 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The! q3 a8 S& D( M2 s4 T0 @: T+ w$ x. V
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
% T; j& L! D/ Y! a# zsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,5 x4 F/ c& g/ y& p5 N
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
- G' c( U5 }( b6 m; N2 f$ z. M: t4 m(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of7 n8 b2 X+ y! m! _7 X2 a
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
* G; ?9 |) S0 Q3 @A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=8 q3 J% ^" k0 `
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]* y# g3 n/ P- l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving" r+ r) L% |/ d1 G( H2 V
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
2 o! ^ `" c4 [possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# n, H* k9 f3 S3 f
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
G) ?' P# H3 B5 J3 O& T! e2 z d" Dsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
: {, F+ \( n% p+ V) nsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 s% M6 n8 ^3 L) k; p& l7 Wend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( R L. l' f8 M/ y& h1 R( A
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,& v/ O/ x W. p) m. ~$ u
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..8 [1 f9 {/ p u. D$ W
& C3 @, r$ u0 I. U* X3 y
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
6 P* J4 f, ~& ]4 a" Eand American speakers of English, |
|