The effect of focus on trisyllabic syllable duration in Mandarin

In this study, the temporal pattern of trisyllabic sequences in Mandarin are investigated, in particular the interaction between the temporal pattern and the focal effort. There are neutral tone syllables in Mandarin, and neutral tone syllables are metrically weak (W), while non-neutral tone syllables are metrically strong (S). Four types of trisyllabic sequences are investigated: those with no neutral tone syllables (SSS), those with one neutral tone at the final position (SSW), those with one neutral tone at the second syllable (SWS), and those with the second and the final syllables as neutral tones (SWW). It is found that if there is neutral tone syllable in a sequence, the last non-neutral tone syllable is the longest. Under a focused condition, all the syllables in the trisyllabic sequences lengthen. Strong syllables lengthen more than weak syllables, and among strong syllables, later syllable lengthens more than earlier syllables.