說話動作的完成必須同時在時間與空間中協調各種發聲動器。以往的研究多藉由發聲動作的結果，以聲學分析的方式了解說話的動作特性，較少以直接測量說話的動作進行研究。華語的韻律節奏大致屬於音節計時，各音節又配有聲調。近年學華語受到國際重視，若可全面的了解華語說話的動作特性，將能提供教學上的幫助。目的：以運動控制觀點及動力系統理論架構檢視華語韻律特性在說話動作上的表現。方法：招募8名以台灣地區華語為母語的男性成人，檢驗2種速度下、雙字詞前後字各四個聲調在句子中類說話的開、闔口動作表現。結果：華語四個聲調對說話動作表現沒有一般性影響，但在加快速度說華語時，闔口時間小於開口時間；此外，過去曾觀察到說華語雙字詞時有前字時間較後字短的現象，也與前字較後字的闔口時間為短有關。結論：探討說話動作的方式可以更進一步了解說話的動力特質。本研究結果除了可以作為不同語言間的比較來源，亦可建立華語教學實務所需的知識基礎。

Speech is spatiotemporally coordinated by articulators. The acoustic approach has often been used to investigate the phonetic features of speech production while few researchers had studied speech production from the motor control perspective. Mandarin is often categorized as syllable-timed and each syllable in Mandarin is performed with a specific tone. There has been an increasing interest in learning Mandarin globally. The comprehensive understanding of the movement characteristics in speaking Mandarin provides not only academic merits but also facilitating practical application in teaching Mandarin. Purpose: Examine the kinematic characteristics in Mandarin speaking. Method: Eight adult male native speakers of Taiwanese Mandarin performed the disyllabic speech tasks in normal and fast rates. Kinematics of the opening and closing gestures of the lower lip were analyzed with repeated measure ANOVAs. Results: There is no general effect of tones on the movement of speaking Mandarin; the movement time of the closing gesture is related to the faster speaking rate and the shorter duration of the first syllable of the disyllabic words. Conclusion: Examining the speaking movement provides useful information in understanding the characteristics of speech production. The results of the study not only provide the basis for comparative analysis among languages but also further our knowledge in Mandarin speech production that is important in the application of Mandarin education.