上声的参照实现与调形认定

The “Reference Realization” of Tone 3 and the Identification of Tone Contour Realization

摘要: 声调格局显示“低”是普通话上声唯一的区别特征，调形不是适用的区别维度，上声是以多种变体实现的纯低调。“低”的语音学特性决定了它的实现需要借助“高”的参照，本文将之定义为“参照实现”。文章分析了有后界、无后界的上声实现方式，归纳出参照模式下上声的各种条件变体。并从后位参照的角度解析了连上变调的原理。文章认为，发音是一个连续动程，上声调形的认定应当包括实现区别特征的必然方式，而不仅仅是单一的、被割裂的数值点。而声调实现的单位不仅局限于音节內部，还存在跨音节的实现模式。

Abstract: Instead of tone contour, the falling tone (“Low”) is the only distinctive phonetic feature of the tone 3 in terms of the tone pattern in Mandarin. Tone 3 is merely a falling tone articulated through nu-merous variations. The phonetic features of the falling tone implies that it can only be articulated with reference to those of the rising tone, which is defined as “reference realization” in this paper. This paper analyzes the realizations of those tone 3 which are either followed by rear boundary or not and summarizes a number of variants of the tone 3 and explains the principle of “tone sandhi” under the “reference” pattern. In conclusion, this paper suggests that pronunciation is a continuous process; and the identification of the contour of the tone 3 should necessarily include a distinctive phonetic feature but not just a single, separated data point. Moreover, the realization of a tone should not be limited to internal syllables but a cross-syllable pattern as well.