Production of Bangkok Thai Tones by Native Speakers of Burmese and Urdu

Abstract

This study aims to analyze and compare acoustic characteristics of Thai tones produced by native Burmese and native Urdu speakers with those produced by a native Thai speaker. The data were collected from five monosyllabic words in citation form. The Praat Program was employed for analysis in order to examine the fundamental frequency and the F0 range. The analyzed data were then compared with a t-test. The results revealed that the mid, low, falling, and rising tones produced by the native Burmese and native Urdu speakers were not significantly different. The only exception was the high tone. Moreover, when comparing the F0 value, all tones produced by the native Burmese and native Urdu speakers were similar to those of the native Thai speaker with the exception of the mid tone. In addition, the findings of F0 ranges indicate that all of the tones produced by the native Urdu speakers had the widest range, followed by those produced by the native Burmese and the native Thai speaker respectively. The results show that regardless of whether one’s native language is tonal (Burmese speakers) or non-tonal (Urdu speakers); this is not a factor in determining how well they will be able to produce Thai tones correctly.