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Article published In:
Language and Linguistics
Vol. 18:4 (2017) ► pp.622–646

Perception of tones in Mandarin and Dutch adult listeners

| Utrecht University | Western Sydney University
| Utrecht University
| Utrecht University
This paper examines the nature of categorical perception (CP) effects in Mandarin and Dutch adult listeners through identification and discrimination tasks using lexical tonal contrasts and through the CP index analysis. In identification tasks, Mandarin listeners identify tones in accordance with their native tonal categories whereas Dutch listeners do so based on acoustic properties. In discrimination tasks, Dutch listeners outperform Mandarin listeners especially in tonal steps on the continuum falling within the Mandarin tonal category boundary, whereas Mandarin listeners display high sensitivity in discrimination of stimuli falling across the native boundary. The CP index analysis shows a higher degree of CP in Mandarin (categorical perception) than in Dutch (psycho-acoustic perception) listeners.
Keywords: lexical tone, cross-linguistic perception, CP index analysis, categorical perception, psycho-acoustic perception
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Experiment
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Stimuli
    • 2.3Procedure
      • Forced choice identification
      • Open choice identification
      • AX discrimination
      • AXB discrimination
    • 2.4Results and discussion
      • Forced choice identification
      • Open choice identification
      • AX discrimination
      • AXB discrimination
  • 3.The CP index analysis
  • 4.General discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further readings
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 10 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.18.4.03liu
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