arXiv:2511.17337v1 Announce Type: new 
Abstract: We present a corpus-based investigation of how the pitch contours of monosyllabic words are realized in spontaneous conversational Mandarin, focusing on the effects of words' meanings. We used the generalized additive model to decompose a given observed pitch contour into a set of component pitch contours that are tied to different control variables and semantic predictors. Even when variables such as word duration, gender, speaker identity, tonal context, vowel height, and utterance position are controlled for, the effect of word remains a strong predictor of tonal realization. We present evidence that this effect of word is a semantic effect: word sense is shown to be a better predictor than word, and heterographic homophones are shown to have different pitch contours. The strongest evidence for the importance of semantics is that the pitch contours of individual word tokens can be predicted from their contextualized embeddings with an accuracy that substantially exceeds a permutation baseline. For phonetics, distributional semantics is a new kid on the block. Although our findings challenge standard theories of Mandarin tone, they fit well within the theoretical framework of the Discriminative Lexicon Model.

دراسة حديثة تبحث في خطوط النغمة للكلمات ذات المقطع الواحد في الماندرين المحادثاتي العفوي، كاشفةً أن معاني الكلمات تؤثر بشكل كبير على تحقيقها النغمي. باستخدام نموذج إضافي عام، وجد الباحثون أنه حتى عند التحكم في عوامل مختلفة، فإن الخصائص الدلالية للكلمات تعتبر مؤشرات قوية لخطوط نغمتها، حيث أن معنى الكلمة أكثر تنبؤًا من الكلمة نفسها.

Un estudio reciente investiga los contornos de tono de las palabras monosilábicas en el mandarín conversacional espontáneo, revelando que los significados de las palabras influyen significativamente en su realización tonal. Utilizando un modelo aditivo generalizado, los investigadores encontraron que, incluso al controlar varios factores, las propiedades semánticas de las palabras son fuertes predictores de sus contornos de tono, siendo el sentido de la palabra más predictivo que la palabra misma.

Une étude récente examine les contours de hauteur des mots monosyllabiques dans le mandarin conversationnel spontané, révélant que les significations des mots influencent considérablement leur réalisation tonale. En utilisant un modèle additif généralisé, les chercheurs ont constaté qu'en contrôlant divers facteurs, les propriétés sémantiques des mots sont de forts prédicteurs de leurs contours de hauteur, le sens du mot étant plus prédictif que le mot lui-même.

A recent study investigates the pitch contours of monosyllabic words in spontaneous conversational Mandarin, revealing that the meanings of words significantly influence their tonal realization. Using a generalized additive model, researchers found that even when controlling for various factors, the semantic properties of words serve as strong predictors of their pitch contours, with word sense being more predictive than the word itself.

A new kid on the block: Distributional semantics predicts the word-specific tone signatures of monosyllabic words in conversational Taiwan Mandarin

<A HREF="https://on.ft.com/3K5zVj1"><IMG VSPACE="4" HSPACE="4" BORDER="0" ALIGN="RIGHT" SRC="http://www.techmeme.com/251123/i8.jpg"></A>
<A HREF="http://www.techmeme.com/251123/p8#a251123p8" TITLE="Techmeme permalink"><IMG WIDTH=11 HEIGHT=12 SRC="http://www.techmeme.com/img/pml.png" STYLE="border:none;padding:0;margin:0;"></A> June Yoon / <A HREF="https://www.ft.com/">Financial Times</A>: 
<A HREF="https://on.ft.com/3K5zVj1">Chip companies in South Korea, Taiwan, and China have been raising pay and bonuses as global competition intensifies for a limited pool of chip engineers</A>&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; The same limited pool of young talent will keep being drawn on while global competition remains fierce

تقوم شركات الرقائق في كوريا الجنوبية وتايوان والصين بزيادة الرواتب والمكافآت لمهندسي الرقائق مع تصاعد المنافسة على مجموعة محدودة من المواهب. تعكس هذه الاتجاهات الطلب المتزايد على المهنيين المؤهلين في صناعة أشباه الموصلات، المدفوعة بالتقدم التكنولوجي والحاجة إلى الابتكار.

Las empresas de chips en Corea del Sur, Taiwán y China están aumentando los salarios y bonificaciones para los ingenieros de chips a medida que la competencia por un grupo limitado de talentos se intensifica. Esta tendencia refleja la creciente demanda de profesionales calificados en la industria de semiconductores, impulsada por los avances tecnológicos y la necesidad de innovación.

Les entreprises de semi-conducteurs en Corée du Sud, à Taïwan et en Chine augmentent les salaires et les primes des ingénieurs en semi-conducteurs alors que la concurrence pour un nombre limité de talents s'intensifie. Cette tendance reflète la demande croissante de professionnels qualifiés dans l'industrie des semi-conducteurs, alimentée par les avancées technologiques et le besoin d'innovation.

Chip companies in South Korea, Taiwan, and China are increasing salaries and bonuses for chip engineers as competition for a limited talent pool intensifies. This trend reflects the growing demand for skilled professionals in the semiconductor industry, driven by advancements in technology and the need for innovation.

Chip companies in South Korea, Taiwan, and China have been raising pay and bonuses as global competition intensifies for a limited pool of chip engineers (June Yoon/Financial Times)

A new kid on the block: Distributional semantics predicts the word-specific tone signatures of monosyllabic words in conversational Taiwan Mandarin

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