Mapping Acoustic Cues to Pragmatic Functions: Perceptual Cue Weighting of Prosodic Focus in Mandarin

Understanding how multiple acoustic dimensions are mapped onto linguistic representations is important in speech perception. This study explores how native Mandarin listeners process the communicative intentions of prosodic focus by examining the perceptual weightings of F0, duration, and intensity. Using a Visual World Paradigm, thirty native Mandarin participants listened to re-synthesized audio stimuli and responded to broad-focus or narrow-focus options. Results showed that the acoustic cues significantly influenced focus interpretation, with a greater reliance on F0 than intensity and duration. Eye-tracking data revealed perceptual divergence in the F0 condition, with the divergence of looks occurring at an earlier time window for acoustic processing and later for pragmatic processing. These findings suggest that native listeners effectively map acoustic variations to communicative demands, emphasizing the critical role of F0. The study highlights the temporal dynamics of interpreting prosodic focus, offering insights into language comprehension.