Linked Life Data

16514275

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/16514275

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2006-3-3
pubmed:abstractText
Many weak elements in speech, such as schwa in English and neutral tone in Standard Chinese, are commonly assumed to be unspecified or underspecified phonologically. The surface phonetic values of these elements are assumed to derive from interpolation between the adjacent phonologically specified elements or from the spreading of the contextual phonological features. In the present study, we re-evaluate this view by investigating detailed F(0) contours of neutral-tone syllables in Standard Chinese, which are widely accepted as toneless underlyingly. We recorded sentences containing 0-3 consecutive neutral-tone syllables at two speaking rates with two focus conditions. Results of the experiment indicate that neutral-tone syllables do have a target that is independent of the surrounding tones, which is likely to be static and mid. Furthermore, the neutral tone is found to be different from the full lexical tones in the manner with which the underlying tonal target is implemented: it is slow and ineffective both in overcoming the influence of the preceding full lexical tone and in approaching its own target. Applying the recently proposed pitch target approximation model, we conclude that the neutral tone differs from the other lexical tones in Standard Chinese not only in terms of its mid target, but also in terms of the weak articulatory strength with which this target is implemented. Finally, we suggest that this new understanding is potentially applicable to other weak elements in speech.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0031-8388
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
63
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
47-75
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2006
pubmed:articleTitle
Production of weak elements in speech -- evidence from F(0) patterns of neutral tone in Standard Chinese.
pubmed:affiliation
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. yiya.chen@let.ru.nl
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural