Contrastive research of accent and tone languages based on dynamics of suprasegmentals

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26284057
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Principal Investigator: SATO Hirokazu 東京外国語大学, アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所, 研究員 (50401550)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 益子 幸江 東京外国語大学, 大学院総合国際学研究院, 教授 (00212209) ; 峰岸 真琴 東京外国語大学, アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所, 教授 (20183965) ; 遠藤 光暁 青山学院大学, 経済学部, 教授 (30176804) ; 鈴木 玲子 東京外国語大学, 大学院総合国際学研究院, 教授 (40282777) ; 降幡 正志 東京外国語大学, 大学院総合国際学研究院, 准教授 (40323729) ; 岡野 賢二 東京外国語大学, 大学院総合国際学研究院, 准教授 (60376829) ; 春日 淳 神田外語大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (80364925)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 超分節素 / アクセント / 声調 / ピッチ周波数

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Major results in researches of supra-segmentals and their dynamics in languages of East Asia and Southeast Asia are as follows. In Japanese, significant differences in accent perception strategy between the initial accent type and other accent types were clarified through accent perception experiments based on synthetic pitch frequency patterns. Results of analyses of tone concatenations in Thai and Lao show that dynamic tone system of each language is structural one with distinctive oppositions. In Chinese, tone analyses of Kunming, Chongqing and Hmong dialects were performed, and an aspect of big tone change spanning seven decades in Shandong dialect was compiled. Tone sequences including atonic syllable in Burmese were analyzed, and dynamic features of tones observed on pitch contours were shown. In Sundanese, relationship between topic markers and intonational contours was examined.

Free Research Field

音声情報処理、音声学