 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# O5 y! U! m: q! g% O- D) D
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the+ E5 S8 S8 @: W7 O( g `
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,* f$ j1 \' j" u6 {( y) W
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial. g7 f& p) ?# }# ?
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of" D0 O2 i0 |% j; h2 c: Y
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).- P3 O8 u+ r* e5 w1 _
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
& h, E/ d4 q, C: B5 o! b[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
% a7 j' A, O& n. T% i0 H( d(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving9 P! x: ^% r7 L
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
+ v( z0 o; A% b$ X7 npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset6 o' M) `% F$ {! H d
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two" D, G/ j3 n: {* @3 T
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
# B; m$ `$ v2 Esemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
/ [5 L6 a/ M3 g% k [end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
% v8 t# \/ \ F, l+ Hcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
. S' l' h$ c* l% g( a; @! I& gthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..+ D3 w7 ]! X$ Z* B" Q- t) |& \3 L
+ p L5 X0 m' R# ?8 z(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
6 e- k4 b! @: C: k4 [5 y& p3 zand American speakers of English, |
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