 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& d1 c2 k$ Y) m* Y: z
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
4 \9 X, V& H+ a; }syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,% o9 q0 t! h! h- ~8 Y" K$ L
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
6 X0 e/ J4 F" D5 |, j& b3 o) ^& N(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& {2 Q. T3 z* y& ?; D$ h% Y4 eretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
! W3 F' ^ }5 w3 b3 P7 k8 ?A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=1 } M- I$ ]7 I: m! ^, I
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]) {6 T3 U: A* \; l) G
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving: S7 Q0 o3 `( S: J
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: ]2 p. y8 f4 Q$ ipossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
) F8 }' h+ f1 Y, }# x5 O+ _! C(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two% D y( B: j4 D$ o
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a! p- }. {# ^2 R1 O, }) P
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
6 {" ^! n+ X- A3 ?- G3 d2 lend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
- D8 k; M' L0 n$ N) w- U }3 d% ecompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,& Y! Z" j& E% L1 {/ R
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..7 U3 T: k: h% Y6 F* j# w1 a5 W6 y
& G* G% S& d9 [# t. t' M
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)& P1 I k. }+ `+ Y- ^, [- U: w
and American speakers of English, |
|