PulseExploreJournal ClubDebatesTrendingResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeExploreJournal ClubTrending
Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
April 5, 2026JASA Express Letters0 citationsOpen Access

Timing patterns of tone and vowel in Mandarin: Evidence from f 0-F1 turning point synchrony

View Full Paper
CLChenyu LiJAJalal Al-Tamimi

Key Points

  • The study aims to investigate the timing patterns between tone and vowel acoustics in Mandarin.
  • Analyzed tonal and vocalic acoustics of rising tone 2 and high-level tones in diphthongs /ai/ and /au/.
  • Utilized generalized additive mixed-effects models for modeling the f0 and F1 trajectories.
  • Identified turning points as zero-crossings from velocity plots.
  • Conducted Bayesian analyses to assess the timing patterns between f0 and F1 turning points.
  • Found that f0 and F1 turning points align temporally, showing no systematic time differences.
  • Observed that turning points occur earlier in Xi'an Mandarin compared to Standard Mandarin.
  • Noted increased synchrony in diphthong /au/ than in /ai/, indicating vowel-dependent timing variations.

Abstract

We examine timing patterns of tone and vowel acoustics in Xi'an and Standard Mandarin. Using f0 and F1 difference trajectories between rising tone 2 and corresponding high-level tones in the diphthongs /ai/ and /au/ modelled with generalized additive mixed-effects models, we identify turning points as stable zero-crossings from velocity plots. Bayesian analyses showed that f0 and F1 turning points are not systematically different in time, indicating temporal alignment between tonal and vocalic acoustic landmarks. Turning points occur earlier in Xi'an Mandarin than in Standard Mandarin, and synchrony is more robust in /au/ than /ai/, revealing variety- and vowel-dependent timing patterns.

Ask AI
Helpful
Bookmark
Share
View Full Paper

Cite This Study

Li et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d1fceba79560c99a0a2b4bhttps://doi.org/10.1121/10.0043247
Ask AI
Helpful
Bookmark
Share
View Full Paper

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Impact of the tonal factor on diphthong realizations in Standard Mandarin with Generalized Additive Mixed Models2024
  2. 2Tone-syllable synchrony in Mandarin: New evidence and implications2024 · 6 citations
  3. 3Gestures time to vowel onset and change the acoustics of the word in Mandarin2024 · 4 citations
  4. 4An acoustic analysis of Mandarin vowels produced by Cantonese speakers2025
  5. 5Form and meaning co-determine the realization of tone in Taiwan Mandarin spontaneous speech: the case of Tone 3 sandhi2024