Acoustic characteristics of three-year-olds' correct and incorrect monosyllabic Mandarin lexical tone productions

This study aimed to provide insights into children's development of lexical tone production by combining both perceptual and acoustic analyses. Duration and fundamental frequency analyses were performed on the monosyllabic Mandarin lexical tones produced by the 13 three-year-old children and four female adults reported in Wong, Schwartz, and Jenkins (2005). Seven acoustic parameters that strongly associated with the tonal judgments of 10 Mandarin-speaking judges were identified. Qualitative differences of the seven parameters in adult correct, child correct, and child incorrect tone productions were compared and interpreted with reference to the perception data. The results confirmed that three-year-old children do not produce adult-like tones in isolated monosyllabic words. Even children's tones that are correctly categorized by adult listeners are phonetically different than adults' tones. The four tones from the most to the least adult-like are Tone 4 (Falling), Tone 1 (High Level), Tone 2 (Rising), and Tone 3 (Falling–Rising), perhaps corresponding to the complexity of speech motor control for producing these tones. Children demonstrate more difficulties producing low fundamental frequencies than high fundamental frequencies. The findings support the position that tone acquisition is a protracted process, which may be affected by production complexities.

► Three-year-old children have not mastered monosyllabic Mandarin tone production. ► Even children's tones correctly perceived by adults are phonetically different. ► Children's tones from the most to the least adult-like are T4, T1, T2, and T3. ► Children have more difficulty producing very low F0 than high F0. ► Children's Mandarin tone production may be limited by physiological constraints.