Intonational phrases with 2, 3, and 4 intermediate phrases constitute the majority of all Chinese IPs. The contour patterns of Chinese IPs indicate that the near-bottom Dmin value of the last intermediate phrase serves as the primary indicator of the statement intonation in Chinese, while the falling trend of the last part of the top-line can serve as a compensatory auxiliary indicator when the primary indicator is not typical.

Index Terms: contour patterns, Chinese intonational phrase, the AM approach