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Article In:
International Journal of Chinese Linguistics
Vol. 11:2 (2024) ► pp.192–248

On word stress in Mandarin

Evidence from the differences between qingsheng   轻声 and qingyin 轻音

| Princeton University
Qingsheng and qingyin have long been a set of confusing concepts in Chinese linguistic studies. In literature scholars usually agree on the use of qingsheng to refer to the neutral tone in Mandarin. However, some scholars believe that qingsheng is the same as qingyin and use them interchangeably. Furthermore, the term qingyin is used to prove that Mandarin has word stress, since word stress, or zhongyin in Chinese is the counterpart of qingyin. Therefore, it is important to clarify the relationship between the two concepts, namely qingsheng and qingyin to determine the linguistic and typological nature of Mandarin. This study tried to differentiate these two concepts both phonetically and phonologically and proved that qingsheng is a result of a set of tonal processes, such as tone sandhi, tone neutralization, tone spreading, while qingyin is a result of a series of metrical process, such as clash and lapse. It also compared qingsheng and qingyin on their functions, classifications, origins, and did a quantitative study on the distribution of the qingsheng words in Mandarin to further prove that qingsheng and qingyin are two completely different concepts, and hence proved that it is invalid to claim Mandarin has word stress because of the existence of qingsheng.
Keywords: qingsheng , qingyin , stress language, tonal process, qingsheng distribution
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1 Qingsheng vs. qingyin: Two essential concepts in the study of word stress in Mandarin
    • 1.2Contributions of the study on qingsheng vs. qingyin to the study of language typology and language evolution
    • 1.3Difficulties: The confusion between qingsheng and qingyin
    • 1.4Goals and methods
  • 2. Qingsheng theoretical analysis
    • 2.1The nature of qingsheng (acoustic, perceptual)
      • 2.1.1Acoustic characteristics of qingsheng
        • 2.1.1.1On intensity
        • 2.1.1.2On length
        • 2.1.1.3On pitch and contour
        • 2.1.1.4On segmental level: Vowel reduction, vowel eclipsis, and voiced consonant
      • 2.1.2The dominant features in the perception of qingsheng
    • 2.2The tonal process of qingsheng
      • 2.2.1Tone sandhi
      • 2.2.2Spreading rule
      • 2.2.3Tone neutralization
    • 2.3The phonological differences between qingsheng and qingyin
    • 2.4The functions of qingsheng
      • 2.4.1The function of distinguishing part of speech and lexical meanings
      • 2.4.2The authenticity of the pronunciation
      • 2.4.3The colloquial nature of the pronunciation
    • 2.5The classification of qingsheng
      • 2.5.1Classified by internal structure
      • 2.5.2Classified by function
      • 2.5.3Classified by the original tone of the qingsheng words
    • 2.6The origin of qingsheng
    • 2.7Cause of qingsheng
  • 3.The quantity of qingsheng
    • 3.1Previous statistics
    • 3.2The distribution of qingsheng words in Modern Chinese
      • 3.2.1Disyllabic words in Xiandai Hanyu Cidian
      • 3.2.2Disyllabic qingsheng words in Modern Chinese Dictionary
      • 3.2.3 Qingsheng and T4
    • 3.3The frequency of qingsheng
    • 3.4The changes of qingsheng
  • 4.Conclusions and further discussions
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
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