A Cross-Dialectal Comparison of Apical Vowels in Beijing Mandarin, Northeastern Mandarin and Southwestern Mandarin: An EMA and Ultrasound Study

This paper is a comparative study of the articulation of the “apical vowels” in three Mandarin dialects: Beijing Mandarin (BJM), Northeastern Mandarin (NEM), and Southwestern Mandarin (SWM), using co-registered EMA and ultrasound. Data from 5 BJM speakers, 5 NEM speakers and 4 SWM speakers in their twenties were analyzed and discussed. Our recording materials include the dental and retroflex apical vowels, and their er-suffixed forms. Results suggest that distinct lingual configurations are found among the three dialects of Mandarin, even though these apical vowels are not perceptually distinguishable. Specifically, the dental apical vowel [ɿ] has a grooved tongue shape in BJM, a retracted tongue dorsum in NEM, and a relatively flat tongue shape in SWM. The retroflex apical vowel [ʅ] has a domed tongue shape as well as a bunched tongue body in NEM, while a slightly domed tongue posture is found in SWM. Moreover, the retroflex apical vowel [ʅ] is, articulatorily speaking, very similar to the er-suffix in BJM (cf. [10]). In sum, we observed yet another instance of the articulatory-acoustic mismatch.