Pitch relationship and phonation cues in Mandarin tone perception
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/TheLinguisticProceedings/2025/16/01/015/000675Keywords:
pitch relationship, phonation, Mandarin, tone, perceptual strategiesAbstract
This study investigates how pitch relationship and phonation cues shape Mandarin tone perception among native and non-native listeners. Focusing on Mandarin high and low tones (Tones 1 and 3), the study examined the effects of pitch relationships between syllables and phonation type (modal vs. creaky) across five listener groups: native Mandarin listeners, and Cantonese and Korean listeners with either low or high Mandarin proficiency. Results from a tone identification task involving 140 participants showed that pitch relationship was the primary perceptual cue, while creaky voice significantly facilitated Tone 3 responses. Native listeners demonstrated the greatest sensitivity to pitch cues, whereas Cantonese and Korean listeners relied differently on phonation cues depending on their first-language background and Mandarin proficiency, revealing distinct perceptual adaptation strategies.
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Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
