 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The1 N) t+ m3 I1 U% ~/ F; c3 G7 q2 J
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
, H8 y" g; f+ Q$ m6 y3 o2 `syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 y |2 [/ E& g- y: \$ K* E
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
# d' D+ l1 v k4 a- E. l(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 p, V5 d( h( Z1 Mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
`+ I6 ]! X7 W0 R) |A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
1 ~. X4 z* D" i5 U* ^$ p[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
& s- d1 Q5 ^9 ]. [% Z(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving0 h6 v% W. Y" Z+ P: \7 G% y3 I
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
D% N4 G3 u" W* Dpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
8 v j$ W4 D5 u( w0 Y: _* \' S! g(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
' ]6 g$ e4 v- d6 {7 Lsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
1 |" m" T. _6 Rsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
0 E% N/ m7 s8 b; Y$ T! F( \end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In9 w5 j7 \: `4 ?2 F0 u/ M
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
, X( {) a1 Z3 t+ }the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
% W* `- t& O- o: H- Q8 C# b* w1 c( D
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
~! F2 j; C c# ]and American speakers of English, |
|