Perception and Production of Tone Sandhi in Jino: An Acoustic Study

Abstract

This study explores the perception and production of tone sandhi in Jino, a tonal language spoken in southwestern China, through an acoustic lens. Tone sandhi, the phenomenon where tones undergo changes based on their phonological context, is an integral feature of many tonal languages. Jino, with its rich tonal system, exhibits complex tone sandhi patterns that play a crucial role in both the lexical and syntactic structure of the language. This paper investigates how Jino speakers produce and perceive tone sandhi in various contexts, utilizing both acoustic measurements and perceptual experiments. Data were collected from native Jino speakers in natural speech conditions, and acoustic analysis was performed using Praat software to measure key features such as pitch contours, duration, and intensity. This study offers new insights into the interplay between perception and production in tonal languages, contributing to the broader understanding of tone sandhi and its phonetic and cognitive mechanisms.