Yi Tone Acoustic Research

As a language with tones, the Yi language is of main characters of tones which function as distinguishing words' meanings and grammar meanings. Experiment acoustics research of Yi language tones helps further understand Yi tones' characters, supplies references to Yi language teachings and research and is of significance to enrich and develop common linguistics. There are four tones that called high level tone and sub-high level tone and mid-level tone and low falling tone in Liangshan Yi language, which make up the total research content of this thesis. From the usage rate, the mid-level tone is the highest one. The low falling tone is higher. The high level tone is lower. The sub-high level tone is the lowest one. Different individuals have different acoustics expression in experiment acoustics. Because of limited materials This thesis only researches individual tones. The phonetic materials are offered by Professor Huaiqiao Bao from Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology of China Social Science Academy. The pronunciation vocabularies are written by Professor Suhua Hu from Dept. of Ethnic Languages and Literatures of Central University for the Nationalities. The pronunciations are recorded from Wuni wuqie who works in Southwest University for the Nationalities. Based on some scholars' studies of tones acoustics, by the methods of experimental phonetics, statistics, summarization, depiction and analysis, the thesis carries out a research into the time and value of recorded tones materials to embody the acoustics characters of Yi language.The thesis is divided four chapters plus an introduction. The contents are as follows:Introduction: It gives a brief introduction to the purport of the thesis title and reviews the state of Yi language tone studies and the principles, methods and steps of Yi language tones acoustic research.Chapter one: Through the observation of the time and tone value of 33 tones in odd-syllable and disyllable and tri-syllable and multi-syllable, it is fund that 33 tones have different tone value and time under different conditions and the 33 tone line is nearly a beeline which it is not standard level tone in phonogram. The degree of vowel tightness rarely affects the time of tone that the time of tone on head is longer than tone on the end. There are four models of tone lines that are arch models, concave models, level models and fall models. The time of 33 tone is different. There are three different cases on the tone value. Checked the time and tone value of 33-tone in statement, imperative sentence, question and exclamatory sentences, the time of 33-tone have been changed by positions, part of speech, word structure and speed in whole essay. The head tone value is generally bigger than the end. The tone lines are divided in some word groups.Chapter two: It has tested the time and tone value of 55-tone in odd-syllable, disyllable, tri-syllable and multi-syllable. The time of 55-tone becomes shorter and shorter from odd syllable to whole essay; the tone values of 55-tone are different. There are four models of tone line in arch models, concave models, level models and fall models.Chapter three: It has tested the time and tone value of 31-tone in odd-syllable, disyllable, tri-syllable and multi-syllable. It contains 237 odd syllable words, 146 disyllable words, 45 tri-syllable or four-syllable words and 102 words in one essay. The time of 31 tone becomes shorter and shorter from odd syllable to whole essay; the tone value of 31 tone becomes smaller and smaller. Sometimes it is risen tone or level tone model.Chapter four: As sub-high tone is a tone that temporarily changes, the singles have no fixed meanings. Mainly tested the sub-high tone from disyllable and tri-four-syllable and whole essay, the tone lines are level models, fall models and rise models.