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ERIC Number: EJ883807
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8309
EISSN: N/A
Identification of Acoustically Modified Mandarin Tones by Non-Native Listeners
Lee, Chao-Yang; Tao, Liang; Bond, Z. S.
Language and Speech, v53 n2 p217-243 2010
This study investigated identification of fragmented Mandarin tones by non-native listeners. Monosyllabic Mandarin words were digitally processed to generate intact, silent-center, center-only, and onset-only syllables. The syllables were recorded with two carrier phrases such that the offset of the carrier tone and the onset of the target tone were either continuous or discontinuous in fundamental frequency (F0). The syllables were presented with an original carrier phrase, excised from the carrier phrase, or excised and cross-spliced with another carrier phrase. Response accuracy and reaction time were measured, and tone confusion patterns were analyzed. Overall, tone identification varied as a function of modification and tone. Intact and center-only syllables were identified more accurately than silent-center and onset-only syllables. Tone 2 was consistently the most challenging tone to identify. Although the performance level of the third-year students approached that of native listeners reported in Lee, Tao, and Bond (2008), the non-native listeners did not show evidence of using coarticulatory information. Nonetheless, the continuity or discontinuity in F0 between the carrier and target tones did affect tone identification, suggesting the influence of context in non-native tone identification. (Contains 4 tables and 6 figures.)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ohio
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A