 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
' H1 _ i2 `5 o$ pInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 ?- q* m4 L w
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
. Z( R8 U/ X" Y( W) aand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial" v8 i( I) {) [9 ~7 n
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
{8 S: P% h) I1 }6 Fretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
$ R4 `$ `! D2 o4 VA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
( S1 L5 M5 P( q8 ~; {/ o+ t[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
/ u; N$ r! T, k: a(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving7 k! a! C6 j5 q% E% }: h- n0 K
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on& m3 J& E4 y6 j0 H# {7 ^
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset) [) t1 D% D3 U. b* {
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two8 x5 I8 o: E' C/ j8 \
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ s: ]7 l" W& W0 B3 C$ \( K
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 g6 Z8 ^" K& E( q! ?- J' @end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ V, H- P( F }+ T! j* T: q- Zcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
9 R2 Q8 l6 w" x6 S$ c" [the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
/ ?6 C9 U q# G3 \/ W5 W4 a; ^& F
% i9 A: I3 I$ Q(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& L) j* t* u0 d9 Uand American speakers of English, |
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