14th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS-14) San Francisco, CA, USA August 1-7, 1999

A Pitch Target Approximation Model for F₀ Contours in Mandarin

Ching X. Xu (1), Yi Xu (1), Li-Shi Luo (2)

(1) Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
(2) NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA

In this paper we report a quantitative model for generating F₀ contours in Mandarin Chinese. The model assumes that a) the basic units underlying Mandarin tones are pitch targets that are either static or dynamic, b) each pitch target is assigned to and implemented in synchrony with a syllable, and c) throughout the duration of a syllable, the pitch target is implemented continuously and asymptotically. The model expresses the F₀ curve in each syllable as an exponential asymptote that approximates an underlying pitch target. Parameters in the model specify a) the properties of the pitch target, including its height and direction of movement, b) the rate at which the target is approximated, and c) how smoothly two adjacent tones are joined at the syllable boundary. Preliminary effort to fit the model to existing F₀ data has yielded encouraging results.

Full Paper

Bibliographic reference.  Xu, Ching X. / Xu, Yi / Luo, Li-Shi (1999): "A pitch target approximation model for F₀ contours in Mandarin", In ICPhS-14, 2359-2362.