Chaozhou dialect has been studied many times; however, most of the studies are not deep enough. Recent phonetic studies have shown that Chaozhou dialect to have creaky and creaky-falsetto voicing in the entering tone syllables (Zhu and et al. 2008, Zhu and Hong 2009). It confirmed that spectral tilt value were key in distinguishing between entering tone and level tone syllables, as well as low percentage of HNR in the entering tone syllables....[ Read more ]

Chaozhou dialect has been studied many times; however, most of the studies are not deep enough. Recent phonetic studies have shown that Chaozhou dialect to have creaky and creaky-falsetto voicing in the entering tone syllables (Zhu and et al. 2008, Zhu and Hong 2009). It confirmed that spectral tilt value were key in distinguishing between entering tone and level tone syllables, as well as low percentage of HNR in the entering tone syllables.

Acoustic cues for creaky voicing vary cross-linguistically, with some speakers emphasizing spectral tilt difference and other emphasizing differences in HNR, Jitter and Shimmer. What’s more, different cues may be emphasized by speakers in the same languages (Dart 1987). This study examines the prominence of spectral tilt, HNR, Jitter and Shimmer used by five speakers to produce the contrast, entering tone syllables and level tone syllables in Chaozhou dialect and how these cues vary cross speakers, coda, vowel and location. It examines the phonetic evidence for different phonation types and their variants and the timing properties of non-modal phonation throughout the syllables. Finally, it discusses the phonetic and phonological characteristics of non-modal phonation in Chaozhou dialect and relationship between non-modal phonation and laryngealization in entering tone syllables of Chinese.

Keywords: Chaozhou dialect, Entering tone, Phonation type, Creaky voice, Laryngealization.