Suprasegmental and segmental timing models in Mandarin Chinese and American English

Area of Science:

• Phonetics
• Linguistics
• Speech Science

Background:

• The concept of suprasegmental timing relies on segmental independence and suprasegmental mediation.
• These assumptions are central to isochrony and syllable timing hypotheses in phonology.
• Previous models often assume segments adjust to fit suprasegmental units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To formalize and empirically test the assumptions of segmental independence and suprasegmental mediation.
• To investigate the validity of these assumptions in American English and Mandarin Chinese.
• To determine the role of suprasegmental units in speech timing.

Main Methods:

• Used meaningful, nonrepetitive sentences in American English and Mandarin Chinese.
• Measured syllable duration in relation to segmental composition to test segmental independence.
• Analyzed the influence of prosodic factors (phrasal position, stress, tone) on segment durations within syllables to test suprasegmental mediation.

Main Results:

• Segmental composition significantly affects syllable duration, contradicting segmental independence.
• Prosodic factors exert systematic, differing influences on specific locations within syllables, challenging suprasegmental mediation.
• Found interactions between consonantal identity, syllable position, and stress affecting segment duration.

Conclusions:

• The tested assumptions of segmental independence and suprasegmental mediation are not supported by the data.
• Suprasegmental units play a role in phonology but the concept of suprasegmental timing as a predictive model is questionable.
• Segmental durations are not simply compressed or elongated to fit a predetermined syllabic time.