 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
/ l. q2 e5 z( v4 K9 {/ T3 V7 M9 I3 n+ x- ~Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the1 a0 K2 ~/ ?* {; n5 G
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: t4 e5 ~) b; c5 N w" E
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
: [& L! ^1 s9 |(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
. L9 ~; Y1 S/ r) A7 A0 c9 [retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 y+ }- y8 [& h; x5 @$ u. A0 a
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=7 y0 D0 Y* N; c3 n; H
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 ~2 e( l/ Q9 y(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 F9 A: _1 B. g4 M* \0 _
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
1 L2 ?. K' j" Q4 ?& U" _possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' S3 E9 M% l$ B' n(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
7 Q7 r1 L4 T0 Z0 \. xsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 q/ O; ?+ L+ o- U
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& g; p/ V, [7 H$ j c9 bend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 S) L! p. d0 z
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,+ F2 T5 J- G. w/ ?
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 P$ N/ b. L. y8 M$ c
4 x. _8 I1 H+ V$ h% x3 |+ R
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch); o- }& o$ B$ u3 {
and American speakers of English, |
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