Pilot Study In Hong Kong Cantonese

Based on the Theory of Intonation Patterns, deep and thorough research was conducted on the sound materials (including three sentence types and five moods, total540samples) of Hong Kong Cantonese intonation, as spoken by four native speakers. This was done through calculating the acoustics parameter pitch and duration of the final syllable, using the undulating scale and lengthening rate. The different intonation hierarchies of Hong Kong Cantonese were investigated in the paper according to the view on intonational hierarchy put forward by Shi Feng (2012). This research is based on the Intonation Patterns, using comparisions of intonational hierarchy to conduct. It included:the declarative sentence (natural focused sentence), which was the basic pattern; unmarked interrogative sentence; and focused sentence——both of which were varied patterns. These three types of sentences (declarative, unmarked interrogative and focused) were used for investigation and analyze, after that were compared with corresponding intonations of sentence patterns in Standard Mandarin. The comparative analysis between Standard Mandarin and Hong Kong Cantonese revealed their similarities and differences in universal intonation traits.The following new ideas were brought forth in the paper:a) In the declarative sentence, the final syllable was the most important carrier of the declarative mood. Because of the declination and down step, the whole sentence showed the pitch dropping from the beginning to the end. The final syllable represented the mood and prosodic rhythm by the boundary tone lowering and range expansion. The data suggested that the ranges of sentence, phase group, and syllable in Standard Mandarin were all wider than those of Hong Kong Cantonese. The Maximum values of both ranges were all at final phrasal and final syllable of the last character.b) Average lengthening rates of declarative sentences composed by Shusheng decreased in the following order:final phrasal group> initial phrasal group> middle phrasal group (1.30>1.06>1.00). Compared with the average lengthening rate, the lengthening rates of the initial and final phrasal groups increased by6%and30%, respectively. The lengthening rates of middle phrasal group did not increase. Average lengthening rates of male and female subjects was as follows: final phrasal group> initial phrasal group> middle phrasal group. Male subjects’ lengthening rates of the final and initial phrasal groups were24%and6%above the overall average lengthening rate. By comparison, female subjects’lengthening rates increased by36%and6%above the average. Neither did lengthening rates of middle phrasal group increase. The intonations of Hong Kong Cantonese were characterized by rising pitch and range expansion of the final syllable of final phrasal group, and duration of the final syllable.c) The unmarked interrogative sentence expressed its interrogative mood by the rising pitch, range expansion, and duration of the final syllable. This echoed the viewpoint raised by Yuen Ren Chao, that the rising ending had no effect on the whole sentence intonation pattern, but only on the voiced part of the last syllable. The pitch and the contour of the last syllable would be adjusted by the interrogative intonation. If it were a rising tone, the former part would overlap with the intonation, and the latter part would rise with the higher gradient. The pitch rising did not begin from the final syllable, but from the8th and9th syllables. It corresponded to the regularity of physiology. Moreover, the rising extent of the interrogative intonation varied with the different tones. The pitch of male subjects’final syllable (as composed by Shusheng) increased by43%relative to the adjacent syllable on the left, and for female subjects increased by49.5%. The low tone of the final syllable increased much more than the high tone.The duration of the final syllable was one of the important features of interrogative sentences. As for the6final syllables of Shusheng’s sentences, the lengthening rates ranged from1.39to1.69, making them longer than the average lengthening rate. The lengthening rate of final syllable of Shusheng’s sentences extended by0.54over those adjoined syllables on the left. The absolute duration of the final syllable of the interrogative sentence extended to132ms, which was longer than that of the corresponded declarative sentences of57ms. d) By comparing the natural focused sentence (declarative) with focused sentences with initial, middle and final focuses, of Hong Kong Cantonese and Standard Mandarin, several discoveries were made. In Hong Kong Cantonese, the order of the pitch range of the four kinds of focused sentences was:final focused sentence> initial focused sentence> natural focused sentence> middle focused sentence (84>75>71>66). In Standard Mandarin, the order of the pitch range of the four kinds of focused sentences was:initial focused sentence> middle focused sentence> final focused sentence> natural focused sentence (94>89>77>61). In comparing Standard Mandarin with Hong Kong Cantonese, there were two main differences:(1) For Standard Mandarin, the initial focus was the widest, and that of the natural focus was the narrowest; but for Hong Kong Cantonese, the final focus was the widest, and the middle focus was the narrowest. The sentence ranges of the natural focus, and final focus in Hong Kong Cantonese were both wider than those in Standard Mandarin.(2) In Standard Mandarin, the ranges of the initial focus, and middle focus were the widest, and the pitch after the focus dropped suddenly, so the range after the focus compressed significantly. This feature was the result of contact with Altai language family, including the Manchu language in Mongolia. This phenomenon is called PFD (post-focus depression) and could be embodied in different language types, though it didn’t exist in Taiwanese Mandarin, the Min dialect, or other dialects and languages.The comparison of lengthening rates in natural focus, initial focus, middle focus, and final focus between Standard Mandarin and Hong Kong Cantonese revealed a pattern. In both dialects, the order of the four kinds of focused sentence was the same: final focus>initial focus>middle focus> natural focus, proving that they have the same prosodic pattern.