The Effect of Min Proficiency on the Realization of Tones and Foci in Taiwan Mandarin-Min Bilinguals

• Main Authors: E-Chin Wu, 吳怡臻
• Other Authors: Janice Fon
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/06080477585436850539

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 語言學研究所 === 97 === This study investigated how Min proficiency influenced the realization of tones and foci in Taiwan Mandarin-Min simultaneous bilinguals. The tones encompassed included the high-level tone, the mid-dipping tone, the low tone, and the high-falling tone. Forty native Mandarin-Min simultaneous bilinguals, differing in levels of Min proficiency and balanced in gender, were recruited to read target syllables in isolation or embedded in carrier sentences at the sentence-initial, -medial, and -final positions. Comparisons of the Mandarin tones and foci produced by the subject groups differing in levels of Min proficiency showed that those less proficient in Min, referred to as the monolinguals in the present study, produced higher F0 values for their Mandarin tones and foci compared with those more proficient, referred to as the bilinguals in the present study. Yet, the effect of Min proficiency on the production of Mandarin tones by the bilinguals was not homogenous across genders. In particular, the males were more influenced by Min in their production of Mandarin tones compared with the females. Comparisons of the Mandarin and Min tones and foci produced by the proficient Min bilinguals showed that males produced higher Min compared with Mandarin, while females showed an opposite tendency. The diverse tendencies observed between the male and female bilinguals were explainable by the bilinguals’ language preference. Specifically, the more preferred language was given unique status by the allocation of higher F0 values to it. While language preference determined the relative F0 heights used for Mandarin and Min, Min proficiency and social expectations on genders’ behaviors gave clues to one’s language preferences. In terms of Min proficiency, the more proficient bilinguals were in Min, the more likely they would prefer the use of Min. In terms of social expectations on genders’ behaviors, females were expected to prefer the use of Mandarin whereas males were expected prefer the use Min.