Tone question

As a tone-deaf 'Murkin, I have some questions on tone languages,
especially Mandarin.

First, is there still phrasal intonation, as we have in English,
providing a sort of overall tone arc limiting the range within which
the individual tones operate?

Second, do linguistically-untrained/naive native speakers of toned
languages recognize the relationship between differently-toned
versions of the "same" vowel?  That is, does a Mandarin speaker, even
before encountering Pinyin spelling, automatically recognize that a1
and a2 are variations on a common theme?  Or do they hear them as
utterly distinct and require that the relationship be pointed out,
like that between /b/ and /p/ in English?

Thanks!


--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>

Reply