 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
7 M! A6 _$ H& [8 H8 i- MInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the3 Z1 V5 {( p8 R, K* |
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,* _( b3 X! |4 H, Y# g& [
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
1 Z! I) z4 C+ ~4 a, E(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of; {' _+ n! u9 r5 a, a
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
! ~4 D6 ^7 i$ U {3 S# }A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
# T* m* C% G6 g6 w9 C+ ]+ a[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
5 C& a& X5 |: Q# `# S(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
0 k* Y/ [6 P0 R" j# @9 Dretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 |7 j6 b* ]6 I# J, `) x V: g; {7 L
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 h& w) I1 d; n- i
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two8 G! d4 g- C/ i$ k4 q( l! `
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
M% @! K0 L9 d# Ksemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.9 ~3 M% Q4 d: n
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
# L2 u# w$ C5 V9 Z5 b0 C; Ccompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,0 B; z# e$ R6 V( V q5 p
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
* x; j/ O* {) `8 c5 ?6 Q; K3 o9 s% ~, R4 Q0 f
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)# Q3 j8 l! }/ C% v. H
and American speakers of English, |
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