The Prosody of Bisyllabic and Polysyllabic Words in Hong Kong Cantonese

This is a phonetic study of the prosody of bisyllabic and polysyllabic words in Hong Kong Cantonese. The values of the three prosodic properties, duration, F0, and intensity, of the words are determined by the type of tones on the component syllables of words as well as the position of the syllables in the words. The F0 characteristic of the citation tones is maintained, where they are realized on bisyllabic or polysyllabic words. With the same tone on the component syllables of words, the duration of the rime is noticeably longer in the final syllable than in the non-final. However, the F0 and intensity are lower for the final syllable of words. The duration of the syllable-initial consonant is longer in the initial syllable, if the consonant is an aspirate or fricative. However, the duration of the syllable-initial sonorant is shorter in the initial syllable. The duration variation of the unaspirated initial consonants of the component syllables of words is not significant.