Gobova Y. Prosodic templates of elliptical constructions in Mandarin Chinese (phonological features of asyndethic relations)

The study deals with interaction between prosodic and syntactic layers of spoken Mandarin Chinese. The experimental part of the research was carried out using methods and theoretical grounds of functional linguistics. Previous achievements of linguists in the field of speech processing were reviewed and implemented in the methodology of the research. Prosody-syntax interface is viewed by the author as a complex interaction between underlying and surface levels of a language. It is stated that this kind of interface acts as an activator of semantic relations between clauses of a complex sentence, not linked by a conjunction or any other formal means of connection (so called asyndethic relation). While there is no unilateral influence between such layers of speech, it is confirmed that some certain features of it are clearly perceptible through phonological manifestations. While the status of complex asyndethic sentences as a type of ellipsis is not completely clear when it comes to generative theory, as it mostly deals with major parts of speech, the author chooses to describe them as such guiding by the functional approach. A prosodic template is defined by the author as a set of prosodic features, which are prescribed not to a single syllable, but to a number of syllables which form a prosodic word or an even larger prosodic constituent, the size of which is dependent on the phrasing of the whole utterance. Though such a view is quite rare among most researchers, it is shown as quite applicable and effective when it concerns spontaneous speech processing of such tonal languages as Mandarin Chinese. The research study made use of prosody and phonetic analysis software to analyze and compare speech material of different levels of fluency. Which gave sufficient information on such prosodic characteristics of spontaneous speech as tone contour, pitch contour, changes in F0 and pausing. The author claims that there is a clear dependency between the F0 contours of the whole utterance and the neutralization of boundary tonal features. It is stated that a neutralized tonal contour is more frequent in such a position comparing to fully-articulated tones. On the other hand it is shown that the second (rising) tone has a tendency to be actualized to some extent even when its carrier-syllable is not stressed or is placed in substantial distance from the logical accent. It is claimed that overall intonation contour is the main cause of such local pitch fluctuation. The general pitch contour of an utterance with asyndethic features is described as having several sub-types which differ for semantic and syntactic types of relations between the clauses. The conclusion of the study shows main types of such contours that are assigned also to different communicational distances between the speakers.