A perception study on the third tone in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

**Please note that the full text is embargoed** ABSTRACT: This experimental study examines the role of the shape of the pitch contour in the perception of the Mandarin Chinese tone 3.2 A set of stimuli was constructed by varying the pitch of tone 3 on two conditions: (1) varying the duration of the dip (or turning point) and (2) varying the timing of the turning point (duration of the slope). The manipulated pitch contours of tone 3 were presented to the native speakers of Mandarin Chinese in two sets: (a) a set of speech stimuli and (b) a set of non-speech stimuli. The participants of the experiment were asked to perform a judgment task in order to identify the tone. The results were analyzed and it was found that there is a specific range of the stimuli in both conditions where tone 3 is perceived by native Mandarin Chinese speakers.