{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T11:02:21Z","timestamp":1781780541505,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2000,6,1]],"date-time":"2000-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":959817600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Lang Speech"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2000,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The issue of the perception of lexical tone has been addressed mainly through studies of Southeast Asian languages which feature phonological contour tones as well as level tones. Little attention has been paid to African languages which have, almost exclusively, only level tones. This paper examines tone perception in Mambila, a Benue- Congo language with four levellexicaltones. A categorization experiment was run to determine some of the salient aspects of the perceptual nature of these tones. Since the four tones are well defined with respect to production, we sought to determine whether this characteristic carried over into perception, the expectation being that experimental stimuli, on the basis of pitch height alone, would fall into four reasonably well defined categories. Results showed interesting differences across the four tones, with indications that the two Mid tones, T2 and T3, are perceptually different than the High (T1) and Low(T4) tones.The experiment was run a second time,using a group of native English listeners, to assess to what extent results for the Mambila listeners were determined by the perceptual structure of the Mambila tone system. A Signal Detection analysis was used, which revealed important differences between the two groups of listeners. Results are discussed in light of what is known about universal tendencies of tone systems and the historical development of the Mambila system.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00238309000430020201","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,2,7]],"date-time":"2009-02-07T04:47:56Z","timestamp":1233982076000},"page":"163-182","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["The Perception of Lexical Tone in Mambila"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"43","author":[{"given":"Bruce","family":"Connell","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Oxford,"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2000,6,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"atypb1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.1936844"},{"key":"atypb2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/9783110803877-004"},{"key":"atypb3","unstructured":"Abramson, A.S.( 1975).The tones of Central Thai: Some perceptual experiments . In J. G. Harris & J. Chamberlain, Studies in Thai linguistics (pp.1-16). Bangkok: Central Institute of English Language ."},{"key":"atypb4","first-page":"121","volume":"47","author":"Abramson, A.S.","year":"1976","journal-title":"SR-"},{"key":"atypb5","volume-title":"The noncategorical perception of tone categories in Thai. Presented to the 93rd meeting of the","author":"Abramson, A.S.","year":"1977"},{"key":"atypb6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anderson, S.R.( 1978). Tone features. In V. A. Fromkin (Ed.), Tone: A linguistic survey (pp.133- 175). New York: Academic Press.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-267350-4.50010-8"},{"key":"atypb7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0095-4470(19)30357-2"},{"key":"atypb8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.1912868"},{"key":"atypb9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.2001896"},{"key":"atypb10","series-title":"Paper presented to the 29th Annual Conference on African Linguistics,","volume-title":"A brief history of tone: Tonal development in Mambila","author":"Connell, B.","year":"1998"},{"key":"atypb11","unstructured":"Connell, B. (1999a). Four tones and downtrend: A preliminary report on pitchrealization in Mambila. In P. Kotey (Ed.), New dimensions in African linguistics and languages: Trends in African linguistics, Vol.3 (pp. 75-88).Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press."},{"key":"atypb12","volume-title":"Paper presented to the 7th Manchester Phonology Meeting","author":"Connell, B."},{"key":"atypb13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0095-4470(19)30834-4"},{"key":"atypb14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S095267570000110X"},{"key":"atypb15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1319","DOI":"10.1121\/1.1907901","volume":"32","author":"Flanagan, J.","year":"1958","journal-title":"Journal of the Acoustical Society of America"},{"key":"atypb16","first-page":"69","volume":"13","author":"Fox, R.A.","year":"1985","journal-title":"Journal of Chinese Linguistics"},{"key":"atypb17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-267350-4.50007-8"},{"key":"atypb18","first-page":"20","volume":"9","author":"Gandour, J.T.","year":"1981","journal-title":"Journal of Chinese Linguistics"},{"key":"atypb19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0095-4470(19)30813-7"},{"key":"atypb20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/002383098602900307"},{"key":"atypb21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1006\/jpho.1997.0042"},{"key":"atypb22","volume-title":"S ignal detection theory and psychophysics","author":"Green, D.M.","year":"1974"},{"key":"atypb23","unstructured":"Hombert, J.M. (1976). Perception of tones of bisyllabicnouns in Yoruba. Studies in African Linguistics Supplement, pp. 109 - 121."},{"key":"atypb24","first-page":"169","volume":"3","author":"Hombert, J.-M.","year":"1988","journal-title":"Pholia"},{"key":"atypb25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0952675799003668"},{"key":"atypb26","volume-title":"Intonation in atone language: The phonetic implementation of tone in Yoruba. Unpublished doctoral dissertation","author":"Laniran, Y.","year":"1992"},{"key":"atypb27","first-page":"185","volume":"5","author":"Lavelle, C.R.","year":"1974","journal-title":"Studies in African Linguistics Suppl"},{"key":"atypb28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000261935"},{"key":"atypb29","unstructured":"MacMillan, N.A. (1987). Beyond the categorical\/continuous distinction: A psychophysical approach to processing modes. In S. Harnad (Ed.), Categorical perception: The ground work of cognition (pp. 53-85). Cambridge, U.K. Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"atypb30","volume-title":"Detection theory: A user' sguide","author":"MacMillan, N.A.","year":"1989"},{"key":"atypb31","first-page":"43","volume":"41","author":"Maddieson, I.","year":"1978","journal-title":"UCLA working papers in phonetics"},{"key":"atypb32","first-page":"267","volume":"13","author":"Massaro, D.W.","year":"1985","journal-title":"Journal of Chinese Linguistics"},{"key":"atypb33","unstructured":"Moore, B.C.J.( 1997). Aspects of auditory processing related to speech perception . In W.J. Hardcastle & J. Laver (Eds.), The handbook of phonetic sciences (pp.539-565). Oxford: Blackwell ."},{"key":"atypb34","volume-title":"Lexique mambila-fran\u00e7ais","author":"Mouh, M.","year":"1995"},{"issue":"1","key":"atypb35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.32473\/sal.v25i1.107403","volume":"25","author":"Myers, S.","year":"1996","journal-title":"Studies in African Linguistics"},{"issue":"2","key":"atypb36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.32473\/sal.v22i2.107426","volume":"22","author":"Omozuwa, V.E.","year":"1991","journal-title":"Studies in African Linguistics"},{"key":"atypb37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1006\/jpho.1997.0047"},{"key":"atypb38","unstructured":"Perrin, M. (1974). Mambila. In J. Bendor-Samuel(Ed.), Ten Nigerian tone systems (pp.93-108). Jos : Institute of Linguistics."},{"key":"atypb39","volume-title":"The tone system in Mambila: Some further comments","author":"Perrin, M."},{"key":"atypb40","unstructured":"Rose, P.( 1988). On the nonequivalence of fundamental frequency and pitch in tonal description. In D. Bradley , E.J.A. Henderson, & M. Mazaudon(Eds.), Prosodic analysis and Asian linguistics: To honor R. K. Sprigg (pp.55-82). Pacific Linguistics , C.104."},{"key":"atypb41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02289654"},{"key":"atypb42","volume-title":"Statistical methods","author":"Snedecor, G.W.","year":"1980","edition":"7"},{"key":"atypb43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0952675798003534"},{"issue":"5","key":"atypb44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1159\/000259793","volume":"33","author":"Vance, T.J.","year":"1977","journal-title":"Phonetica"},{"key":"atypb45","volume-title":"African language structures","author":"Welmers, W.","year":"1973"},{"key":"atypb46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000261901"},{"key":"atypb47","unstructured":"Yip, M.( 1995). Tone in East Asian languages. In J. Goldsmith(Ed.), The handbook of theoretical phonology (pp. 476-494). Oxford: Blackwell ."},{"key":"atypb48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0095-4470(19)31153-2"},{"key":"atypb49","volume-title":"Presented at the 92nd meeting of the Acoustical Society of America","author":"Zue, V."}],"container-title":["Language and Speech"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00238309000430020201","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00238309000430020201","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T07:45:44Z","timestamp":1777621544000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/00238309000430020201"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2000,6]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2000,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/00238309000430020201"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00238309000430020201","relation":{},"ISSN":["0023-8309","1756-6053"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0023-8309","type":"print"},{"value":"1756-6053","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2000,6]]}}}