Cover not available

Article published In: The Syllable and its Prosody in Chinese
Edited by Lian-Hee Wee, Feng Wang and Yuan Liang
[Language and Linguistics 23:1] 2022
► pp. 20–46

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB

Syllable isochrony and the prosodic features of stop syllables in Cantonese

 | The Education University of Hong Kong
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 15 December 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.00098.zha
Abstract
Cantonese is a syllable-timed language: that is, the syllable is the isochronous unit of speech. However, in Cantonese, there is a type of closed syllable with the stop codas [-p], [-t], or [-k] (i.e. syllables with the so called “entering-tones”) which sound much shorter than other syllables. On the surface, the shorter duration of stop syllables and the general prosodic feature of syllable-isochrony seem to conflict. This study conducted acoustic investigations of stop syllables in Cantonese in different contexts (i.e. in isolated form, in disyllabic words, and in disyllabic words located at the beginning, middle, and final positions of sentences). The results showed that stop syllables alone are shorter than non-stop syllables in various contexts. However, in disyllabic words or in sentences, there is a supplementary lengthening effect immediately after the stop syllables: there is more acoustic blank, and in some circumstances the initial of the following syllable is lengthened. Therefore, we propose that the phonetic realization of syllable isochrony is beyond the syllable itself in Cantonese. The results and discussions of this study may also shed light on the problem of the disappearance of “entering tones” from various Chinese dialects.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Rhythmic typology and syllable isochrony in Cantonese
    • 1.2Syllable structure and stop syllables in Cantonese
  • 2.Research method
    • 2.1Design of the reading list
    • 2.2Participants, audio-recording settings, and acoustic measurement
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Duration patterns of isolated syllables
    • 3.2Duration patterns of the syllables saam1 and sap6 in different contexts
    • 3.3Duration patterns of the disyllabic words “saam1/sap6 + Quantifier” in different contexts
    • 3.4Duration structure of the initials, rhymes, and acoustic blank in the words of “saam1/sap6 + Quantifier”
  • 4.Discussions and conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
References (45)
References
Abercrombie, David. 1967. Elements of general phonetics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Allen, George D. 1975. Speech rhythm: Its relation to performance universals and articulatory timing. Journal of Phonetics 3(2). 75–86. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bauer, Robert S. 1979. Alveolarization in Cantonese: A case of lexical diffusion. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 7(1). 132–141.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1995. Syllable and word in Cantonese. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 6(4). 245–306.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bauer, Robert S. & Benedict, Paul K. 1997. Modern Cantonese phonology. New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beckman, Mary E. 1992. Evidence for speech rhythms across languages. In Tohkura, Yohichi & Vatikiotis-Bateson, Eric & Sagisaka, Yoshinori (eds.), Speech perception, production and linguistic structure, 457–463. Tokyo: IOS Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beckman, Mary E. & Edwards, Jan. 1987. The phonological domains of final lengthening. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 81(S1). S67–S67. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boersma, Paul & Weenink, David. 2018. Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (Version 6.0.37). ([URL]) (Accessed 2018-03-14.)
Cao, Jianfen. 2000. Rhythm of spoken Chinese: Linguistic and paralinguistic evidences. In Editorial Committee of ICSLP 2000 (ed.), Sixth International Conference on Spoken Language Processing (ICSLP 2000), vol. 21, 357–360. Beijing: ISCA Archive.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. Jiyu yufa xinxi de hanyu yunlv jiegou yuce [Prediction of prosodic organization based on grammatical information]. Zhongwen Xinxi Xuebao [Journal of Chinese Information Processing] 17(3). 41–46.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chao, Yuen Ren. 2006[1930]. A system of “tone-letters”. In Wu, Zongji & Chao, Xinna (eds.), Linguistic essays by Yuenren Chao, vol. 301, 98–103. Beijing: The Commercial Press. (First published in 1930.)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cheung, Hung-nin Samuel. 2002. 21 shiji de xianggang yueyu: Yige xin yuyin xitong de xingcheng [Cantonese of the 21st century: Formation of a new phonological system in the Hong Kong language]. Jinan Xuebao (Zhexue Shehui Kexue Ban) [Jinan Journal (Philosophy & Social Science Edition)] 24(2). 25–40.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cheung, Kwan-hin. 1986. The phonology of present-day Cantonese. London: University College London. (Doctoral dissertation.)
. 1994. Yueyu yuyin de yinchang danwei [The duration unit of Cantonese sounds], In Shan, Zhouyao (ed.), Diyijie Guoji Yuefangyan Yantaohui lunwenji [Procceedings of the First Yue Conference], 79–85. Hong Kong: Modern Education Research Society.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cheung, Kwan-hin & Zhang, Ling. 2010. Yueyu yinjie yanchang dui yunfu yunwei shichang de yinxiang [The effect of syllable lengthening: On the duration of syllable nucleus and coda in Cantonese]. In Cheung, Hung-nin Samuel & Chang, Song Hing (eds.), Diachronic change and language contact dialects in Southeast China (Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series 24), 145–161. Berkeley: Project on Linguistic Analysis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dauer, R. M. 1983. Stress-timing and syllable-timing reanalyzed. Journal of Phonetics 11(1). 51–62. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Chene, Brent & Anderson, Stephen R. 1979. Compensatory lengthening. Language 55(3). 505–535. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dellwo, Volker. 2006. Rhythm and speech rate: A variation coefficient for ∆C. In Karnowski, Pawel & Szigeti, Imre (eds.), Language and language-processing, 231–241. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gess, Randall. 1998. Compensatory lengthening and structure preservation revisited. Phonology 15(3). 353–366. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grabe, Esther & Low, Ee Ling. 2002. Durational variability in speech and the rhythm class hypothesis. In Gussenhoven, Carlos & Warner, Natasha (eds.), Laboratory phonology VII1, 515–546. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hashimoto, Oi-kan Yue. 1972. Phonology of Cantonese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hayes, Bruce. 1989. Compensatory lengthening in moraic phonology. Linguistic inquiry 20(2). 253–306.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jeng, Jing-Yi. 2005. Butong yanyu sudu, fayu danwei he fayu weizhi dui guoyu yinduan shichang de yingxiang [The influence of speaking rate, utterance unit and position on segmental duration of Mandarin], Nanda Xuebao (Renwen yu Shehui Lei) [Journal of National University of Tainan (Humanities and Social Sciences)] 39(1). 161–185.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2008. Butong yanyu sudu xia guoyu yunlü de jishi dengshixing [The timing isochrony of spoken Mandarin at different speaking rates] Zhonghua Xinli Xuekan [Chinese Journal of Psychology] 50(1). 1–19.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. Huayu yuju chansheng yu zhijue de jishi texing [The speech timing characteristics of Mandarin sentence production and perception]. Zhonghua Xinli Xuekan [Chinese Journal of Psychology] 53(3). 323–347.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kavitskaya, Darya. 2014. Compensatory lengthening: Phonetics, phonology, diachrony. New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kiparsky, Paul. 2011. Compensatory lengthening. In Cairns, Charles E. & Raimy, Eric (eds.), Handbook of the syllable, 31–69. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laver, John. 1994. Principles of phonetics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Light, Timothy. 1977. The Cantonese final: An exercise in indigenous analysis. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 5(1). 75–102.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lin, Hua & Wang, Qian. 2007. Mandarin rhythm: An acoustic study. Journal of Chinese Language and Computing 17(3). 127–140.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mariano, Paolo. 2011. Rhythm typology: Acoustic and perceptive studies. Torino: University of Turin. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Mok, Peggy Pik-Ki. 2008. On the syllable-timing of Cantonese and Beijing Mandarin. In Bao, Huaiqiao & Shen, Jiaxuan (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th Phonetics Conference of China (PCC 2008) and the International Symposium on Phonetic Frontiers (ISPF 2008), 148–154. Beijing: Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peng, Gang. 2006. Temporal and tonal aspects of Chinese syllables: A corpus-based comparative study of Mandarin and Cantonese. Journal of Chinese Linguisitcs 34(1). 134–154.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Perry, Conrad & Wong, Richard Kwok-Shing & Matthews, Stephen. 2009. Syllable timing and pausing: Evidence from Cantonese. Language and Speech 52(1). 29–53. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pike, Kenneth L. 1945. The intonation of American English. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ramus, Franck & Nespor, Marina & Mehler, Jacques. 1999. Correlates of linguistic rhythm in the speech signal. Cognition 73(3). 265–292. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Roach, Peter. 1982. On the distinction between stress-timed languages and syllable-timed languages. In Crystal, David (ed.), Linguistic controversies: Essays in linguistic theory and practice in honour of F.R. Palmer, 73–79. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shi, Feng & Mai, Yun. 2003. Guangzhouhua chang [a] he duan [ɐ] yuanyin de tingbian shiyan廣州話長[a]和短[ɐ]元音的聽辨實驗 [Perceptual test on long [a] and short[ɐ] in Cantonese]. Zhongguo Yuwen Yanjiu [Studies in Chinese Linguistics] 21. 50–59.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Song, Yidan. 2009. Nanjing fangyan zhong de rusheng housewei shiyan yanjiu [On experiment of entering tone of Nanjing dialect]. Nanjing Shifan Daxue Wenxueyuan Xuebao [Jounal of School of Chinese Language and Culture, Nanjing Normal University] 2009(2). 166–172.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong. 1993. The Jyutping scheme. ([URL]) (Accessed 2019-02-14.)
Wong, Puisan & Chan, Hoi-Yin. 2018. Acoustic characteristics of highly distinguishable Cantonese entering and non-entering tones. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 143(2). 765–779. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, Ling. 2010. Guangzhouhua changduan yuanyin de yuyin shiyan xin tan [Long and short vowels in Cantonese: A revisit with new experiments]. Fangyan [Dialect] 2010(2). 134–144.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2016. Intonation effects on Cantonese lexical tones in speaking and singing. Munich: LINCOM GmbH.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2017. Yueyu shengdiao yu jiangshi yingao [Hong Kong Cantonese lexical tones and declining intonation]. Yuyan Kexue [Linguistic Sciences] 16(2). 182–192.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhu, Xiaonong & Jiao, Lei & Yan, Zhicheng & Hong Ying. 2008. Rusheng yanhua santu [Three ways of Rusheng sound change]. Zhongguo Yuwen [Studies of the Chinese Language] 2008(4). 324–338.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue