Projects

Here are my recent ongoing projects.

Mapping Acoustic Cues to Pragmatic Functions in Mandarin Prosody

  • Fei, W., & Hsu, Y-Y. (2025, March). Perceptual Weightings of Prosodic Cues in Mandarin Prosodic Focus Processing. The 38th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing (HSP2025).

This project examines how native speakers use acoustic cues—such as F0, duration, and intensity—to interpret communicative intentions. While these prosodic elements are known to signal focus, their specific contributions remain understudied. By studying the mapping of acoustic cues to pragmatic functions, we aim to clarify how native listeners process prosodic focus in Mandarin.

In the pilot study (see above), we recruited 30 native Mandarin speakers to understand how they process these cues. Using a modified Visual World Paradigm, participants listened to sentences with varied focus cues and identified the intended meanings. Our findings indicate that F0 plays a dominant role in focus interpretation, more so than intensity or duration. Additionally, the processing of pragmatic information occurs over time, suggesting a two-stage process in interpreting prosodic focus, offering insights into language comprehension.

We are still recruiting more participants.

Speech Production of Prosodic Focus in the Mandarin Numeral-Classifier-Noun Phrase

  • Fei, W., & Hsu, Y-Y. (2024, October). L1 Syntax Influences L2 Prosody: Cantonese Speakers’ Mandarin Focus. In the 15th International Conference of Experimental Linguistics (ExLing 2024). [slides]
  • Fei, W., & Hsu, Y-Y. (2024, July). Investigating Mandarin Tone and Focus Prosody Production in Hong Kong Cantonese Speakers. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Speech Prosody (SP2024), 378-382. [full paper]

This project studies the speech production of prosodic focus within Mandarin numeral-classifier-noun phrases, examining both Cantonese and Mandarin native speakers. This study explores how Hong Kong Cantonese speakers, as second-language learners, adapt their prosodic strategies when speaking Mandarin, and how native Mandarin speakers naturally express focus in these specific phrases.

In our current studies, we observed that Cantonese speakers often blend their native prosodic patterns with Mandarin’s, particularly when dealing with complex tones like Tone 3 and its sandhi variations. At the same time, we are investigating how native Mandarin speakers realize focus within numeral-classifier-noun phrases, providing insights into the interaction between syntax and prosody.

These findings contribute to our understanding of cross-linguistic prosodic transfer and second-language acquisition. We plan to expand this research by examining how individual differences (such as musical aptitude) influence language learning and developing the effective training methods to improve learners’ prosodic production. Our ultimate goal is to enhance language teaching methods and deepen our understanding of how prosodic features are acquired across different languages.