 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
. n9 A9 \% ^/ G* uInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
# w X, K5 b9 Dsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
1 Y9 d& n- b8 J# i& |and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial/ s# a0 Z8 V% L
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
u3 V" Z# E# C" xretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).0 B( u+ ]$ Z. G/ K: T& i
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
$ v& D. e- o3 d[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] N n/ h8 [, D, s1 n
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
/ x5 }- k+ U0 j+ y, B* E" [3 D# Iretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on% g5 b3 }9 w8 |$ o
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
1 t1 J$ b* b$ u; s9 V(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
, o4 q5 C& @, {: bsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
- F7 s; A; N; v3 l4 `semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
* X h6 n% B9 D' A% l oend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In. r( ]% a3 V! x
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,$ w/ M. ~! ?% x! k
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
2 K) ]3 h0 y, @3 L4 O' F5 V% P$ k; C9 u3 @/ y. o3 Z2 |+ i) [
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
3 f+ L4 D' `1 b8 J3 m7 T9 Tand American speakers of English, |
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