Downstep In High-Low Sequences In Chinese

In this study, based on the analysis of the pitch of sequences with2to7high (H) and low (L)tones, the downstep mechanism in Chinese tone production is analyzed. It is found that downstepexists in HL sequences of different lengths, and downstep exists for high (H) tones and low (L)tones, and high tones always drop to a lower scale compared to the forgoing ones. The degree ofthe first downstep is always larger than the following ones. But there are no differences in thedegrees of downsteps for the later HL sequences, and the speaker does not only raise the initial Htone when there are more downsteps, but also depress the final H one. However, it is found thatfor sentences with3or more than3HL sequences, the low point of the final L tone do notdescend as the number of downsteps increases. The Soft-landing Model is useful in Chinesepitch prediction.