Abstract:
This study examines the contextual tonal variations in Taiwan Mandarin. Unlike previous studies, this study elicited the four tones in TM in controlled contexts in order to distinguish the pitch target from the surface output. Furthermore, it also examines whether the contextual effects found in Standard Mandarin apply in Taiwan Mandarin. The results show that similar to SM, the TM tones underwent strong assimilatory carry-over effects and weak dissimilatory anticipatory effects. However, TM Tone 1 and Tone 4 also underwent cross-syllabic carry-over effects. The effects were significant, which was not found in SM. The results also characterize the pitch targets of TM tones. Tone 1 has a mid-high level pitch target; Tone 2 has either a rising or dipping dynamic pitch target; Tone 3 has a low-falling pitch target; and Tone 4 has a high-falling pitch target.