Burchfield L Ann, Bradlow Ann R
Department of Linguistics, Northwestern University, 2016 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208
J Acoust Soc Am. 2014 Jun;135(6):EL270-6. doi: 10.1121/1.4874357.
This study examined whether language specific properties may lead to cross-language differences in the degree of phonetic reduction. Rates of syllabic reduction (defined here as reduction in which the number of syllables pronounced is less than expected based on canonical form) in English and Mandarin were compared. The rate of syllabic reduction was higher in Mandarin than English. Regardless of language, open syllables participated in reduction more often than closed syllables. The prevalence of open syllables was higher in Mandarin than English, and this phonotactic difference could account for Mandarin's higher rate of syllabic reduction.
本研究考察了特定语言属性是否可能导致语音缩减程度上的跨语言差异。对英语和汉语中音节缩减率（此处定义为发音的音节数量少于基于规范形式预期数量的缩减）进行了比较。汉语中的音节缩减率高于英语。无论哪种语言，开音节比闭音节更常参与缩减。汉语中开音节的占比高于英语，这种音位结构差异可以解释汉语较高的音节缩减率。
