 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
. P5 @9 u) {7 WInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
0 h+ y0 W& q: P# F1 [) Y$ \0 Gsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,/ t) U6 L& f% r" q
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial5 U2 c1 a% }7 C
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of+ W4 U k; q6 d: Q) `
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% F, Q2 f; f; FA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ Z7 \+ T& B8 d
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 _3 K) A+ u( m8 ]1 w(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving5 v m1 ~4 K; E s$ | q- s* ^5 v2 a, \
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
; U2 l- [% x, Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
" o0 M& u1 q# g6 S) [# \(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( y) M3 D- W4 M D" S& x* e
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ H" L4 I N5 s" q
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& n4 R: B; t# @! c4 T' l' ?end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In. G9 x8 a+ j9 L! S. T
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,7 d' s+ ]+ f( e& n
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
/ V2 Q: s3 o1 ^/ W! q+ H2 x4 |3 G0 n& ]6 p! P. {
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& ~' v8 ?' s$ U/ x7 J+ z7 Fand American speakers of English, |
|