Compensation for pitch-shifted auditory feedback during the production of Mandarin tone sequences

Recent research has found that while speaking, subjects react to perturbations in pitch of voice auditory feedback by changing their voice fundamental frequency (F₀) to compensate for the perceived pitch-shift. The long response latencies (150-200 ms) suggest they may be too slow to assist in on-line control of the local pitch contour patterns associated with lexical tones on a syllable-to-syllable basis. In the present study, we introduced pitch-shifted auditory feedback to native speakers of Mandarin Chinese while they produced disyllabic sequences /ma ma/ with different tonal combinations at a natural speaking rate. Voice F₀ response latencies (100-150 ms) to the pitch perturbations were shorter than syllable durations reported elsewhere. Response magnitudes increased from 50 cents during static tone to 85 cents during dynamic tone productions. Response latencies and peak times decreased in phrases involving a dynamic change in F₀. The larger response magnitudes and shorter latency and peak times in tasks requiring accurate, dynamic control of F₀, indicate this automatic system for regulation of voice F₀ may be task-dependent. These findings suggest that auditory feedback may be used to help regulate voice F₀ during production of bi-tonal Mandarin phrases.