 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
: p s5 }$ ?% o$ dInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the a$ y: M+ ]- R; ^5 Y* e
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ p) {6 I8 f) V* z! hand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial5 Z+ p4 w- b2 r
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
5 X) k6 v% b6 _5 h: M; ?( {: h0 mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).' X) v9 ^0 ?* N% R
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=5 m; W7 g3 f0 o7 L- L+ F% p
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”], M: K3 _! D, L, N
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
, F" K9 O0 m a- H3 bretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on7 L5 H9 s. U! \* w9 u
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 C" Q' D3 K5 R' v(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
" [2 r% H0 ~3 @3 L: i# |segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a8 C' A2 P S3 X+ h8 k) A
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.; l0 _. ?0 m; I& N
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In9 f X' q3 t3 `! ~
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 O$ F, i( G2 ^2 d8 I1 j4 E
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
i: `! a! `6 A% K+ R- m+ Q6 A& W; t8 a: a' |, {. n3 K- d; f# e
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)& a. B! ?' p9 K& s
and American speakers of English, |
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