LOCAL AND GLOBAL PITCH CONTOURS IN INTONATION

本研究的目的是了解在音高产生中潜在的音高目标和发音限制之间的关系，以及语调的局部和整体方面之间的关系。我们将在中英两种语言中研究形成表面F0轮廓的三个重要因素：(A)潜在局部基音目标的性质，(B)实现基音目标的发音限制，以及(C)全局语调模式和局部基音目标之间的相互作用。该项目的第一部分将调查潜在的音调目标和发音限制如何共同决定局部音调轮廓的形状和对齐。我们将考察时间压力对普通话中F0轮廓形状和排列的影响。我们还将通过考察以普通话、上海话和英语为母语的人在相反方向反复改变音高的速度，来调查发音限制的程度。第二部分将考察英语肯定句和疑问句中与焦点相关的局部F0轮廓。我们将考察英语中与焦点突显相关的音调目标，以确定它们的潜在性质，以及它们是如何在发音限制下实现的。第三部分将把研究扩展到全球语调模式。我们将试图确定是否存在全球语调模式，其完整性取决于所有成分的存在，以及这些成分如何与局部音调轮廓相互作用。我们将使用一个新设计的范式来研究英语和普通话中的一些全球语调模式。该范式将允许我们在实验室条件下归纳出相对复杂的语调模式，同时保持严格的实验控制。这个项目所寻求的对语调理解的改进可能会对语音自动合成和识别、语音和语言病理学以及第二语言教学等领域有所裨益。

The goal of this research is to understand the relation between underlying pitch targets and the articulatory constraints in pitch production, and the relation between local and global aspects of intonation. We will investigate in both Chinese and English three factors important for forming surface F0 contours: (a) the nature of underlying local pitch targets, (b) the articulatory constraints under which pitch targets are implemented, and (c) the interaction between global intonation patterns and local pitch targets. Part 1 of the project will investigate how underlying pitch targets and articulatory constraints jointly determine the shape and alignment of local pitch contours. We will examine the effect of time pressure on the shape and alignment of F0 contours in Mandarin. We will also investigate the magnitude of articulatory constraints by examining how fast native speakers of Mandarin, Shanghai and English can change their pitch repeatedly in opposite directions. Part 2 will investigate local F0 contours related to focus in English affirmative and interrogatory sentences. We will examine the pitch targets associated with focal prominence in English to determine their underlying properties and how they are realized under articulatory constraints. Part 3 will extend the investigation into global intonation patterns. We will try to determine whether there exist global intonation patterns whose integrity is dependent on the presence of all their constituents, and how these constituents interact with local pitch contours. We will study a number of global intonation patterns in both English and Mandarin using a newly devised paradigm. The paradigm will allow us to induce relatively complicated intonation patterns under laboratory conditions while maintaining rigorous experimental control. The improved understanding of intonation that this project seeks to achieve may benefit the areas of automatic speech synthesis and recognition, speech and language pathology, and second language teaching.