 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( [6 w0 b! q. z
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the/ ?* t8 C5 p0 h8 Z6 ~
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in," \! h. P) f; F. ^
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
- X" b& [$ q- `' P, n: g(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
- _+ m S1 |5 oretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
' s V! D! X* ]8 hA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
+ p4 i* g1 D: n7 C# ^6 I: M8 }% n( W[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]& m' p0 Z3 a! V' y
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
/ I6 v2 [" [, a3 N* U$ G- Lretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on1 N& b2 Q: y. P5 Y
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
, g' ~ f* x+ i, P& t(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two r; M0 j2 k' R- L- [
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a# }0 S: d; O7 ^7 p: G* z) L
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
- x) c& z4 j: ^: Gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
) E. p0 u0 \, b5 scompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,' ]) z9 W' h( l. c$ F" u
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
$ u* J( e* B) r0 E3 x$ ^2 b& b( p0 w! ^% _. K9 Z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)0 U: Z0 |3 C3 G* o4 f/ v" X
and American speakers of English, |
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