The effect of coarticulation in disyllabic sequences in Chinese

Abstract

In this study, the Vowel-to-Vowel (V-to-V) coarticulatory effect in the Vowel-Consonant-Vowel (VCV) sequences is investigated. The stimuli are in the form of C₁V₁.C₂V₂, which is designed for V₁ to affect V₂. The subjects are twelve native speakers of standard Chinese, and the F₂ onset value, as well as the F₂ delta value, is analyzed. Results show that, due to long temporal separation between vowels for the aspirated stops relative to the unaspirated ones, the effect of aspiration is obvious, and in the contexts of aspirated stops, the effect of place of articulation is restrained.