Prosodic features of “Douju” in reading discourse of Cantonese based on the method of natural clustering

This paper focuses on the basic prosodic unit "Douju" in reading discourse of Guangzhou Cantonese from three dimensions: acoustics, physiological breathing, and psychological perception, and concludes that "Douju" is a phonological unit that can be clearly perceived by native listeners and has a distinct acoustic boundary when spoken by the speaker in a complete breathing cycle. The main prosodic features of "Douju" in Cantonese reading discourse are as follows: (1) Acoustically, there is usually a maximum pause (long pause) before and after a specific "Douju"; (2) physiologically, each "Douju" is preceded and followed by a level 1 or 2 respiratory reset; (3) perceptually, each "Douju" is preceded and followed by an acoustic long pause, which corresponds to a complete respiratory cycle.