Li Bin, Shao Jing, Bao Mingzhen
Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.
Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.
J Psycholinguist Res. 2017 Feb;46(1):107-124. doi: 10.1007/s10936-016-9422-6.
Tonal languages differ in how they use phonetic correlates e.g. average pitch height and pitch direction, for tonal contrasts. Thus, native speakers of a tonal language may need to adjust their attention to familiar or unfamiliar phonetic cues when perceiving non-native tones. On the other hand, speakers of a non-tonal language may need to develop sensitivity to tonal correlates absent from their native system. The current study examines and compares five language groups' perception of two synthesized Mandarin tones: the high level tone and the high falling tone. It aims to examine how listeners from tonal and non-tonal backgrounds identify and categorize acoustically equidistant pitches varying along two phonetic dimensions: pitch onset and slope. Results reveal "universal" perceptual patterns across groups and also tendencies caused by native tonal systems. Our findings confirm that L1 tonal and prosodic systems affect speakers' sensitivity to novel perceptual cues and their abilities to discern relevant phonetic differences.
声调语言在利用语音关联（如平均音高和音高方向）进行声调对比的方式上存在差异。因此，声调语言的母语使用者在感知非母语声调时，可能需要调整他们对熟悉或不熟悉语音线索的注意力。另一方面，非声调语言的使用者可能需要培养对其母语系统中不存在的声调关联的敏感度。本研究考察并比较了五个语言群体对两种合成汉语声调的感知：高平调与高降调。其目的是研究来自声调语言背景和非声调语言背景的听众如何识别和分类沿着音高起始和斜率这两个语音维度变化的声学上等距的音高。结果揭示了各群体间“普遍”的感知模式以及由母语声调系统导致的倾向。我们的研究结果证实，第一语言的声调及韵律系统会影响说话者对新感知线索的敏感度以及他们辨别相关语音差异的能力。
