The effect of tonal context on second language learners' Mandarin tone production

This study investigates the effect of tonal context on L2 learners’ production of Mandarin tones. Ten English-speaking learners of Mandarin were asked to imitate native productions of disyllables encompassing all possible tone combinations. Their productions were evaluated by two native judges. The results show that the learners’ error patterns vary depending on the tonal context. Specifically, their T2T3 error is most common when followed by T1, while the T3T2 error is most frequently observed when preceded by T4. F0 measurements were conducted on the T2T1 and T4T3 sequences produced by the native talker and selected learners. The comparison reveals that the learners overly lower the onset and valley of their T2 when the following tone has a high onset, and raise T3 to a higher offset when the preceding tone ends in a low pitch. These findings suggest a dissimilatory effect of tonal context on L2 learners’ production.