http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22501456

J Acoust Soc Am. 2012 Apr;131(4):3274.

Cantonese Pronunciation among Hong Kong speakers and American Born Chinese speakers.

Cho S, Koenig L, Shi LF.

Source

LIU Brooklyn- 1 University Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201, sandyycho@yahoo.com.

Abstract

This study contrasts the production of Cantonese words between native (Hong Kong) immigrant speakers of the language and native first or second generation American-born Cantonese speakers. The word lists were constructed to sample across the tone space and vowel space. Multiple recordings were recorded at different intervals in order to assess variability in sound production. Of particular interest was whether the American-born speakers showed greater variability than the Hong Kong speakers. Vowel formant frequencies and tonal patterns, measured by fundamental frequency contours, were compared between the Hong Kong speakers and the American born speakers. In addition, we evaluated the presence of "lazy tones" in the two groups. This data adds to the sparse literature on Cantonese speakers in America.