authors concluded that as in many other tone languages, F₀ is the major cue for tonal distinction. Either F₀ height or F₀ movement could serve as a dominant cue for tonal perception, depending on the types of tones to be distinguished. F₀ height was found to be a prevailing cue when two tones had similar contours. However, F₀ movement served as a primary cue when two tones differed from each other in terms of contour shapes.