Two variables: pitch accent and boundary tone in Chinese intonation have been found by acoustical analysis and listening test of echo questions in read speech and yes-no questions in spontaneous speech. Identification test is adopted to verify the acoustic manifestations of boundary tone, and to find out that the register of the ending-point (or the slope) of the F_0 curve in boundary tone plays a more important role than the register of its starting-point in differentiating between question and statement and the identification function about question and statement is not categorical, but continuous. It is advocated that features of boundary tone is "high " and "low". Pitch (F0) patterns of boundary tone in Standard Chinese is given. Whether tone-1, tone-2, tone-3, or tone-4, pitch pattern in the boundary tone with question keeps the citation form,. It is single-directionally and hierarchically that intonation acts upon on tones. In the pitch space of five-point values, intonation is represented mainly by register and range of the F0 curve, but tone is represented by its F0 contour.
展开▼