普通话声调在耳语和正常发音时的语音对比分析

Objective: To examine and compare phonetic realization of Mandarin tones in whisper and in normal phonation, so as to identify cues to tonal contrasts in whisper at the absence of fundamental frequency. Methods: We extracted and measured pitch correlates of characters and words produced by two Mandarin speakers, and assessed their roles in tone perception. Results: Acoustic analysis showed that "pitch" duration and intensity were retained and enhanced in whisper. First formants of vowels were raised but formants at higher range were lowered. Tones in whisper were, however, perceptually unintelligible in simple contexts. Conclusion: Lack of fundamental frequency in whisper triggers a compensation mechanism for tonal contrasts. Even non-pitch-related correlates such as vowel formants are used in the mechanism. Modifications to the cues, however, are not sufficient for perception when only limited contexts are provided.