 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The1 n6 t1 H* g, a6 F7 t6 W
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 `. B1 T' b( Z' j- o# N/ j
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,* c$ a- i# X- _8 d
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial. F7 L- C4 ]# z% G1 t- e
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
/ z6 `8 [0 A. H# g9 C2 mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).% E. ~; ?$ L6 k9 {
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=* c, X2 X2 C5 |, S9 m) l
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]* e1 C! u5 R7 x8 {1 Q
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 _9 W C' d zretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on/ w3 M; f! }) u7 A7 T
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset0 ]8 l" Y. K' U6 `
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
+ M$ ~/ H& I$ f V# Isegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
' ?7 } b$ i/ i4 zsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.9 D' R9 ~# p* n
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ i c6 D4 H' g; g( n) i6 T# W+ ~compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 O; W7 B5 E3 c: \. w* C% R( U
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
( X3 z7 l" }9 }5 u: V
: o( e6 P9 D8 p(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)# O2 H9 w) R! O
and American speakers of English, |
|