 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
7 F3 R, \2 k0 T% o7 pInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the" W* b6 L# s2 u. ~
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
- m1 F0 }5 z! R: F/ o) Hand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
# \% F- b, G& D: Q(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# R+ H5 ^4 ]; c* B5 Wretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).) M4 a3 C1 g7 Y! {. \
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (= s F; [5 Z: ]0 g* U" T
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
2 B V, T5 j# R7 T(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
$ L- D6 j* `) e9 p8 o; [retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
1 k; A+ ?0 D# c7 kpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset* e) w9 x b1 c R n
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two9 W5 |( B, t0 N. w
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a7 B' g! |4 m7 p( w7 ]1 n
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.% s q! k- b4 w" {! D' Y" `
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
( n& z0 n- w' v q4 h5 jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
& E' @! z3 C8 T' ethe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.." k6 w( b# A5 ~, E9 T
& E5 O) y! I5 `1 T(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
% {% H1 o; J% Y" [* dand American speakers of English, |
|