送氣與華語聲調

Abstract

華語的送氣分調議題曾被討論過，然而過去研究中發現，送氣聲母對基頻所造成的結果並不一致、甚至相互矛盾。因此本文不僅針對相互矛盾的研究結果提出更縝密的實驗方法，也對相關問題略做紓解。

實驗中使用了四十組最小辨意詞組，這四十組最小辨意詞組由三個不同發音部位所組成，搭配上華語的四個聲值，並且測量其母音基頻。測量基頻方式分成三種，分別是：正規化韻母基頻(normalized F0)、韻母起始點基頻(onset F0)、前一百毫秒韻母基頻(first 100 ms F0)。雖然有三種不同基頻萃取方式，但本文著重於前一百毫秒韻母基頻，而其相關結論亦在文中探討。

影響基頻變化的變量包括送氣與否(送氣聲母和非送氣聲母)、性別差異(男性與女性)、語速(語速快和語速慢)。實驗結果顯示：無論在送氣與否、性別及語速快慢上都有顯著性差異。基頻在送氣聲母後較高，女性的基頻也顯著於高於男性基頻，但基頻高低在語速快慢上則無一致表現。有趣的是：送氣與性別及與語速之間的互動也有顯著性差異。

The perturbation effect of prevocalic aspiration on fundamental frequency (F0) was investigated in Mandarin. Previous researches have shown conflicting results regarding the effect of aspiration on F0. The present study aims to develop a rigorous experimental design to test possible modulating factors which gave rise to the controversy. Forty minimal pairs contrasting in prevocalic aspiration across three places of articulation from 4 Mandarin tones were recorded in a carrier sentence. F0 of the following vowel was measured at the onset F0, normalized F0, and the first 100 ms F0 of the tonal contour. The results put more emphasis on the first 100 ms F0, and the relative discussion is illustrated in the discussion section. Effect of independent variables including Aspiration (aspirated and unaspirated prevocalic stops), Gender (male and female), and Speaking Rate (fast and slow) on F0 were evaluated. Results from 20 native Mandarin speakers (10 female, 10 male) reveal significant main effects of Aspiration (higher F0 after aspirated stops), Gender (higher F0 in female), and Speaking rate (higher F0 in fast and slow mode). More interestingly, interactions of Aspiration and Gender as well as Aspiration and Speaking Rate are also significant. The effect of Aspiration and its interaction with intrinsic F0 of speakers and speaking rate are discussed as well.