Basic assumptions used in modeling
•People plan their utterances several syllables in advance. •People produce speech optimized to meet their needs. •A realistic model for the muscles that control f0
Almost all speech is made of bits and pieces of things you’ve said before.     We have the opportunity to optimize much of our speech as we practice words, tones, and tone combinations.   Note especially that there are very few tone combinations in Mandarin (64 tri-tones), so it’s quite possible to practice all the combinations in a short time, and it’s reasonable to assume that they get practiced every day.   Thus, they could easily be perfected, matching whatever criteria the speaker wishes to optimize.