 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
8 x3 r8 v3 {% e$ S3 ~( J6 n, [Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the! f; n5 _7 v- Q# d8 R: @
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
: w2 C" r2 h7 P$ {: F; ^8 T$ pand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial! |' Q# a9 i4 x. E
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of3 b2 T/ D) L4 @6 m* @8 }9 w
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).* C5 B0 c0 R- \/ e) x! ~8 \
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
~$ k; O& m" C6 S. i# u[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]3 \: s9 A( \0 p/ _, v6 d& P
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
) i9 ~1 w0 j$ X# l- ~retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on( `( S4 I) [. a0 l J$ c
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset6 p$ M( J% t9 f7 z3 c; m
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two1 t2 @; N' ^( i; c, \
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a1 d. F t: O5 S- ~* e7 c
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
! {# S% c! _8 ?end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In; F5 @6 r L0 L
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
% V; g3 j5 G8 }% Ithe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
9 I* G+ L7 t1 @0 J% {/ g% k( s7 Z; O* q' j0 d3 g! l; e
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
! E9 m, M1 v1 I, x- Q- hand American speakers of English, |
|