Setting the tone: An ERP investigation of the influences of phonological similarity on spoken word recognition in Mandarin Chinese

► Used ERP to examine processing of tone in Mandarin spoken words. ► Explored roles of onsets and rimes and partial versus whole-syllable mismatches. ► Observed similar timing of access to tonal and phonemic information. ► Found evidence that syllable processing is similar in Mandarin and English. ► We discuss these findings with respect to current models of spoken word recognition.