In #Cantonese #tone merging studies, while existing research primarily examines monosyllables, how does #tonal coarticulation in disyllabic words - the more common speech form - contribute to tone merging and inform #sound change research? A new #LabPhon article analyzes monosyllabic and disyllabic data from merging and reference speakers, revealing that tonal coarticulation and merging interact dynamically, with carryover effects in extreme tonal contexts emerging as an important source of change. Read more at the #openaccess link below, for "The effects of contextual tonal variation on Cantonese tone merging” by Peggy Mok and Ren Xinran! (fb)

When a tone in Huaiyuan Chinese changes to sound like another, is it a perfect copy, or can listeners still hear a difference? A new #LabPhon investigation of #Huaiyuan #Chinese tone sandhi finds that changed tones remain acoustically distinct from their targets, yet listeners perceive one of these changes as a case of complete neutralization, showing that perceptual categories can override subtle acoustic differences. Read "The production and perception of Low Tone Alternations in Huaiyuan Chinese" by Jingfu Zhao, Hanbo Yan, and Yu-Fu Chien at the #openaccess link below! https://www.journal-labphon.org/article/id/16935/ #Mandarin #tonesandhi #neutralization #speechperception #toneproduction (fb)