Link to the University of Pittsburgh Homepage
Link to the University Library System Homepage Link to the Contact Us Form
D-Scholarship @ Pitt Banner and Links to Homepage

The Phonetics of VOT and Tone Interaction in Cantonese

Tse, Holman (2005) The Phonetics of VOT and Tone Interaction in Cantonese. Master's Thesis, University of Chicago.

[img]
Preview
 PDF
Available under License : See the attached license file.
Download (530kB)
[img] Plain Text (licence)
Available under License : See the attached license file.
Download (1kB)

Abstract

This study investigates the possible effects of lexical tone on Voice Onset Time (VOT) in Cantonese, a tonal language with a two-way contrast between short-lag (voiceless unaspirated) and long-lag (voiceless aspirated) stops. VOT was measured as the time interval between the stop burst and the onset of voicing for the following vowel. The recorded speech of 6 native speakers each producing 10 repetitions of 20 different words contrasting in aspiration and tone was analyzed. Tokens from each individual subject were divided into two sets for the purpose of comparison. The first set involved a comparison between the effects of a high-level 55 tone and a mid-level 33 tone. Results showed no significant VOT differences unless aspirated and unaspirated stops were examined separately. In this case, only the aspirated stops showed a significant difference with the 33 tone associated with higher VOT. The second set of stimuli compared the effects of 4 different phonemic tone categories (55, 25, 33, and 21) on VOT. Results show that words beginning with a lower tonal onset (and thus the 25 and 21 tones) correlated with higher VOT than words beginning with a higher tonal onset (the 55 and 33 tones).

Share

Citation/Export:
Social Networking:
Share |

Details

Item Type: Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper (Master's Thesis)
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Tse, Holmanhbt3@pitt.eduHBT30000-0002-2398-5776
Date: December 2005
Date Type: Submission
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Publisher: University of Chicago
Institution: University of Chicago
Degree: MA - Master of Arts
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: No
Date Deposited: 24 Jun 2015 13:28
Last Modified: 10 Dec 2020 02:03
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25258

Metrics

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item