On the Domain of Tone in Mandarin

Abstract

Abstract Measurements of the fundamental frequency of 136 Mandarin citation syllables have yielded average curves for the four distinctive tones in nine types of syllable. It appears that the basic contours of Mandarin tones are coextensive only with the syllabic vowel and any voiced segment that may follow it, while those portions of the pitch pattern that occur with an initial voiced consonant or a non-syllabic vowel are merely anticipatory adjustments of the voice.