 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The2 z0 {; r k* n3 h7 Z
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
% Q$ m2 O; I5 C1 Xsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,3 X# K* q3 b) z4 t+ Q- V1 h6 p
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial7 Y- N9 {6 N. S4 j P# t
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of( Q7 M: a2 A4 n/ t; k& i
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 ~/ F7 X' s6 w! L8 Q
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% b4 n% O4 J8 r* n$ _" o3 F
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]% N4 `) g; ^8 ?- ~' ^; f8 t" J
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
, b, f1 u! s+ l ^6 C5 Hretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
. K9 d% |3 U% @" l7 u" {) rpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# e0 i& q h/ g
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two! I2 {! b6 J4 h- P% m6 G
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
* \3 W# H& R& L( P9 J) ?semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
1 U1 p7 ~4 ^. O2 M8 R/ B0 l6 Send with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
0 K, a0 m( k+ R" Ucompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
$ Y# [0 [( Z1 k% L8 g& rthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ d* u& b2 K% b' u: `
/ J) ?9 y; f5 b9 V8 p1 p(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), [$ N- i5 {3 H7 z
and American speakers of English, |
|