Tones in whispered Cantonese

Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-30)."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2010."Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2010.Acoustic analysis and perceptual experiments were carried out to investigate the acoustical characteristics of tones in whispered Cantonese and to identify possible perceptual cues for tone identification. The isolated vowel /a/ embedded in a framing sentence produced by 20 (10 male and 10 female) native Cantonese speakers using modal and whispered phonation was recorded. Formant frequencies, duration and intensity of the vowels were measured from the samples using signal analysis software. During tone identification tasks, the speech samples were presented to 20 listeners who were native Cantonese speakers. The listeners were instructed to identify the tone of the target vowels in the presented sentences, based on which percent correct identification of tones was calculated. Results of the study reveal the role of second formant, duration, average intensity and intensity contours in perception of Cantonese whispered tones. Speaker’s maneuvers in production of whispered tones were also discussed.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Interaction between lexical tone and labial movement in Cantonese bilabial plosive production

The present study investigated the possible laryngeal-articulatory interaction by examining the direct kinematic data of Cantonese bilabial plosive produced at different lexical tones. Aspirated and unaspirated bilabial plosives /ph/ and /p/ produced at six lexical tones (T1 -T6) by three native adult male speakers of Cantonese were studied to reveal the effect of tone on articulatory gestures. By using electromagnetic articulography (EMA), movement of the jaw, upper lip and lower lip was measured. The kinematic data revealed that high level tone (T1) was associate with a considerably faster lip movement than low level tone (T6) in terms of lip opening velocity (LOV) and time to peak velocity of lip opening (TPV). This finding was in line with results previously reported on Mandarin (Hoole & Hu, 2004). The high subglottal pressure required by high level tone production can be used to explain the faster lip movement during bilabial separation. However, unaspirated plosives of a lower intraoral pressure exhibited faster lip movements (as indicated by LOV, lip peak velocity and TPV values) during lip opening than aspirated plosives. Further investigations in aerodynamics and laryngeal activities are suggested in order to draw a more concrete conclusion for aspiration effect.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

The perception of intonation questions and statements in Cantonese

In tone languages there are potential conflicts in the perception of lexical tone and intonation, as both depend mainly on the differences in fundamental frequency (F0) patterns. The present study investigated the acoustic cues associated with the perception of sentences as questions or statements in Cantonese, as a function of the lexical tone in sentence final position. Cantonese listeners performed intonation identification tasks involving complete sentences, isolated final syllables, and sentences without the final syllable (carriers). Sensitivity (d′ scores) were similar for complete sentences and final syllables but were significantly lower for carriers. Sensitivity was also affected by tone identity. These findings show that the perception of questions and statements relies primarily on the F0 characteristics of the final syllables (local F0 cues). A measure of response bias (c) provided evidence for a general bias toward the perception of statements. Logistic regression analyses showed that utterances were accurately classified as questions or statements by using average F0 and F0 interval. Average F0 of carriers (global F0 cue) was also found to be a reliable secondary cue. These findings suggest that the use of F0 cues for the perception of intonation question in tonal languages is likely to be language-specific. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America.published_or_final_versio

A Hapa Family in Chekhov\u27s Three Sisters

It is an act of courage or foolhardiness to produce theatre in the heart of the film world, depending on your point of view and how large the houses turn out to be. In the fall of 2005, I produced Three Sisters in a 60-seat theatre in Burbank, California (home of Disney and Warner Bros.). The odds were stacked even higher against the show\u27s success when I stipulated that the main characters, the upper-class and highly educated Russian Prozorov siblings, had to be played by hapa actors. This essay describes my attempt to interpret the play through a multi-ethnic lens while working with a monoracial director, and the challenges this posed, both on the stage and off