The prosodic effect on the temporal realization of segments in Chinese

In this study the prosodic effect on the temporal realization of segments in Chinese is analyzed. The test segments are in the form of `C<sub>1</sub>V<sub>1</sub>#C<sub>2</sub>V<sub>2</sub>´, with `#´ varied to be intonational phrase boundary and intonational phrase medial position, and C₂ varied to be labial, alveolar and velar stop. The subjects are fourteen native speakers of standard Chinese. The VOT of the consonants and the durations of the vowels are analyzed. Results show that the effect of prosody on the duration of the preceding vowel is great, and there is also an effect of place of articulation of the second consonant on the duration of the first vowel, the VOT of the second consonant and the duration of the second vowel.