An Experimental Phonetic Study On The Citation Tones Of The New Dialects In The Shandong Section Of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal

A detailed study on the pronunciation of citation tones of New Dialects in the Grand Canal Basin of Shandong Province was made with the research method of experimental phonetics.Based on the experimental data and combined with the existing relevant research literature and materials,the characteristics of the citation tones of the New Dialects in Shandong section of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are described and summarized.The synchronic and diachronic analyses are combined to find out the common characteristics and distinctive features between the New Dialects and Old Dialects,Standard Chinese to explore the factors influencing the evolution of dialect.Several feasible suggestions for language teaching in the dialectal area are also put forward in this thesis.From the perspective of dialect geography,a comprehensive study of the tonal properties and internal similarities and differences of the New Dialects in the Grand Canal Basin of Shandong Province was made.With the help of experimental phonetic method,we can make clear the specific representation of the New Dialects from the aspects of tone contour and tone value.Then it makes a detailed case study of the specific tone types by selecting some dialect points.This paper is to explore the following three questions: 1)Acoustically,what are the characteristics of the citation tones of New Dialects in the Shandong section of Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal? Is there strong internal consistency in this area? 2)What are the similarities and differences between the New and Old Dialects,and between the New Dialects and the Standard Chinese in the citation tone types and tone values? 3)What are the possible reasons for the variation in citation tones of New Dialects and what are the possible future changing tendency of these citation tones in these dialectal regions?The dialect sounds of this study are taken from 64 freshmen from 24 different counties in the Grand Canal Basin of Shandong Province.According to the division of Shandong dialect areas by Qian et al.(1985),all the subjects were from Xiqi Region and Xilu Region.Two or four informants aged 18-20 were randomly selected from each county,with a balanced ratio of men and women.The specific contents of this study are the 40 dialect characters of each speaker,and 10 common dialect characters for each tone.After speech recording,acoustic data are extracted and analyzed statistically.We use computer speech analysis softwarePraat4.6 to label and segment citation tonal samples.By analyzing the waveform and spectrogram of the recorded samples and combining with the sense of listening,the tone segment is determined and annotated on the annotation tier.After annotation,we extract the fundamental frequency data with a specific script in Praat4.6,and then use the SPSS20.00 data statistics software to obtain the ten-point fundamental frequency mean value.After that we get the five-degree values which are normalized in Praat4.6 with another specific script.Finally,the obtained data is graphed and analyzed in EXCEL2007.The main findings of this study are as follows: 1)The citation tones of New Dialects have strong internal consistency and obvious regional distribution characteristics.According to the difference of tone patterns,New Dialects can be divided into Weishan-Zaozhuang type and Tengzhou-Xiajin type.The tone patterns of Weishan-Zaozhuang type are low-falling T1,level T2,rising T3 and high-falling T4.The characteristics of tone patterns of Tengzhou-Xiajin type can be summarized as: falling-rising or rising T1,high falling T2,flat T3,low falling or falling-rising T4.2)Compared with the Old Dialects,the tone patterns and tone values of the New Dialects have changed in different degrees.Most of the Old Dialects in Shandong Province have three tone types,concave tone,flat tone and falling tone,while the New Dialects mainly have three tone types,rising tone,falling tone and level tone.3)Compared with Standard Chinese,the Old Shandong Dialects have less rising tones.However,in this study we found that the New Dialects have more rising tones than the Old Dialects,and some of the tones begin to close to the tones of Standard Chinese,which is mainly caused by the contact between dialects and Standard Chinese.This study makes an experimental phonetic analysis of New Dialects in the Grand Canal Basin of Shandong Province,which provides more objective data to describe the features of tones than the traditional research method depending on the ears and handwriting.According to the experimental data,New Dialects in Grand Canal Basin of Shandong Province are classified into two types,and a case study of different tone types is conducted,which is conducive to better understand the New Dialects.The research results enrich the research materials of New Dialects in Shandong Province.