 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The$ c. F0 u9 t2 g- c! l: ?
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# }6 @. J, M, K: h! J s
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ t% | S, v0 S M3 ~and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
6 H( s8 q/ X4 d' u1 g* E0 T(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
, N: U7 ]& |9 zretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
5 v F+ F# D7 G+ u& XA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
; q" |- M# D& b1 p k: |2 ?1 }[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
: l0 `4 q5 d1 W( {: f5 U(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. p, w3 i4 l3 {+ Q7 Y0 bretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
) l! K+ ^) E1 Y7 N7 hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
- r) [. M: [% p' H; n(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two2 P& z9 {. H$ L3 L
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
6 \; W' z% w; h3 Y t) E9 Tsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& E0 v: t8 X# Y5 s9 send with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
+ `; T2 P4 F( K4 g$ K4 p1 I; }compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
% O+ n( b" K9 |) Z' Zthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..& ]/ `/ J% x% Y& |5 D
$ c4 _1 m$ R7 I# [1 ?(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)3 |' r0 c% c$ f$ B
and American speakers of English, |
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