试论升调和降调感知的不平衡性——以济南话和香港话为例

The Asymmetry in Perceiving the Chinese Rising and Falling Contour Tones: Based on Data of Ji'nan Dialect and Cantonese in Hong Kong

为探讨声调感知的特性及其与物理音高感知的关联,本文选取济南话两个降调和香港话两个升调进行了类别感知实验,发现两个降调之间与两个升调之间的音位界限是有差异的。这反映了汉语升调和降调感知的不平衡性,同时证明在感知物理音高时的遮蔽效应也同样适用于对声调的感知。对汉语声调感知机制及一些感知特性的认识有助于我们更客观地把握汉语声调一些共时变化现象与历时音变规律的实质。

Acoustically, tones are the variation of physical pitch. Phonologically, however, tones behave like segmental sounds in Chinese. The investigation of the perceptual boundaries between two falling finds the asymmetry also prove that the tones in Ji＇nan dialect and two rising tones in Cantonese in Hong Kong in perceiving Chinese rising and falling contour tones. The experiments Masking Effect found in perceiving physical pitches also applies to the perception of phonological tones. The awareness of the tonal perceptual mechanism and the properties will benefit us in investigating some synchronic phenomena of tonal variations and historical rules of tone change.