A Mandarin Chinese speaker produces a word with a third tone followed by another third tone. Which outcome occurs regarding the first syllable's tone?

💡 Explanation

The first third tone changes to a second tone due to tone sandhi, a phonological process where tones change based on their context; this is mediated by rules governing tone sequences, because the brain simplifies the pronunciation. Therefore, the first tone becomes rising, rather than retaining its original contour.

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