On the perception of tones in Fuzhou

Abstract

The Fuzhou dialect of Chinese has seven citation tones. Three of these tones are considered phonologically level. An acoustic quantification revealed consistent changes in pitch contour in addition to pitch height for these tones, with the highest tone rising slightly and the lower two tones dropping slightly. Moreover a non‐modal phonation was found to occur consistently with the lowest of these “level” tones. This study focuses on the role of pitch height versus contour and phonation as relevant for tonal identification. Actual tokens were altered to modify the pitch height of these tones, maintaining their inherent contours and phonation. Native speakers were then asked to identify the “word” that they heard (from a list). The results show that both contour and phonation, in addition to pitch height, play a role in tonal perception.