Response to research questions

As mentioned in the first chapter of this paper, there were two research questions in this study. The first one was to investigate the acoustical cues used in spontaneous speech to distinguish bisyllabic nouns carrying new versus given information, and compare these results of spontaneous speech with results of read speech by Jin (1996), Xu (1999), and Hsiung (2002). The second question was to identify the perceptual cues

used by listeners to distinguish new and given information in spontaneous Taiwanese Mandarin.

In spontaneous Taiwanese Mandarin, speakers expand F0 range and lengthen duration, as subject CBY and subject RLY in production to distinguish between new versus given information carried by the same bisyllabic nouns. However, the acoustical parameters used in read speech to distinguish between new versus given information carried by the same nouns were different.

In read Pekinese Mandarin, Jin (1996) and Xu (1999) found both that duration was lengthened and that F0 range was expanded in production, while Hsiung (2002) found that lengthening of duration was the only cue used in Taiwanese Mandarin to distinguish between new and given information. However, the results of spontaneous Taiwanese Mandarin showed that subject CBY and RLY lengthened duration and expanded F0 range for new information. In subject CKC’s data, neither the duration was lengthened nor F0 range was expanded when the same syllables carried new information in initial, middle and final position.

A similar pattern was found in vowel space. In Japanese (Maekawa, 1996) and Arabic (de Jong, 2002), the vowel space was enlarged for vowels carrying new

information; however, in spontaneous Taiwanese Mandarin, the enlargement of vowel space was not significantly different between vowels carrying new versus given information, in spite of the trend of vowel space enlargement being observed.

When comparing our results with previous studies, it was found that the scale of difference for spontaneous speech was much smaller than with read speech. It might be due to fast speaking rates for spontaneous utterances, since the experiment was conducted

in a speed of normal daily conversation. During fast speaking rates, the acoustical cue may shorten the duration of each component of the utterance, or increase the overlapping of each component, which results in co-articulation and the reduction of total duration.

The magnitude of articulation reduced as well (Byrd and Tan, 1996). However, a study that controls the speaking rate is necessary to verify this claim.

To answer the second research question, it was found that duration was the most salient perceptual cue in Taiwanese Mandarin. When presented with production data from subject CBY, which was both lengthened in duration and expanded in F0 range for target syllables carrying new information, listeners were more apt to tune in to the lengthening of duration and to ignore the F0 range expansion while perceiving nouns under narrow focus; that carried new information. As there is a difference in acoustic cues used in production of read versus spontaneous speech, in perception aspect, F0 range was found to be the most salient perceptual parameter used to distinguish between nouns under broad focus and narrow focus in Jin’s study (1996), while duration was not as important as F0.

5.3 Conclusion and Suggestions for Further Studies

We conclude that both duration and F0 range seem to be the salient acoustic parameters in spontaneous Taiwanese Mandarin in production experiment; however, duration is found to be more salient than F0 range in our production data. As for perceptual cues, duration is the most important factor in this study.

For future studies, spontaneous data produced by more speakers could be recorded, to provide stronger statistical support of these results. For perceptual experiments, other

sets of perceptual materials can be recorded, one set is that the data is significantly different under narrow focus and neutral focus in only duration, the other set is that the data is significantly different under narrow focus and neutral focus in only F0 range, to verify the perceptual results observed here. Also, speech synthesis can be conducted with subject CBY’s production data. F0 range expansion of target nouns can be adjusted to examine to what extent can subjects realize the difference, and so can the parameter, duration.

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Appendix A

Duration in first and second syllables of four tones under narrow and neutral focus in initial position for subject CBY, CKC and RLY.

Duration in first and second syllables of four tones under narrow and neutral focus in middle position for subject CBY, CKC and RLY.

Duration in first and second syllable of four tones under narrow and neutral focus in final positions for subject CBY, CKC and RLY.