The Perception of Tones with Missing Fundamental Frequencies in Beginning and Advanced Students of Mandarin Chinese
- Elizabeth Anderson, University of Edinburgh
- Old College Lorimer Room, University of Edinburgh
This study was designed to investigate whether the acquisition of the tone language Mandarin
Chinese has any affect on the perception of tones with missing fundamental frequencies.
Individuals perceive either the missing fundamental frequency or the lowest present partial of an
MF tone and usually respond to one or the other consistently, as determined using a forced-choice
pitch direction task with MF tones. This study utilized this paradigm and tested beginning and
advanced learners of Mandarin Chinese at the university level, accounting for musical experience
and right-handedness, both of which have been shown to increase fundamental listening. Though
no evidence was found in this study to support the influence of subject variables on MF tone
perception, there is evidence that stimulus variables such as the frequency of the tone and
harmonic number of the partials do influence responses in the task.
Chinese has any affect on the perception of tones with missing fundamental frequencies.
Individuals perceive either the missing fundamental frequency or the lowest present partial of an
MF tone and usually respond to one or the other consistently, as determined using a forced-choice
pitch direction task with MF tones. This study utilized this paradigm and tested beginning and
advanced learners of Mandarin Chinese at the university level, accounting for musical experience
and right-handedness, both of which have been shown to increase fundamental listening. Though
no evidence was found in this study to support the influence of subject variables on MF tone
perception, there is evidence that stimulus variables such as the frequency of the tone and
harmonic number of the partials do influence responses in the task.