Acoustic and perceptual evidence of complete neutralization of word-final tonal specification in Japanese

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Issue Date
2002-05-31Author
Maniwa, Kazumi
Publisher
University of Kansas
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
M.A.
Discipline
Linguistics
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This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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This study investigates the extent to which Japanese lexical pitch-accent distinction is neutralized in word-final position. Native speakers of Tokyo Japanese produced minimal word pairs differing in final accent status. Words were produced both in isolation and in a sentential context, where neutralization would not be expected due to following tonal specification. Examination of pitch patterns on relevant moras revealed a clear distinction between accent-opposed pairs produced in context but no such difference between items produced in isolation. Both the words produced in isolation and the words excised from sentential contexts were then presented to Japanese listeners in a lexical identification task. Participants could clearly distinguish items extracted from sentences but identified words uttered in isolation at chance level. These results suggest that phonological neutralization of final pitch accent is complete, showing no effects of underlying specification in either production or perception.
Description
M.A. University of Kansas, Linguistics 2002
Collections
- Linguistics Dissertations and Theses [95]
- Theses [3901]
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