 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# j! ?, P# ~7 w9 u
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
* `$ }& @8 G3 X# C. Zsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
7 Z U! v# s U# t. T5 Tand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
3 x. ]! o5 O0 ]3 \' B(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of, d( k# x \7 k
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
4 F: V8 c; f" K+ c: s. o7 cA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=4 X4 X7 ]' ?) K/ }( E C
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]* x( Q6 _, m: H
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
5 |1 w( B, U9 h- V; k' E& r8 i* p/ Wretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on, R- L" m; g$ d: a( l: ?
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset, O. I6 n3 i& u# c" p& [
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two$ O4 n6 d0 t& K$ m
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ T0 Y. g# Q8 V5 j) S6 ]
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.7 a& x, @, K# a& Q- [
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In. o Z4 n4 l+ L# V3 N2 z9 |1 c
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,! T3 V9 g) Q$ _, M! h. i( l
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..7 Y; z; _; O G9 h
% S; k" a$ R6 g0 c; J9 Z. F
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)' X8 m. _; {& N% n/ P \9 \" A
and American speakers of English, |
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