 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The2 i. Q0 {7 Z$ E' {) i& v
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
8 E. Q9 c+ F4 y) z* Y4 gsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in," m# J; I! p6 w& ]/ r. n( g9 l& ?3 ?
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial2 Y1 R: s/ j5 m b9 D
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 z- Y; F# U( E# P
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).1 ^! T* E% g# M; ]
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
: e( ]# B5 |. f2 P* R[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 m9 n9 V& S* O* m* ~6 B
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving9 G" Q9 K G: S6 t4 L
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on; m1 S3 w( l- H" D* k
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset' H1 o0 V: \ E$ F+ T' }
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
! R7 x& d5 B2 X c; K3 p% `segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
- |2 N' c5 Q9 C9 s5 Wsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.% u( A" ~2 B8 Z8 P3 n+ Z. c$ w
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In' f5 @( ~! h# T4 G" R9 f8 K
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,% h. C; G- G4 F, N
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..0 V, E3 o# K' g8 V, ?6 a
& z2 D* c$ T! o& f# ^! T(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)) H; `0 P& T$ h* W
and American speakers of English, |
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