Tone sandhi and tonal coarticulation in Fuzhou Min

This study examines the completeness of Fuzhou tonal neutralisation and its interaction with tonal coarticulation. In Fuzhou, Tone 44, 242 and 53 are allegedly neutralised into Tone 44 preceding Tone 53. Acoustic data, analysed with Linear Mixed Modelling, show no significant difference in pitch height between neutralised tones, suggesting complete neutralisation in production. A forcedchoice identification test reveals that Fuzhou speakers are unable to distinguish these neutralised tones perceptually. Further acoustic data show how the output of categorical tone sandhi may be modified by tonal coarticulation, with dissimilatory effects superimposed on the sandhi tone.