Jongman Allard, Qin Zhen, Zhang Jie, Sereno Joan A
Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas, 1541 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-3129, USA
J Acoust Soc Am. 2017 Aug;142(2):EL163. doi: 10.1121/1.4995526.
Previous studies on tones suggest that Mandarin listeners are more sensitive to pitch direction and slope while English listeners primarily attend to pitch height. In this study, just noticeable differences were established for pitch discrimination using a three-interval, forced-choice procedure with a two-down, one-up staircase design. A high rising and a high falling Mandarin tone were manipulated in terms of pitch direction, height, and slope. Results indicate that, overall, Mandarin listeners are more sensitive to pitch slope and English listeners to pitch height. However, these effects are modulated by both the direction (falling/rising) and slope of the pitch contours.
以往关于声调的研究表明，说普通话的听众对音高方向和斜率更为敏感，而说英语的听众主要关注音高。在本研究中，采用三区间、二降一升阶梯设计的迫选程序，确定了音高辨别中的恰可察觉差异。对一个高升和一个高降的普通话声调在音高方向、高度和斜率方面进行了操控。结果表明，总体而言，说普通话的听众对音高斜率更敏感，说英语的听众对音高更敏感。然而，这些效应受到音高轮廓的方向（降/升）和斜率的调节。
